Minnesota Vikings (2-9) at Atlanta Falcons (7-4) Recap

Coming off a win against the Tennessee Titans, the Falcons took on the Vikings, who were without their star, Adrian Peterson, and was looking to pull off an upset victory at the Georgia Dome. Historically, the Vikings have not won in Atlanta since 2003. The Falcons opened the game with the football; unfortunately, Atlanta went three and out and on defense, they forced Minnesota to a three and out possession. On the Falcons second possession, they capitalized on a (9) play, 74- yard drive, which ended with a Matt Ryan 27-yard touchdown pass to Harry Douglas to give the Falcons a 7-0 lead. With that connection, Harry Douglas scored his first touchdown reception of the season and for the first time  since Week 4 in the 2010 season. After the drive, the Vikings had two three outs and the Falcons had a three and out. After forcing Minnesota off the field, on the next Falcons possession, Atlanta capitalized on a (10) play, 73-yard drive, which ended with another Matt Ryan touchdown pass to Roddy White to give the Falcons a 14-0 lead in the middle of the second quarter. With this connection, White scored his fourth touchdown reception of the season. After forcing the Vikings to another three and out, Minnesota punted to Eric Weems, who had a (42) yard punt return that placed the Falcons in Vikings territory at the 36-yard line. The Falcons capitalized on a (6) play, 25-yard drive that ended with a 37-yard field goal from Matt Bryant that placed Atlanta with a 17-0 lead heading to halftime. In the third quarter, after the Falcons and Vikings traded three and outs, Minnesota capitalized on a (14) play, 93-yard drive, which ended with a one-yard, Toby Gerhart touchdown to cut the deficit to 17-7. After the Falcons and the Vikings went three and out, a muffed punt gave the Vikings a second chance and would capitalize on a (8) play, 49-yard drive with a critical 43-yard touchdown pass from Christian Ponder to Percy Harvin to cut the Falcons lead to 17-14 early in the fourth quarter. After the Falcons and Vikings traded three and out, the Falcons finally capitalized on a (9) play, 73-yard drive, which ended with another Matt Ryan three yard touchdown pass to Michael Palmer to give Atlanta a 24-14 lead in the middle of the fourth quarter. With that connection, Michael Palmer scored his first touchdown of the season and his second as a Falcon. On the ensuing kickoff, Percy Harvin set a NFL record for the longest non-scoring play in NFL history, when he returned a kick (104) yards and was tackled by corner back Chris Owens at the Falcons 3-yard line. On the same Vikings possession, the Falcons defense came up in a huge way and stopped Minnesota on all four offensive plays to give the ball back to the Atlanta at their own 1-yard line. On the next Falcons possession, Atlanta ran the clock and would earn their seventh win of the season, 24-14. With the victory, the Falcons (7-4) moved into sixth in the NFC Playoff race after the Lions lost to the Packers on Thanksgiving Day. Now, I will give my standout players of the game, things we learned from the victory, and things we need to improve headed to next week.


STANDOUT PLAYERS OF THE GAME:


1.MATT RYAN:

For the second straight week, Matt Ryan called the plays for the Falcons offense and did an excellent job leading his team to a victory. Ryan was (27-34) for (262) yards and threw (3) touchdown passes for the Falcons. He also set a season high with an outstanding quarterback rating of (128.2) to finish his day. Ryan is now tied for (7th) in the NFL in touchdown passes with (18) and his numbers have increased as the playoff stretch continues and the fourth year quarterback is playing some of his best football we have seen as we enter the final weeks of the NFL season. This season, when Matt Ryan has a QB rating of over 100, the Falcons are 4-0 in all of those games. The amazing thing about his progression over the last few weeks is the Falcons coaching staff is starting to allow him to run Atlanta's offense by himself and his no-huddle play calling continues to improve and the rest of the offense is finally forming a solid connection with the quarterback late in the season. Also, Matt Ryan is balancing the amount of passes and rushes that the team attempts during games because an average of 30-35 passes for Ryan is a very good number for him and to call at least 20-25 rushing attempts keeps the Falcons at a balanced rate and helps them remain consistent on offense. Ryan's production is only getting better as we enter December and it will be very interesting to see how far he will take the Falcons as the playoff race heats up in the NFC.


2.RODDY WHITE:

For the second straight week, White has posted over 100 receiving yards in a game as he posted (10) receptions for (120) receiving yards and scored a touchdown in the second quarter. On the season, White now has (830) receiving yards, which is (10th) in the NFL and has scored four touchdown receptions. Through most of the first half of the 2011 season, White struggled to give the same amount of production from 2010 and also lead the NFL with most dropped passes by a wide receiver; however, in the previous two games, the vintage Roddy White showed up for the Falcons offense and when Atlanta has this receiver going, the Falcons is a very hard team to beat. As the season continues, you can see that White is gaining his confidence back and this is a huge plus for Atlanta because with the emergence of Harry Douglas and once Julio Jones can heal from his hamstring injury, the Falcons passing attack can take flight and go to another level in time for the postseason. This season, when Roddy White post over (100) yards in a game, the Falcons are 2-1 and in the month of November alone his numbers are huge for the Falcons offense, posting (25) receptions for (405) receiving yards and scored one touchdown. I expect for Roddy White to continue and be productive for Atlanta as we enter December because you can just see the Ryan to White connection starting to return at the best time of the season. 


3. SEAN WEATHERSPOON:

The Falcons second year linebacker continues to impress Atlanta fans everywhere as his production yesterday for the defense was huge in earning a win over the Vikings. Weatherspoon recorded (10) tackles, three were for losses, (3) quarterback hits and one sack. He is really coming along for the Falcons defense and along with Lofton, those two young players are developing the Falcons linebacker core into one of the best in the NFL. "Spoon" as many fans called him made clutch plays for Atlanta yesterday as he was able to get after the quarterback in key situations for the defense and made the big stop on 4th and goal to end the Vikings threat of scoring another touchdown, which ended the game and earned Atlanta a win. Last year, he was limited due to injury; however, this season, he has (89) tackles and (3) sacks for the team. Weatherspoon is well on his way to having a great career as a NFL linebacker. 


4. WILL SVITEK:

This is probably a shocker to many people that I selected Svitek is one of my standout players of the game; however, he played well yesterday against one of the best defensive ends in the league today. Svitek, who is stepping in at left tackle after Sam Baker earned a injury, was given the responsibility of defending Jared Allen, who was ranked second in the NFL with (13.5) sacks entering Sunday's game. Svitek played great against Allen and held him from earning an sack and didn't even get a chance to attack Matt Ryan throughout the game. Svitek, who was a back-up offensive lineman since 2008 has impressed the coaching staff by protecting Matt Ryan's blindside and looks like he will play left tackle for the remainder of the NFL season. One major advantage that many Falcons fans were not aware of is that Svitek was a former defensive end at the University of Stanford and once he made it to the NFL, he became a offensive lineman so Svitek has the knowledge of how defensive linemen tries to establish a strategy and get after opposing quarterbacks. As the season continue, Svitek will continue to help the Falcons offensive line improve and prevent Matt Ryan from having to take many sacks and quarterback hits. 


5. DOMINIQUE FRANKS:

Yesterday was supposed to be Franks first time playing at nickelback this season for the Falcons; however, when Brent Grimes suffered a knee injury early in the game on Sunday, Franks was brought in as the second corner back on the opposite side of Dunta Robinson. Franks played good and was matched with Michael Jenkins most of Sunday's game and held Jenkins to (2) catches for (25) yards. Also, Franks earned a QB hit on Christian Ponder, who came close to being sacked on the same play as he brought cornerback pressure on a key third down situation. Many people ignored his efforts due to him being in the wrong place on a key fourth down punt; however, for the rest of the game, the Falcons second year cornerback played a pretty good game. As the season continues, expect to see more of Franks on the field, especially with the injuries in our secondary to Grimes and Hayden, and with more experience, he will produce a solid effort at corner because this is a hard-working, positive, and patient player and his progression will be noticed as the season goes along. 




THINGS THAT WE LEARNED FROM THE VICTORY:


1. The Falcons were efficient in the red-zone:

In the past two weeks, the Falcons were struggling to score touchdowns once they entered the end-zone against the Saints and Titans; however, against the Vikings, they returned back to their normal efficiency in the red-zone. The Falcons were 3 of 4 in the red zone as Atlanta scored two touchdown passes and earned a Matt Bryant field goal. This was a huge advantage for the Falcons offense because you must score touchdowns against some of the best teams in the NFL in order to have a good chance of winning football games and if you settle for field goals, this is a win for your opposing defense so you must make the best decisions once you are within 20 yards of scoring a touchdown because every possession could be critical for your team because there are so many things that can happen in games especially when the intensity of making the NFL playoffs are presented for teams like the Falcons. I expect for Atlanta to continue to improve their consistency in the red-zone as the playoff stretch starts as we enter December. 


2. The Falcons no-huddle offense continues to succeed:

For the past two weeks, the Falcons offense have been in a no-huddle formation for the entire game and the success continued on Sunday against a tough Vikings defense. Under the no-huddle offense is when you have seen Matt Ryan play some of his best football at quarterback.  After the loss to New Orleans, Atlanta decided to take the play calling duties out of Mike Mularkey's hand and give their quarterback the chance and his numbers have increased as well as the production overall on offense. Roddy White have posted two games of over (100) yards receiving consecutive for the first time this season, Harry Douglas continues to watch his role in the Atlanta offense increase and he is producing big stats for the Falcons passing attack.  As the playoff stretch continues and Julio Jones return to the Falcons offense, the no-huddle formation will continue to be a huge success and once you balance Michael Turner and the rushing attack in effect, the offense can start playing at a high level. 


THINGS WE MUST IMPROVE HEADING TO NEXT WEEK:


1. The Falcons must be a 60 minute football team:

One of the key issues that this team have encountered throughout the season is their lack of playing Falcons football for all four quarters, in particular, the 3rd quarter continues to be a struggle for Atlanta. This season, opponents have outscored the Falcons 99-40 and this is a reason why the team is forced to rally in the 4th quarter either to maintain leads or win games after trailing from a tough third period. As a team, the Falcons must learn to play both quarters in the second half on offense and defense because you need to have a killer instinct against some of the best teams in the league or some teams will rally and steal a victory despite all of the hard work you gave throughout the game. In the losses against New Orleans and Green Bay, the Falcons competed like we know they can in the first half of the game and once they came out to play in the third quarter, their intensity was gone and that allowed two of the best teams in the NFC to win those games even though the Falcons out-gained them and outplayed them for a certain part of the game. As we enter December, the Falcons have to increase their killer instinct as they look to return to the playoffs for consecutive seasons for the first time in franchise history. On Sunday, despite the Falcons leading 17-0 at halftime, the Vikings managed to cut the deficit to 3 points and Atlanta was forced to contain this team who was playing for nothing but an upset and against some of the talented teams in the league, the Falcons can't become conservative once you gain a huge lead or you will lose some of those games that way.


2. The offense must remain consistent and stop becoming conservative with big leads:

In yesterday's win against Minnesota, the Falcons allowed Matt Ryan and the no-huddle offense to control the first half and Atlanta successfully posted a 17-0 halftime lead; however, in the second half, it was clearly obvious that Mike Mularkey re-gained control of the Falcons game plan and we saw the team become very conservative and allow the Vikings to make the adjustments to contain Atlanta from scoring more points. In the past two weeks, the Falcons manged to score only 10 points in the second half and that has a lot to do with becoming too conservative. Last season, the Falcons offensive mindset was to "play to avoid losing the game"; however, if you reduce your intensity that earned your offense some points, you will only allow your opponents to contain that offensive strategy and give them confidence to attempt and start a comeback. In the next few weeks, the Falcons will play two of the best offenses in the NFL in New Orleans and Houston and against them, you can't allow yourself to be too conservative against some of the high-scoring teams around the league or you will find yourself falling short of victory. The Falcons coaching staff needs to trust Matt Ryan to call a 60-minute game like he wants to and stop trying to reduce his ability to become a dominant NFL quarterback because teams like the Patriots or Packers continues to score points despite how huge of a lead they establish over their opponent. 




FINAL WRAP-UP:

The Falcons earned a huge win for their playoff chances headed to December as they will face only two teams with winning records (New Orleans and Houston) and will look to keep their winning streak going into the postseason. Atlanta's win against the Vikings ended a three game home stand as the Falcons finished 2-1 and will now embark on a two-game road trip against the Houston Texans and the Carolina Panthers. As far as the Falcons chances in the postseason, they currently sits at #6 in the NFC Playoff Race behind the Chicago Bears and controls their own destiny to make the playoffs. Until my preview blog for the Texans, have a great day and RISE UP!!