Falcons-Eagles Recap and Analysis

The Falcons, coming off the opening week loss, came home to face off against their former star quarterback, Michael Vick and the Philadelphia Eagles. The Falcons (0-1) would receive their first huge test of the season in front of a sellout Georgia Dome and a national television audience.The Falcons defense, which featured both Kelvin Hayden and James Sanders in their starting lineup for the first time this season started off strong and forced two Philadelphia punts early. After Eric Weems had a 19- yard punt return to set the Falcons up at the Eagles 38 yard line, the Falcons got on the scoreboard first as Matt Ryan connected with Roddy White on a 7-yard touchdown pass to put Atlanta up 7-0 late in the first quarter. On the following possession, the Eagles moved the ball through Lesean Mccoy to place them in field goal range; however, after a third down stop, John Abraham was flagged offside and the Eagles capitalized off the penalty with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Maclin to tie the game at 7-7. On their next possession, the Eagles exposed the Falcons on a 3rd down and 6 situation by connecting with Jason Avant on a 29-yard reception; however, after the Falcons stopped the Eagles deep in their territory, Alex Hennery connected on a 22-yard field goal to take a 10-7 lead. Late in the 2nd quarter, the Eagles were driving once again when on first-and-goal,  Peria Jerry hit Vick while he was trying to pitch the ball and it came loose. Defensive end Ray Edwards scooped up the fumble and rumbled for 64 yards before he was caught from behind by DeSean Jackson. Atlanta took over at the Eagles 24-yard line and with :10 seconds remaining, Matt Ryan connected with Tony Gonzalez on an amazing 4-yard one handed touchdown pass to put the Falcons up 14-10 at halftime. Opening the second half, the Falcons couldn’t move the ball and punted. From his 40, Vick was chased by Sanders and newly acquired corner back Kelvin Hayden intercepted Michael Vick and the Falcons took over in great field position and connected on a  32-yard pass to Michael Turner and  the drive ended with a (17) yard touchdown pass from Matt Ryan to Tony Gonzalez to put Atlanta up 21-10 early in the quarter. However, the Eagles responded with a  70-yard drive took just 1:56 off the clock  with Jeremy Maclin scoring on a 36-yard screen play to pull the Eagles within 21-17. On the next Falcons possession, Matt Ryan was intercepted by Asante Samuel and the Eagles took over in Atlanta territory and  LeSean McCoy scored on an 8-yard run to put his team ahead 24-21. After the Falcons went three and out, the Eagles took over and unfortunately on the drive, Michael Vick suffered an concussion and would not return to the game. The Eagles ended the drive with McCoy adding another touchdown on a 2-yard run with 1:59 left in the third quarter, upping the Eagles' lead to 31-21. Early in the fourth quarter, Matt Ryan and the Falcons drove down the field and Ryan threw another touchdown pass to cut the deficit to 31-28. After the Falcons defense held the Eagles from scoring, the Falcons took over deep in their own territory; however, Michael Turner made a huge 61- yard run to place Atlanta into field goal range; however, the Falcons would take a late lead at 35-31 after Turner scored on a 4- yard rushing touchdown with (4:48) remaining in the game. The Eagles would drive down the field; but failed to score and Atlanta won their first game of the season. Last night's win was only the sixth time in franchise history that the Falcons won a home game after trailing by (10) points going into the fourth quarter. Now, I will give my thoughts and take on the Falcons victory.


1. Michael Turner was impressive and continues to provide a  spark for our offense

Michael Turner rushes vs the Eagles 

Coming into the game, the Falcons wanted to establish a solid running game and give their offense opportunities and Michael Turner provided the spark for Atlanta last night. Michael Turner had (21) carries for (114) yards, including a key (61) yard run late in the fourth quarter and due to his effective effort, the Falcons were able to make plays in the passing game for Matt Ryan. Despite the fact that Atlanta wants to be the explosive offense that Falcons fans are looking to see, you must create opportunities for Turner to make the opposing defenses vulnerable to the Atlanta offense. Last night, the Eagles struggled to contain Michael Turner and that allowed Matt Ryan to make a huge impact on the game. Through the first two weeks, Turner have rushed for (214) yards and scored one rushing touchdown and throughout the season, Atlanta will continue to use Turner to get their offense going to the next level. 


2. Matt Ryan has a career day; however, certain things are discovered in the win

Ryan passes during Eagles game

Despite two interceptions thrown by the Falcons quarterback, Matt Ryan had an impressive game and remained calm under pressure and lead the Falcons from behind in the fourth quarter to win the game. Ryan finished the day 17-28, with (195) passing yards and a career-high (4) touchdown passes in the Falcons victory. One of the key things Matt Ryan displayed during the game was his excellent knowledge of running the no-huddle offense as he lead the Falcons from a 10-point deficit and put the team in position to win the game. Ryan, in his fourth season as the Falcons quarterback, bounced back from a bad effort in Chicago and showed his poise in front of a national audience last night. As the season progresses, Matt Ryan's play-making decisions will improve as he played a consistent game against an Eagles secondary which featured three of the best corner backs in the NFL today. Matt Ryan showed his critics that he can take a game into his own hands when the game is on the line and his confidence as a quarterback can only improve after this game. Finally, Matt Ryan is now 21-2 at the Georgia Dome in the regular season and his stats are impressive as his career in Atlanta continues.


3. Defense improved from last week and also created turnovers

Ray Edwards running after a fumble

Despite surrendering 31 points to the Eagles offense, the Falcons defense looked better and their numbers will improve as the season progresses. Some of their key defensive players and new acquisitions made some crucial plays in the game. Peria Jerry, the former 1st round pick, forced a fumble for Ray Edwards, their free-agent acquisition to recover the fumble and place Atlanta into position to take the lead right before halftime. Also, Kelvin Hayden made a crucial interception early in the third quarter to set the Falcons up to take a 21-10 lead in the game. Late in the game, Chris Owens, who many people have criticized with his lack of consistent coverage, provided a huge stop on 3rd down to help Atlanta hold off the Eagles offense and win the game. The defense showed its resiliency just like they were tested last season and the Falcons will have another challenge next week in Tampa Bay; however, as the defense continue to progress, the defense is going to be better. Kelvin Hayden and James Sanders were also effective in the secondary and as the season progresses, they will both become key to our team and their veteran leadership will help Atlanta defense go to another level.


4. Offensive line must improve; Especially Sam Baker 

Coming into the regular season, the Falcons offensive line was already short of Todd Mcclure due to an injury and also was starting Garrett Reynolds and Joe Hawley to replace the subtraction of Harvey Dahl to the free agency. In the first two games, the Falcons have surrendered (9) sacks to opposing defenses and it is reducing Matt Ryan's chances to have the proper time to make big plays in the passing game. Sam Baker, the fourth year offensive linemen is really struggling to protect Ryan's blindside and he was outplayed by Eagles defensive end Trent Cole and was exposed by dominant defensive linemen Julius Peppers in the loss against the Bears. As the season progresses, the Falcons will need better production from Baker or this will cause the Falcons offense to struggle against some of the top teams in the league.


FINAL THOUGHTS:

The Falcons needed this victory early in the season not only to show that they can not only compete against but beat top opponents with explosive offenses such as the Eagles because their resiliency as a team was great. The Falcons victory over former quarterback Michael Vick should somewhat put closure to the Michael Vick era in Atlanta because many fans are still angry or bitter towards him after the entire dog fighting situation; however, last night, there were a lot of Vick supporters who still showed their love for the former Falcons star, but in the end, the home game and the atmosphere was exciting and Atlanta pulled off a much deserved win. Next week, the Falcons face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at 4:15 on September 25th in Tampa. The Falcons will look to win their sixth straight game against the Bucs dating back to 2008 and as the season continues, we will see these things improve for the Falcons. Until the next blog, Falcons RISE UP!!!