Ask The Falcoholic!

If Julio Jones ends up being a once-in-a-generation receiver, it probably won’t seem like too much to give up for him. It was a lot, make no mistake, but the Falcons saw something in him.

It’s easy to see what it is that makes him special. He’s a huge athlete with terrific hands, and his route-running gets better by the week. He’s on pace to have the second most receptions ever for a rookie wide receiver, and he’s absolutely torched the Bucs and Seahawks in back-to-back weeks.

Was it too much? Probably. Do I really care at the moment, watching him wreak havoc? Nah.

How can he not? The only thing the Falcons can do is play aggressively, try to force some turnovers and get through the line to him. If they give him time and don’t punish him for the occasional errant throw, it’s all in the offense’s hands.

Optimistic, right?

Kelvin Hayden is a stabilizing force at nickel, and when he’s played he’s doing pretty well. Chris Owens is a much, much better fourth option than he is a nickel guy, though your weapons are pretty impressive all the way around. If the Falcons need to match up purely on athleticism, Dominique Franks is an option. It’s not enough to stop Rodgers, but it’s better than it was.

And yes, I know they imploded against the Seahawks. I blame that one on a complete lack of a pass rush.

Finley’s scary. The Falcons will cover him with their linebackers, which is a mismatch. Curtis Lofton has gotten noticeably better in coverage, however, and should at least challenge Finley a bit. Falcons may also cheat a safety up.

Which is a testament to how tough he is, considering the abuse he’s taken. I still don’t trust the line any farther than I can throw it.

Only national television. We also noticed him making a motion that looked suspiciously like grabbing a pair of boobs last weekend. That and his porn stache make him a fan favorite.

But the road versus home split isn’t as important as the team’s guiding philosophy. They’re absurdly conservative once they have a lead. If the Falcons were in a horror movie, they’d shoot the bad guy once and think that was the end of it.

Then they’d get their heads bashed in with an axe.

Still prone to the occasional mental mistake, but you can’t get away from him. As fast and athletic a linebacker as there is in the NFL.

I assume a lot of cussing was involved in the rallying.

I think he’s playing with pain. He talks about not using injuries as an excuse and that he has to get better, which tells me he’s still banged up.

Abraham has been doing pretty well, as he’s gotten 2 sacks and a forced fumble so far this year.

Edwards hasn’t registered a sack yet. He did, however, make a huge play against the Eagles (a 70-something yard fumble return that was a very pivotal play). Edwards also tipped a screen pass vs. the Seachickens, which nearly resulted in a pick 6 interception that would’ve iced the game.

Overall, though, our line hasn’t gotten enough pressure consistently. The interior d-line has been banged up so far, but appears to be close to 100% healthy going into week 5. So, I anticipate an improvement in pressure over the next few games.

You also asked about the run D. We’re ranked 10th in the league vs the run (in terms of yardage given up on the ground). Not bad, but I’m hopeful this will also improve as our D-line gets back to full strength.

(Just messin’, I know you’re not a troll. heh)

Well! Well…

Your mom.

I’ll happily admit I was wicked wrong about it, but I wasn’t a big believer in Ryan when he was drafted, having seen him play at BC.

I did think he was overhyped, I’ll admit.

You guys are the best team in the NFL, until its proven otherwise. Certainly showed the Falcons a thing or two about making adjustments.

we’ll only need to play 2 games before the Super Bowl.