Week 3 Cowboys

[ATL96Steeler]

Two weeks, two wins.

Gotta say I didn't see that coming, but after having seen 2 games of the Dan Quinn era...with firing Mike Smith, the team seems to have flushed all of the bad game day calls, clock management, etc...the DEF is legit...they can stop the run...still need to see more consistent QB pressure, but this group is refreshing to watch.

OFC...Tamme is in better health now and you can see that he and Ryan are getting on the same page rather quickly...he knows when it's zone and man and knows exactly what to do. Julio is just a beast...I hope he gets thru this season in good health. I was an HD guy, but Hankerson is proving his worth.

Still strange that Roddy got zero targets last week...and not much has been said about in the media so maybe he's okay and the scheme dictated where the ball went. He hasn't complained (in the media)...so that's a good thing.

This game...no Romo, no Dez, probably no Whitten...on the Falcons...Tevin Coleman has a cracked rib, most likely out, but the DEF in DAL is better as well this year. Weeden is not starter material...he can throw it, but can't move well, and gets rattled...shut that run down and get after Weeden, I don't see how the Falcons can lose this one. Vegas thinks this is much closer, so maybe I'm missing something, but like

24-13 Falcons.

What say you?

 

[Demonjoe93]

I don't see why Dallas would win this game. As long as we stuff the running game, they'll have to lean on Weeden, who's not that great if I remember correctly.

 

[night]

Hankerson has been more impressive than I thought he would be. I figured Hardy would have had the slot position locked down by the end of camp.

With Romo and Bryant healthy I would have serious doubts about Atlanta's chances playing in Dallas but right now I think we have a decent chance to win. The Cowboys need to be able to run the ball at will along with Weeden not making too many mistakes to win. I doubt we completely stop the run and they will get some production in that area. Alford is going to need to step up his game when he is put up against Terrance Williams.

 

[Demonjoe93]

Game wasn't available where I live, but I did keep an eye on the stats. Here are my impressions:

• Another solid day for Matt Ryan despite the slow start.
• Julio Jones, once again, is a monster.
• Freeman had thirty carries. Holy shit, when was the last time a Falcons running back got that many carries? Turner's prime?
• The defense was obviously awful the first half, but in the end, got their shot together and shut them out in the second half.

You never want to see a team struggle against a team with a backup quarterback, but, hey, eleven point win on the road is hard not to be happy with. What makes me the happiest is the fact that, for the first time in a long time, it was our running game that got us back into it. Mike Smith would have just had Matt Ryan pass, pass, pass, while the Dallas defense would have known exactly what to do, and the score would have probably been 49-24 or some shit.

I knew Dan Quinn was going to make the defense presentable (sans the first half of this game), but my biggest concern going into this season was whether or not the running game would come back. I hope to see more games like this in the future.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Game wasn't available where I live, but I did keep an eye on the stats. Here are my impressions:

• Another solid day for Matt Ryan despite the slow start.
• Julio Jones, once again, is a monster.
• Freeman had thirty carries. Holy shit, when was the last time a Falcons running back got that many carries? Turner's prime?
• The defense was obviously awful the first half, but in the end, got their shot together and shut them out in the second half.

You never want to see a team struggle against a team with a backup quarterback, but, hey, eleven point win on the road is hard not to be happy with. What makes me the happiest is the fact that, for the first time in a long time, it was our running game that got us back into it. Mike Smith would have just had Matt Ryan pass, pass, pass, while the Dallas defense would have known exactly what to do, and the score would have probably been 49-24 or some shit.

I knew Dan Quinn was going to make the defense presentable (sans the first half of this game), but my biggest concern going into this season was whether or not the running game would come back. I hope to see more games like this in the future.

Strange start to the game...the best part of the Falcon team to this point had been run DEF and they were getting gouged...time after time the big OL boys were getting to the LB level or the LB were missing the tackles...Durant shot the gap more than once for a TFL on Randle and came up empty...after that initial drive and maybe one or two more big runs...by the 2Q the DL adjusted and started making a few plays in the back field, but they were down 14-0.

Matt was a little off early...throwing low on several open targets...but credit to Shanny...never gave in to the scoreboard and start heaving it on every play...Freeman was active early and he stayed with him even down 2 scores...DAL was playing S over the top on Julio the whole game but he still killed them...working underneath and moving him from side to side wide and slot. Not many of his catches were much longer than 10-12 yds...lot of RAC for JJ in this one.

Roddy imo is not totally healthy...blocked well on a couple of plays, he did get 2 targets, holding call negated one, but Hankerson is filling that void. Freeman is better out of the backfield than Coleman right now, but the 1-2 punch looks better than anticipated thru 3 games.

DEF got better pressure on Weeden in the 2nd half...Vic Beasely got tossed around on a few running plays early in the game to his side...got some redemption with a sack, and another play in the backfield.

Long way to go, but early on one can start to look at CAR as the main competition for the DIV.