 |
Falcons blow out Bucs, avoid Saints in 1st round |
ATLANTA (AP) — They wanted momentum and the best seed possible.
Hoping for a fast start, the Falcons set a team record with 42 first-half points, including two touchdown runs by Turner, Julio Jones “We didn’t want to come down to the wire, backing into the playoffs,” Turner said. The Falcons were motivated by two blowout losses – 48-21 to Green Bay in last year’s playoffs and 45-16 at New Orleans last “Getting embarrassed like that last year, that’s not who we were,” Turner said. “We just wanted another chance.”
The Falcons (10-6) and Detroit (10-6) are the NFC wild cards. Atlanta, which beat Detroit on Oct. 23, won the tiebreaker with
“We wanted to play our final regular-season game with a lot of intensity and energy, and I think we did that in all three Josh Freeman “If I was in the business of working out my future, I wouldn’t be coaching,” Morris said. “I’m going to go to work tomorrow
The Falcons led 42-0 when they began resting some starters, including quarterback “We had opportunities the week before and just didn’t make the plays,” Ryan said. “Today, we made the plays and I think that’s Ryan was 6 of 9 for 106 yards, including touchdown passes of 17 and 48 yards to Jones in the first quarter. Tampa Bay, which finished 10-6 last season and started 4-2 this season, is left with its longest losing streak in one season “This is not the season we wanted or expected, but we will need to rededicate ourselves and get ready for this offseason,” Turnovers were a problem for the Buccaneers all season. Freeman began the day tied for the league lead with 19 interceptions
With Atlanta leading 42-0, Freeman threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to
Tampa Bay’s other touchdown came on Turner ran for 172 yards and two touchdowns, including an 81-yard scoring run late in the first half. The score capped the The Falcons led 21-0 after the first quarter and then put the game away with three more touchdowns in the second quarter. The strong showing was important for the Falcons. Last week’s loss at New Orleans was the worst in four seasons with Smith.
“The main thing we wanted to do was flush out of our system last week,” tight end The Falcons announced before the game Gonzalez, 35, has signed a one-year contract extension, ending speculation he might The Falcons had the No. 1 seed in the playoffs last year before losing to the Packers. Despite the team’s lower seed, Gonzalez said the Falcons are prepared for a longer postseason run. “Honestly, I’ve said it all year: I think we’re a better team than we were last year,” Gonzalez said.
Rookie
After Ryan’s first TD pass to Jones,
On first down from the Buccaneers 48, Ryan again threw to Jones, who fought off safety
Turner had two touchdown runs and Matt Bryant
Notes: Ryan passed Jeff George for the Falcons’ most yards passing in a season. George threw for 4,143 yards in 1995. Ryan
© 2011 STATS LLC If you like reading our blog, remember to bookmark it. Posted in 1, falcons-news, Matt Bryant, Matt Ryan, Michael Turner, Mike Smith, New York Giants, Tony Gonzalez | Comments Off
|
|
|
Atlanta Falcons finish regular season with romp… |
ATLANTA — Michael Turner and the Falcons didnt want to settle for just making the playoffs. They wanted momentum and the best seed possible. Hoping for a fast start, the Falcons set a team record with 42 first-half points, including two touchdown runs by Turner, and Atlanta cruised to a 45-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday to clinch the No. 5 seed. Julio Jones caught two touchdown passes in a span of 26 seconds in the first quarter as the Falcons gave the Buccaneers their 10th straight loss. We didnt want to come down to the wire, backing into the playoffs, Turner said. The Falcons were motivated by two blowout losses — 48-21 to Green Bay in last years playoffs and 45-16 at New Orleans last week. Getting embarrassed like that last year, thats not who we were, Turner said. We just wanted another chance. The Falcons (10-6) and Detroit (10-6) are the NFC wild cards. Atlanta, which beat Detroit on Oct. 23, won the tiebreaker with the Lions for the more favorable seeding. The Falcons will play at the New York Giants in the first round of the playoffs. We wanted to play our final regular-season game with a lot of intensity and energy, and I think we did that in all three phases, Falcons coach Mike Smith said. Josh Freeman threw two interceptions and lost a fumble in the first half as the Buccaneers (4-12) closed their season with their 10th straight loss, leaving the status of coach Raheem Morris in doubt. If I was in the business of working out my future, I wouldnt be coaching, Morris said. Im going to go to work tomorrow until they tell me to stop. The Falcons led 42-0 when they began resting some starters, including quarterback Matt Ryan and Turner, late in the first half. We had opportunities the week before and just didnt make the plays, Ryan said. Today, we made the plays and I think thats what we needed moving forward. Ryan was 6 of 9 for 106 yards, including touchdown passes of 17 and 48 yards to Jones in the first quarter. Tampa Bay, which finished 10-6 last season and started 4-2 this season, is left with its longest losing streak in one season in 34 years. The Buccaneers also lost 10 straight in 1977. They lost 11 straight between the 2008 and 2009 seasons. This is not the season we wanted or expected, but we will need to rededicate ourselves and get ready for this offseason, Morris said. Turnovers were a problem for the Buccaneers all season. Freeman began the day tied for the league lead with 19 interceptions before completing 31 of 45 passes for 274 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. With Atlanta leading 42-0, Freeman threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Dezmon Briscoe with about 2 minutes remaining in the first half. Freeman threw a 5-yard TD pass to Briscoe in the fourth quarter. Tampa Bays other touchdown came on Elbert Macks 40-yard interception return against Falcons backup Chris Redman in the third quarter. Turner ran for 172 yards and two touchdowns, including an 81-yard scoring run late in the first half. The score capped the Falcons run of six unanswered touchdowns. The Falcons led 21-0 after the first quarter and then put the game away with three more touchdowns in the second quarter. The strong showing was important for the Falcons. Last weeks loss at New Orleans was the worst in four seasons with Smith. The main thing we wanted to do was flush out of our system last week, tight end Tony Gonzalez said. The Falcons announced before the game Gonzalez, 35, has signed a one-year contract extension, ending speculation he might retire after this season. The Falcons had the No. 1 seed in the playoffs last year before losing to the Packers. Despite the teams lower seed, Gonzalez said the Falcons are prepared for a longer postseason run. Honestly, Ive said it all year: I think were a better team than we were last year, Gonzalez said. Rookie Jacquizz Rodgers scored on a 1-yard run for his first career touchdown to start the Falcons scoring. Rodgers lost a fumble at the Tampa Bay 2 in the fourth quarter. After Ryans first TD pass to Jones, Dominique Franks interception on Tampa Bays first down gave the ball back to Atlanta. On first down from the Buccaneers 48, Ryan again threw to Jones, who fought off safety Tanard Jackson for the catch. Jones then jumped up from the turf, hit cornerback E.J. Biggers with a stiff-arm and then dragged Biggers into the end zone. Turner had two touchdown runs and Curtis Lofton returned an interception 26 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. Matt Bryant kicked a 20-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter after the Buccaneers were stopped on fourth down at their 10. Notes: Ryan passed Jeff George for the Falcons most yards passing in a season. George threw for 4,143 yards in 1995. Ryan has 4,177. … Turner has 50 rushing touchdowns in four seasons with the Falcons, passing Gerald Riggs team record of 48. … WR Roddy White also celebrated a milestone, passing Terance Mathis for the most yards receiving with the Falcons. Mathis had 7,349 yards from 1994-2001. White finished the game with 7,374 for his career. … By playing in his 225th game with Tampa Bay, CB Ronde Barber passed Derrick Brooks for the team record. Tampa Bay 0 7 11 6–24 Atlanta 21 21 0 3–45 First Quarter Atl–Rodgers 1 run (Bryant kick), 8:12. Drive: 12 plays, 80 yards, 6:48. Key Plays: Turner 26 run; Ryan 23 pass to White on 3rd-and-11; Ryan 8 pass to Gonzalez on 3rd-and-6; Turner 2 run on 3rd-and-1. Atlanta 7, Tampa Bay 0. Atl–Jones 17 pass from Ryan (Bryant kick), 3:30. Drive: 7 plays, 53 yards, 2:52. Key Plays: Bennett 15-yard roughing the passer penalty; Turner 13 run. Atlanta 14, Tampa Bay 0. Atl–Jones 48 pass from Ryan (Bryant kick), 3:04. Drive: 1 play, 48 yards, 0:12. Key Play: Franks interception at Tampa Bay 48. Atlanta 21, Tampa Bay 0. Second Quarter Atl–Turner 1 run (Bryant kick), 11:40. Drive: 7 plays, 30 yards, 3:34. Key Plays: Abraham fumble recovery (Freeman); Turner 14 run. Atlanta 28, Tampa Bay 0. Atl–Lofton 26 interception return (Bryant kick), 10:43. Atlanta 35, Tampa Bay 0. Atl–Turner 81 run (Bryant kick), 6:49. Drive: 2 plays, 86 yards, 0:50. Atlanta 42, Tampa Bay 0. TB–Briscoe 2 pass from Freeman (Barth kick), 2:04. Drive: 7 plays, 80 yards, 4:45. Key Plays: Freeman 48 pass to Parker; Freeman 13 pass to Winslow. Atlanta 42, Tampa Bay 7. Third Quarter TB–FG Barth 41, 4:19. Drive: 10 plays, 53 yards, 5:27. Key Plays: Freeman 10 pass to Blount; Freeman 11 pass to Parker; Freeman 31 pass to Williams; Freeman 10 pass to Winslow. Atlanta 42, Tampa Bay 10. TB–Mack 40 interception return (Winslow pass from Freeman), 3:32. Atlanta 42, Tampa Bay 18. Fourth Quarter TB–Briscoe 5 pass from Freeman (run failed), 11:13. Drive: 10 plays, 77 yards, 5:03. Key Plays: Freeman 22 pass to Winslow; Freeman 11 pass to Blount; Freeman 9 pass to Briscoe on 3rd-and-8. Atlanta 42, Tampa Bay 24. Atl–FG Bryant 20, 3:59. Drive: 4 plays, 8 yards, 2:10. Key Play: Gained possession on downs at Tampa Bay 10. Atlanta 45, Tampa Bay 24. A–68,167. TB Atl FIRST DOWNS 18 22 Rushing 3 13 Passing 15 8 Penalty 0 1 THIRD DOWN EFF 6-12 6-11 FOURTH DOWN EFF 0-1 1-1 TOTAL NET YARDS 294 428 Total Plays 61 59 Avg Gain 4.8 7.3 NET YARDS RUSHING 35 251 Rushes 14 38 Avg per rush 2.5 6.6 NET YARDS PASSING 259 177 Sacked-Yds lost 2-15 0-0 Gross-Yds passing 274 177 Completed-Att. 31-45 13-21 Had Intercepted 3 1 Yards-Pass Play 5.5 8.4 KICKOFFS-EndZone-TB 5-4-4 8-7-5 PUNTS-Avg. 3-49.7 2-50.5 Punts blocked 0 0 FGs-PATs blocked 0-0 0-0 TOTAL RETURN YARDAGE 108 58 Punt Returns 2-15 1-9 Kickoff Returns 3-53 0-0 Interceptions 1-40 3-49 PENALTIES-Yds 2-20 3-20 FUMBLES-Lost 3-1 1-1 TIME OF POSSESSION 29:52 30:08 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING–Tampa Bay, Freeman 3-14, Blount 6-12, J.Johnson 1-5, Madu 2-4, Lumpkin 2-0. Atlanta, Turner 17-172, Snelling 9-50, Rodgers 8-24, Jones 1-9, Redman 3-(minus 4). PASSING–Tampa Bay, Freeman 31-45-3-274. Atlanta, Ryan 6-9-0-106, Redman 7-12-1-71. RECEIVING–Tampa Bay, Briscoe 8-53, Winslow 7-56, Lumpkin 5-27, Parker 4-74, Madu 3-19, Blount 3-14, Williams 1-31. Atlanta, Jones 4-76, White 4-69, Gonzalez 1-8, Weems 1-8, Palmer 1-7, Rodgers 1-5, Snelling 1-4. PUNT RETURNS–Tampa Bay, Spurlock 2-15. Atlanta, Weems 1-9. KICKOFF RETURNS–Tampa Bay, Parker 2-41, Spurlock 1-12. Atlanta, None. TACKLES-ASSISTS-SACKS–Tampa Bay, Asante 7-1-0, Foster 4-2-0, Mack 3-2-0, Barber 3-1-0, Biggers 3-1-0, Haynesworth 3-0-0, Okam 3-0-0, Bennett 2-0-0, Bowers 2-0-0, Briscoe 2-0-0, Miller 2-0-0, A.Black 1-2-0, Q.Black 1-1-0, Freeman 1-0-0, Jackson 1-0-0, Lewis 1-0-0, Hayes 0-3-0, Jones 0-3-0, Clayborn 0-1-0, Price 0-1-0. Atlanta, Lofton 8-6-0, DeCoud 6-2-0, Owens 3-3-0, Weatherspoon 3-3-0, Franks 3-2-0, Moore 2-4-0½, Biermann 1-3-0½, Adkins 1-2-0, Babineaux 1-1-0, Abraham 1-0-1, Edwards 1-0-0, Sidbury 1-0-0, Smith 1-0-0, Dent 0-2-0, Sanders 0-2-0, Peters 0-1-0, Rodgers 0-1-0. INTERCEPTIONS–Tampa Bay, Mack 1-40. Atlanta, Lofton 1-26, Walls 1-23, Franks 1-0. MISSED FIELD GOALS–None. OFFICIALS–Referee Scott Green, Ump Bruce Stritesky, HL Tom Stabile, LJ Tom Barnes, FJ Dyrol Prioleau, SJ Larry Rose, BJ Scott Helverson, Replay Carl Madsen. Time: 2:58. What do you guys think about this. Posted in 1, falcons-news, Matt Bryant, Matt Ryan, Michael Turner, Mike Smith, New York Giants, Tony Gonzalez | Comments Off
|
|
|
Falcons beat Bucs, 45-24, clinch NFC’s No. 5 seed |
The Atlanta Falcons grabbed the lead _ and the No. 5 seed in the Julio Jones caught two touchdown passes in a span of 26 seconds, The Falcons (10-6) and Detroit (10-6) are the NFC wild cards. “We wanted to play our final regular-season game with a lot of Josh Freeman threw two interceptions and lost a fumble in the The Falcons led 42-0 when it began resting some of its starters, Tampa Bay, which finished 10-6 last season and started 4-2 this Turnovers were a problem for the Buccaneers all season. Freeman Freeman completed 31 of 45 passes for 274 yards with two With Atlanta leading 42-0, Freeman threw a 2-yard touchdown pass Tampa Bay’s other touchdown came on Elbert Mack’s 40-yard Turner ran for 172 yards and two touchdowns, including an The Falcons led 21-0 after the first quarter and then put the The strong showing was important for the Falcons, who were “We had some things we needed to get fixed from the previous Ryan was 6 of 9 for 106 yards, including touchdown passes of 17 Rookie Jacquizz Rodgers scored on a 1-yard run for his first After Ryan’s first TD pass to Jones, Dominique Franks’ On first down from the Buccaneers 48, Ryan again threw to Jones, Turner had two touchdown runs and Curtis Lofton returned an Matt Bryant kicked a 20-yard field goal late in the fourth Turner’s two touchdowns gave him a team-record 50 rushing scores Roddy White also celebrated a milestone, passing Terance Mathis What are your opinions. Posted in 1, falcons-news, Matt Bryant, Matt Ryan, Michael Turner, Mike Smith, New York Giants | Comments Off
|
|
|
Drew Brees’ passing game against the Atlanta… |
A look at Drew Brees’ passing accuracy during the New Orleans Saints’ 45-16 win over the Atlanta Falcons last Monday night. This weekly graphic breaks the field into six zones, depicting Brees’ hotspots and occasional rough patches. Noteworthy: Brees broke Dan Marino’s 1984 record of most passing yards in a regular season on his last throw of the game, a touchdown to Darren Sproles. Brees has thrown for 5,087 yards this season, three more than Marino threw 27 years ago. Brees also threw his four touchdowns to a different part of the field. Thanks for reading! . |
|
|
Tampa Bay Buccaneers scheme for Atlanta Falcons… |
By Stephen F. Holder, Times Staff WriterTampa Bay Times TAMPA — As Tony Gonzalez walked off the field Monday night at the Louisiana Superdome, a certain rising young star stopped him to ask what everyone wants to know. Saints TE Jimmy Graham, named to the Pro Bowl this week in just his second season, had to ask Gonzalez: What’s his secret? “I get that question a lot,” said Gonzalez, the Falcons tight end and likely Hall of Famer who plays the Bucs on Sunday. “It’s not really something I can sum up in a few words. I guess, to put it simply, it’s hard work, perseverance (and) you have to have to mind-set of total conviction and a passion for the game. “And you have to kind of be obsessed. It’s borderline crazy. Not everybody can do it. Most people can’t do it. You have to be obsessed with being the best player you can be. That means you’re going to put in a lot more work than the next guy. That means before practice, during practice, after practice. There’s really no offseason.” The Bucs can attest. Gonzalez has been a matchup nightmare for Tampa Bay, which has opted to use CB Ronde Barber, also a 15-year veteran, against him. Gonzalez, 35, and Barber, 36, share a mutual admiration. “We came in (to the league) together, so obviously we’ve had a chance to go against each other a lot,” Gonzalez said of Barber. “I respect him so much because, when you talk about perseverance and being able to stick around and play at such a level like he does for a long time, obviously I know firsthand how hard it is. “It’s not an easy thing to do. It has little to do with athletic ability. It has more to do with mind-set, and I really respect him for that. He’s always in the right place at the right time. You’re looking at the film and you say, ‘How did he make that play?’ It’s probably not even in their defensive package. But he saw something and hit the hole and made the play. It’s results, and this guy gets results. It’s a privilege to go against someone like him.” The Bucs have had mixed results against Gonzalez. He had just two catches for 18 yards in the first meeting this season. But he had an eight-catch, 72-yard performance last season and caught nine passes for 83 yards in a meeting in 2009. TRUEBLOOD OUT: Jeremy Trueblood‘s season is over, with the veteran right tackle ruled out for Sunday after a concussion. According to Bucs coach Raheem Morris, Trueblood will be replaced in the lineup by James Lee, a player who becomes a free agent in the offseason but gets a final chance to impress his current team. Lee has been slowed by injuries this season, one year after he replaced Trueblood down the stretch of a 10-6 season. The Bucs also might take a look at Demar Dotson at right tackle, Morris said. He has played extensively as a tight end in two-tight end, short-yardage situations, but he hasn’t played much as a tackle. injury updates: WR Arrelious Benn is questionable after not practicing this week because of a neck injury. DT Albert Haynesworth (knee) also missed practice and is questionable. He missed last week’s game at Carolina, as did DT Brian Price (ankle). Morris said Price was improving and had a chance to play after practicing Friday. Stephen F. Holder can be reached at sholder@tampabay.com or (813) 226-3377. View his blog at tampabay.com/blogs/bucs. Follow him on Twitter at @BucsBeat. Gotta run!. |
|
