Jake Saltzman
Outside the Redzone via Falcons Gab (from August 10th, 2012)
The good the Atlanta Falcons showed in last night’s preseason opener will not, on the whole, overshadow the bad. The Falcons’ 31-17 loss to the Baltimore Ravens will not be marked by Julio Jones’ 109 receiving yards. Matt Ryan’s 155 passing yards are not enough to sugar coat more than a quarter or so worth of preseason rust.
Even the capital “L” in the results column won’t deprive Mike Smith of sleep this weekend.
The 24 unanswered second half points Baltimore’s reserves were able to rack up against Atlanta’s lower tier defensive units, however, may do the trick.
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Atlanta Falcons
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Falcons' Julio Jones ready to start his assault on NFL record books
By Roosevelt Hall
Outside the Redzone via the Sport Mentalist
All the talk at the wide receiver position during this offseason has revolved around the comebacks being made by Randy Moss, Chad Johnson and Terrell Owens. While those are nice storylines, the wide receiver most people will be talking about as the season progresses will probably be the Atlanta Falcons Julio Jones.
We know that preseason games don’t matter, but an impressive showing like the one Jones had versus the Baltimore Ravens is hard to ignore.
He looked like a beast snatching balls out of the air on slant routes, he showed solid hands while plucking a ball out of the air in full stride along the right sideline but his best catch was an under-thrown ball that went behind his defender in the end zone.
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Outside the Redzone via the Sport Mentalist
All the talk at the wide receiver position during this offseason has revolved around the comebacks being made by Randy Moss, Chad Johnson and Terrell Owens. While those are nice storylines, the wide receiver most people will be talking about as the season progresses will probably be the Atlanta Falcons Julio Jones.
We know that preseason games don’t matter, but an impressive showing like the one Jones had versus the Baltimore Ravens is hard to ignore.
He looked like a beast snatching balls out of the air on slant routes, he showed solid hands while plucking a ball out of the air in full stride along the right sideline but his best catch was an under-thrown ball that went behind his defender in the end zone.
READ MORE...
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Mike Nolan Looking to Turn Falcons D Into One of the Best
By The AP via Falcons Gab
Atlanta coach Mike Smith is looking for new defensive coordinator Mike Nolan to help the Falcons increase their third-down stops.
In a 25-year NFL head coaching career that has included stops as a defensive coordinator with the Giants, Redskins, Jets, Ravens, Broncos and Dolphins, Nolan has built a reputation for scheming to apply pressure on opposing quarterbacks — and receivers — by making them have to guess.
Some of the Falcons’ defensive statistics were good last season. They ranked No. 6 in the league against the run while allowing 97 rushing yards per game, but getting off the field was a big problem at times. Atlanta allowed a third-down conversion rate of 44.1 percent, 29th in the NFL.
Nolan’s defense in Miami was No. 7 on third downs (33.8 percent allowed), arguably with weaker personnel than the Falcons have. Atlanta also was No. 30 in the NFL in third-down sack rate (6.02 percent, with 10 third-down sacks) while Miami was No. 2 (12.2 percent, with 21).
“Mike lives for third down,” Smith said. “He’s been one of the best third-down coaches in the 14 years that he’s been a coordinator. I think you’re going to see multiplicity in our defense. There will be some things that will run through the defense that we’ve done in the past, but there’s going to be more multiplicity in what we do.”
You can read the rest of the article here: Mike Nolan Looking to Turn Falcons D Into One of the Best
Atlanta coach Mike Smith is looking for new defensive coordinator Mike Nolan to help the Falcons increase their third-down stops.
In a 25-year NFL head coaching career that has included stops as a defensive coordinator with the Giants, Redskins, Jets, Ravens, Broncos and Dolphins, Nolan has built a reputation for scheming to apply pressure on opposing quarterbacks — and receivers — by making them have to guess.
Some of the Falcons’ defensive statistics were good last season. They ranked No. 6 in the league against the run while allowing 97 rushing yards per game, but getting off the field was a big problem at times. Atlanta allowed a third-down conversion rate of 44.1 percent, 29th in the NFL.
Nolan’s defense in Miami was No. 7 on third downs (33.8 percent allowed), arguably with weaker personnel than the Falcons have. Atlanta also was No. 30 in the NFL in third-down sack rate (6.02 percent, with 10 third-down sacks) while Miami was No. 2 (12.2 percent, with 21).
“Mike lives for third down,” Smith said. “He’s been one of the best third-down coaches in the 14 years that he’s been a coordinator. I think you’re going to see multiplicity in our defense. There will be some things that will run through the defense that we’ve done in the past, but there’s going to be more multiplicity in what we do.”
You can read the rest of the article here: Mike Nolan Looking to Turn Falcons D Into One of the Best
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