Tag Archives: Falcons

Pregame: What Might Have Been

By John Manasso | Published: January 3, 2010
Today on this last day of the regular season, I’m wondering about what might have been. Looking at the standings as the day begins, it looks like if the Falcons beat Tampa Bay to finish 9-7 then they won’t have missed the playoffs by much. A 10-6 record will have been necessary at a minimum – potentially [...]
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Pregame: The Playoff Race

By John Manasso | Published: November 29, 2009
With all of the hand-wringing over the Falcons’ losing four of the last five games — and, frankly, there is nothing good about that performance other than that brutal part of the schedule is now complete — it’s time to take a look at where the Falcons stand in the NFC Wild Card playoff race [...]
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Turner Returns to Practice

By John Manasso | Published: November 25, 2009
Ten days after spraining his ankle, an injury that kept him out of last Sunday’s 34-31 overtime loss to the New York Giants, Falcons’ leading rusher Michael Turner returned to practice on Wednesday. Head Coach Mike Smith said that Turner was limited in his participation. “He took some reps and hopefully we’ll get a good read on [...]
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OT: Falcons Lose a Tough One

By John Manasso | Published: November 22, 2009
Remember the often observed statement that the Falcons might be better this season than they were in 2008 but they might finish with a worse record? That’s the thought that sticks in my mind after today’s 34-31 overtime loss to the New York Giants that dashed a game rally. The NFL overtime procedure is capricious. The Giants [...]
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End of Regulation: Falcons Show Character

By John Manasso | Published: November 22, 2009
Regardless of what happens in overtime, this game will be a character builder for the Falcons — even if it is true, as they say, that there are no moral victories in the NFL. Down by 14 points in the second half, the Falcons rallied with a virtually flawless offensive performance in the second half [...]
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Pregame: Bonding Over Football

By John Manasso | Published: November 22, 2009
I imagine that at some pivotal point in the game today my phone will ring. I have told my father before not to call me during Falcons’ games because I blog during them and that means watching every play closely on television, keeping track of statistics online, listening to the commentators, analyzing trends, trying to write [...]
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Three and Out: Washington by the Numbers

By John Manasso | Published: November 5, 2009
For all of the criticism that the 2-5 Redskins have taken this season, a look at some statistics might indicate a closer comparison to the Falcons than one would originally think. First Down The Redskins rank 28th in scoring at 13.7 points per game, but you’d never guess which team’s quarterback has the higher rating and has [...]
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Final: A Tough Loss To Swallow

By John Manasso | Published: November 3, 2009
This 35-27 loss is going to be the toughest of the season for the Falcons to swallow and for a variety of reasons. For one, it was within reach and instead of scoring a big road upset against an NFC South rival that they trailed for the division lead, the Falcons (4-3) let it slip [...]
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Third Quarter: Hanging Tough

By John Manasso | Published: November 3, 2009
The Falcons are hanging in there. If they can pull off this upset, it would be a major achievement. The defense forced the Saints to go without any points  — a huge accomplishment in light of the Saints’ 288 yards offense in the first half. In fact, it was only the third time this season [...]
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First Quarter: Falcons Making Big Plays

By John Manasso | Published: November 2, 2009
Wow, how’s that for some scheming? For all of those who question the Falcons’ personnel in the secondary, the Falcons coaches do a great job of finding ways to give up a lot of yards (they rank 25th in the NFL) but not a lot of points (they rank eighth) and to hide whatever weakness [...]
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