And then they gave up 31 points in the second half. I don’t think you get to absolve a team for playing a very good half of a game. That defense gave up 546 yards of offense. I feel pretty comfortable giving them at least some of the blame for the loss.
Because they were tired from the offensive coordinator having oatmeal for brains and not making the right decisions. They were on the field too long in the second half.
Also did you forget that they forced the Pats offense to kick a FG to keep the score at 28-12 instead of 28-17?
What else could the defense have done? They played a hell of a game
Matt Ryan is the current MVP of the league. If you’re afraid to put the ball in his hands in that situation, then your wasting your time. Hindsight, etc.
you don’t have him drop back 7 steps to pass on 3rd and 1 when your defense just stopped the Pats offense from scoring a TD and making the score 28-12
You do if your QB is league MVP, you have one of the best WR’s in the game, and you had the #1 offense in the league for the whole year. What you should do, though, is have your running back make the block that he’s supposed to.
If you run on 3rd and 1 and get stopped, guess what?
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The falcons don’t lose possession and force the pats to drive a longer distance
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Eats up more time and makes it harder for the pats to score
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Momentum is not shifted
I don’t care about a MVP and best offense it’s all about managing the lead and the game
There was 9:44 left, which is way too early to begin to run out the clock, especially against the Pats. The strength of the Falcons all year, was their offense, not their defense (which was shown last night too), and putting the ball in the hands of the league MVP is the right call there. You let your best players make a play and put the game away, you don’t downshift your offense because you’re too scared. It’s not Dan Quinn’s fault that Freeman missed the block.
I know its cool to use the power of hindsight to second guess a coach who took his team to the Super Bowl playing that way. But I think it’s just easy pickings.
If two of your best players are running backs, you DO put the ball in their hands. Similar to Pete Carroll’s bad call in Superb Owl 49, you should play to your strengths in situational football. If it had succeeded we wouldn’t be discussing it, but it didn’t succeed and now we’re picking it apart.
I thought the goal of any NFL offense is to keep the drive alive? So on 3rd and 1 with a 16 pt lead you run to get the first down and to move the chains and drain clock and to possibly go up 31-12 or 35-12
An article about just how good Matt Ryan has been on 3rd down this year.
“Over that stretch, Ryan has completed 55 of 67 passes on third downs — an 82.1 percent completion rate, best in the league for quarterbacks with at least 20 attempts and a full 12.4 points higher than second-best QB, Aaron Rodgers. Plus, he has thrown six touchdowns, zero picks, and compiled an NFL-best 134.3 passer rating. Ryan’s incredible precision on third down during those eight games has led to 40 Atlanta first downs through the air (tied for second most), and when the Falcons have thrown on third down, they’ve converted a league-best 52.6 percent of the time.”
Precisely. It’s only because Freeman didn’t block the rusher and the hindsight that makes it a discussion. It’s like playing poker, making the proper statistical call, but losing anyway. It was the wrong decision only because you lost.
It is hindsight, and I don’t entirely disagree with you here, but you’re still wrong 
I don’t have a big problem with them passing there, but the actual play called was manifestly terrible. It was a 7 step drop and Ryan was lining up for a huge bomb. Big mistake. You can keep the pressure on without chucking it 30 yards downfield on 3rd and 1. How about a quick slant or rub across the middle to their TE? The backs had been catching very well out of the backfield, why not that? In that situation, with that much time left, the worst case scenario is turnover, and they called a play that maximized the chance of a turnover.
Running out the clock doesn’t have to mean run play, run play, run play, but it does have to mean smart choices and being careful with the ball.
Sanu was running a quick out, Julio was running an 8 yard in, and Robinson was running what appears to be a corner. They had short routes included, and it appears only one was deep. The reason it didn’t work was that Freeman fucked up and didn’t protect Ryan’s blindside. The play, as drawn up and called, was fine. The execution by Freeman was the difference.
But the downside of getting sacked there precludes calling that play. A short drop, or a screen pass would have been fine, but the play call was simply a bad one. It was not good situational football. All playcalls are educated bets, but this one in particular was a bad choice. Not the worst choice, but the downside of it blowing up weren’t worth the upside of it working. This wasn’t the right statistical call.
Wow. Want to pick my lottery numbers for me? 
At very least, take that snap under center. I don’t have a huge issue with the 5-step drop, but don’t take a 5-step drop out of the shotgun on 3rd and 1.
Again, if Freeman does his job, it wouldn’t have been a bad call. I don’t think you can blame a coach when he doesn’t let the possibility of a player making a horrible play stop him from doing what has been successful all year. I linked to the article about just how good Ryan had been on 3rd down and how succesful the Falcons offense as a whole has been. I think way too many coaches take their foot of the pedal and try to avoid losing a game rather than playing to win the game. The Falcons were playing to win the game, and I don’t think it’s fair to fault them for that. Especially when they’ve been so successful all season.
Personally, I don’t disagree with your general point. However, regardless of any other factors, I’m philosophically opposed to lining up in shotgun on 3rd and 1. If ever there was a down and distance to line up under center, it’s 3rd and 1.
If I were calling the plays I’d probably call play action there. (Of course, my woeful Giants would invariably line up in shotgun there and run some stupid draw play for -2 yards. sigh)
It’s not clear to me from the replay who was running what routes, so I’ll take your word for it. What is clear is that Ryan is in the shotgun, he takes 4 steps back from there, and he is looking to throw deep the entire time. He doesn’t scan the field or check down that I can see. He’s locked in deep and winds up to throw deep. So my takeaway (ha!) from that is that the deep ball was called and everything else was a checkdown in case that was covered. I could be wrong, of course, but do you see it differently?
If I’m reading it right, then it’s simply a bad call. You’re right that Freeman missed the block - his bad for sure. But why risk it?
I agree with your general point: too many coaches get conservative trying to run the clock out. You’ve got a hot QB and excellent receivers. By all means, throw it, but be smart about the situation, too. There were many other passing options in that scenario. If Ryan were under center and went play action, they probably convert 99 times out of a hundred. Personally, as I said in the other thread, I think they got overconfident and went for the big splash and it bit them hard.
Their running game was a key part of their very successful season. Running on 3rd and 1 when you are inside field goal range is playing for the win. It’s part of what made them successful. It’s keeping your foot on the pedal. Getting a first down in that situation was more important than going for a big gain.
I will never watch a Falcons playoff game again with Matt ryan as QB and never watch a Pats playoff game again with Brady as QB