Super Bowl LI: The Atlanta perspective

[Conigliaro's Potential]

Hey, congratulations guys - what a comeback. (I want to cry, obviously...particularly given that I stayed up until 3:30 a.m. for this and need to leave for the airport in just over 3 hours.)

So, once you guys eventually calm down, here's the question: where does Atlanta rank on the list of cursed sports cities now? Because it's got to be pretty high right about now.

 

[TSC]

They played a great half.

And then the choked.

 

[sodenj5]

Matt Ryan took a sack when all he literally needed to do was not take a sack to win the Super Bowl. Sack. Holding. Punt.

 

[teddykgb]

Matt Ryan took a sack when all he literally needed to do was not take a sack to win the Super Bowl. Sack. Holding. Punt.

He shouldn't have been passing. They had to run twice up the middle to win. I have no idea what they were doing.

 

[sodenj5]

Julio Jones made a superhuman play that should have won the Super Bowl. I can understand the defense giving out. They were on the field for what seemed like the whole game. They just made so many boneheaded decisions throughout that game.

 

[dcmissle]

It matters having been there before. It matters a lot.

Atlanta had a great season. Game is 60 minutes.

 

[The Needler]

sorry, wrong thread.

 

[DeadlySplitter]

Chickens came home to roost on your defense in the end.

You got a pick 6 and still didn't score over 30 - is that an all-time offensive performance...?

More later

 

[luckiestman]

Lombardi kept talking about Seattles d line getting tired 2 years ago and that looks like exactly what happened to Atlanta.

Horrible loss but a great season.

 

[DennyDoyle'sBoil]

Hang in there Conigliaro. Great team. Great year. I will root for them going forward.

 

[Oppo]

This team can either crumble and point fingers or come together with their young talented core and be contenders for several years.

I'll root for them in non pats games.

 

[EricFeczko]

I thought Atlanta was underrated going into this game. I think the way they played confirmed it for me (very BB-like in terms of demeanor). The patriots played some of their best football in the 4th quarter that I've seen in awhile.
If Quinn stays in control, I can see the falcons becoming long-term contenders.

 

[sodenj5]

That's the other thing that's so moronic about Shannahan continuing to run up tempo and pass heavy in the fourth. The D was clearly gassed and needed a break. Run the ball. Grind the clock. Rest your D.

 

[jcaz]

Julio Jones is really other worldly. He makes catches that other guys don't get near. I genuinely feel for the Falcons, but sometimes you have to be there a couple of times before you're ready to seal the deal. I'll root for them going forward.

 

[jsinger121]

This team can either crumble and point fingers or come together with their young talented core and be contenders for several years.

I'll root for them in non pats games.

This. Losing Shanahan will hurt but this loss is a punch in the gut.

 

[Ferm Sheller]

That's the other thing that's so moronic about Shannahan continuing to run up tempo and pass heavy in the fourth. The D was clearly gassed and needed a break. Run the ball. Grind the clock. Rest your D.

Stop dwelling on losers and soak it all in. Can you imagine being a fan of any other team?

 

[DeadlySplitter]

Freeman was completely unprepared on the Hightower strip sack. All-time play by DH but Freeman deserves a goat

 

[HowBoutDemSox]

Falcons are a talented, classy, well run, professional team. Not what you want to hear after a loss but wonderful season and if they can keep it going after Shanahan leaves, no reason they can't run it back next year.

 

[bankshot1]

condolences

it sucks being on the wrong side of historic losses

 

[Gunfighter 09]

Lombardi kept talking about Seattles d line getting tired 2 years ago and that looks like exactly what happened to Atlanta.

Horrible loss but a great season.

That's not what happened to Seattle and I dont think that is what Lombardi pointed to as to how they beat Seattle. Cliff Avril and Jeremy Lane got injured and their back ups were totally ineffective. With both Avril and Bennet in the 2014 game, the Pats offense couldn't do much. Lombardi noted that when Avril got hurt the Hawks moved Bennett outside and all of a sudden there was no more pressure in Brady's face.

As for Atlanta, passing on 2-9 from the 23 up 8 points with 3:30 left is what people are going to remember, but what has to really hurt is the two dropped interceptions that would have saved them. The first was on the Edelman play, the second was Beasley failing to complete the play in overtime on the second to last play of the game. That was a bit of foolishness from McDaniels and Belichick which would have been an all timer if Vic Beasley could have made the play.

 

[Lose Remerswaal]

Rooting for a rematch, myself. Atl is a great team and no one can dislike Matty Ryan.

 

[Tony C]

That's the other thing that's so moronic about Shannahan continuing to run up tempo and pass heavy in the fourth. The D was clearly gassed and needed a break. Run the ball. Grind the clock. Rest your D.

Of course, you're right. But the instinct to stay aggressive -- I can't criticize that.

Falcons are a talented, classy, well run, professional team. Not what you want to hear after a loss but wonderful season and if they can keep it going after Shanahan leaves, no reason they can't run it back next year.

That's what I cam e here to say, too. If the Pats had lost, would have been glad it was to a classy team like the Falcons.

 

[kenneycb]

Did the Pats bring a lot more pressure in the second half? Seemed like they kept bringing 5+ and Ryan kept getting jittery in the pocket.

 

[Bob Montgomerys Helmet Hat]

Did the Pats bring a lot more pressure in the second half? Seemed like they kept bringing 5+ and Ryan kept getting jittery in the pocket.

Hightower seemed to be blitzing a lot

 

[Quiddity]

That's not what happened to Seattle and I dont think that is what Lombardi pointed to as to how they beat Seattle. Cliff Avril and Jeremy Lane got injured and their back ups were totally ineffective. With both Avril and Bennet in the 2014 game, the Pats offense couldn't do much. Lombardi noted that when Avril got hurt the Hawks moved Bennett outside and all of a sudden there was no more pressure in Brady's face.

As for Atlanta, passing on 2-9 from the 23 up 8 points with 3:30 left is what people are going to remember, but what has to really hurt is the two dropped interceptions that would have saved them. The first was on the Edelman play, the second was Beasley failing to complete the play in overtime on the second to last play of the game. That was a bit of foolishness from McDaniels and Belichick which would have been an all timer if Vic Beasley could have made the play.

Was that latter one nullified by the pass interference though? Or am I mixing up plays?

 

[kenneycb]

edit: wrong thread

 

[Stitch01]

Lombardi kept talking about Seattles d line getting tired 2 years ago and that looks like exactly what happened to Atlanta.

Horrible loss but a great season.

Happens a lot in modern Super Bowls and the Falcons were on the field a ton the way in played out.

 

[Gunfighter 09]

Was that latter one nullified by the pass interference though? Or am I mixing up plays?

No, second to last play of the game. Throwing a fade to Bennett on 1st & goal from the 2 seemed silly to me and it felt like that ball was in the air for about 30 seconds. It is a weird world right now if Beasley makes that play.

Of course, this is probably worse than the 2nd down play with 3:30 left:

A yard and half to go, up 16 with less than 9 minutes left in the game and they are in shotgun with a single back. Not a good call.


I also think that running on 3-20 from the 35 with 3:30 left was probably a better call than throwing the ball. They really only needed 5 yards to be reasonably certainly that Bryant would clinch the game, and running the ball would have taken a time out (or 40 seconds) from the Pats.

 

[singaporesoxfan]

Matt Ryan took a sack when all he literally needed to do was not take a sack to win the Super Bowl. Sack. Holding. Punt.

Ryan's worst quality - and it came back to bite the Falcons - was his inability to throw the ball away instead of taking a sack.

 

[Stitch01]

The fade was, um, not what I'd call an ideal play call but that wasn't really a dropped interception.

 

[dcmissle]

Happens a lot in modern Super Bowls and the Falcons were on the field a ton the way in played out.

Rope-a-dope.

More seriously, you can't take that FG for granted. But you also can't lose the opportunity.

Coaching these games is like grandmaster chess - - one mistake and your screwed.

 

[E5 Yaz]

The Atlanta Falcons will never live down the worst choke job in NFL history.

There's really no other way to view their inability to hold a 25-point third-quarter lead on the way to a 34-28 overtime loss in Super Bowl LI. While the world rushes to recalibrate the New England Patriots in the annals of sports history, and rightly so, it should not lose sight of how unprecedented it was for a Super Bowl team to cough up such a big lead.

The Patriots more than doubled the previous record for a Super Bowl comeback (10 points). Overall, their victory after trailing by 25 points was the third-largest in NFL postseason history. Consider this: Since 2001, 394 teams have trailed by at least 25 points in the first three quarters of a game. Those teams, including the Patriots, are now 3-391, per ESPN Stats & Information.

http://www.espn.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/230700/falcons-produce-a-choke-job-for-the-ages-in-super-bowl-li

 

[E5 Yaz]

Fox Sports Radio hinting that Falcons were testy with each other after the game

 

[Manzivino]

The Falcons offense is legit and isn't losing anyone. Couple of draft pick hits on D and they're poised for a 2-3 year window of dominance. Classy organization, can't hate them, hope they can get over the hump against a non-Pats team.

 

[DennyDoyle'sBoil]

How much did the Coleman injury dictate some of the playcalling?

Is he their short down back more than Freeman?

 

[E5 Yaz]

Fox Sports Radio hinting that Falcons were testy with each other after the game

This turned out to be Freeman and Shanahan disagreeing on the blocking scheme on the Hightower strip sack

 

[amarshal2]

There have been a lot of games where, I'll be honest, I've enjoyed the pain of the losing team almost as much as the joy of the winning team (Seahawks and the NYY come to mind) but this isn't one of those games. Any other AFC opponent and I was rooting for Falcons. They have a super talented team in great position to improve. I don't think this is the end of the road -- I'm expecting more.

 

[E5 Yaz]

There have been a lot of games where, I'll be honest, I've enjoyed the pain of the losing team almost as much as the joy of the winning team (Seahawks and the NYY come to mind) but this isn't one of those games. Any other AFC opponent and I was rooting for Falcons. They have a super talented team in great position to improve. I don't think this is the end of the road -- I'm expecting more.

I agree, and the Atlanta fan(s) here have been great. But that's the type of loss that could haunt them for a long time

 

[DennyDoyle'sBoil]

There have been a lot of games where, I'll be honest, I've enjoyed the pain of the losing team almost as much as the joy of the winning team (Seahawks and the NYY come to mind) but this isn't one of those games. Any other AFC opponent and I was rooting for Falcons. They have a super talented team in great position to improve. I don't think this is the end of the road -- I'm expecting more.

They were so good for so much of the game. Easily the most likeable team I can remember the Pats ever playing against in the playoffs.

So many close plays that went against them.

 

[Soxfan in Fla]

If it wasn't the Pats doing this to them I'd actually feel bad for them.

 

[Saints Rest]

I can feel the Falcons' fans' pain, but will the curse of the SB loser continue? Losing Shanahan, plus Freeman's gripes about salary, plus any post-choke job hangover, certainly makes me expect a step backward next year.

And as many others have said, this is a very likable team, so I am not wishcasting.

 

[Tony C]

They were so good for so much of the game. Easily the most likeable team I can remember the Pats ever playing against in the playoffs.

So many close plays that went against them.

'

Add in Quinn cracking up at the "Sisterhood" line and, yes, tough to dislike. Even their owner is supposed to be a decent guy.

 

[speedracer]

Got nothing but good things to say about Atlanta fans, but eff Devonta Freeman and Robert Alford for celebrating before they were entering the end zone.

 

[BigSoxFan]

There was definitely some Deshaun Foster in Devonta Freeman tonight.

 

[esfr]

Karma came calling on Davonte Freeman when he didn't even see Hightower run past him for a game-changing sack-fumble

 

[nothumb]

Got nothing but good things to say about Atlanta fans, but eff Devonta Freeman and Robert Alford for celebrating before they were entering the end zone.

I have no interest in mining these miniature slights, especially after a win. God forbid guys have a little fun in the Super Bowl.

 

[brandonchristensen]

Really tough loss.

Will be dissected for months.

Quinn is a generally great coach and I look forward to watching what he does with that team.

 

[Conigliaro's Potential]

With regard to Atlanta's playcalling in the fourth quarter, the Falcons have played a lot of fourth quarters with big leads this season and been criticized for vanilla playcalling that has let their opponents back into games in which they should have been dead and buried. So today, with the Patriots defense clearly starting to dominate the line of scrimmage, they tried to play their normal offense and got badly burned. (Not having Coleman - the bigger, short-yardage back - available didn't help.) If they had done line plunges on second and third down on their final possession with the lead, every Falcons fan would have been thinking "Gary Anderson" as Bryant came out for the would-be clinching kick. So I think the decision-making was excusable.

(I did also warn that Quinn's clock management naivete was a potential Achilles heel for the Falcons, and we just saw that to some extent - e.g., clocking the ball on second down right at the end of the game was poor, as was not calling one or more defensive timeouts in overtime to try and slow the Patriots down and give their defense more time to rest.)

As for what this means to me as an Atlanta fan - particularly an Atlanta fan who was studying abroad in 1995-96 and never felt the Braves World Series win was my own - there's a real chance that this will fundamentally alter my relationship with sports forever. I'm sure Red Sox fans felt this way after 1986...but then, the Celtics had just crushed the Rockets in the NBA Finals a few months earlier, right? This just feels horrendous: the Braves are years away from relevance, the Hawks are violently stuck in the middle, and the NFL is too random to take anything for granted. (And the Flames and Thrashers are both in west-central Canada.) I don't begrudge any of you your joy after what just happened. But my disappointment is so crushing - too crushing to get to sleep, so I'm now in the middle of the worst all-nighter ever - that I really do wonder why I should bother with this whole sports malarkey. Surely no hypothetical, by-no-means-assured future joy can be worth this.

 

[bowiac]

The Falcons offense is legit and isn't losing anyone. Couple of draft pick hits on D and they're poised for a 2-3 year window of dominance. Classy organization, can't hate them, hope they can get over the hump against a non-Pats team.

Well, other than their offensive coordinator. Can see them flopping around for a bit if someone new comes in and tries to put their own stamp on things for no reason.

But yes, if they're gonna lose a Super Bowl, Atlanta is a pretty good team to lose one to. Generally a likable team.

 

[DeadlySplitter]

small thing but the challenge on the Edelman catch... it was the last chance in the game to throw the challenge flag, but it cost Atlanta their final timeout, and any shot at driving for a winning FG at the end of regulation as it turned out. The replay also clearly showed the call would be upheld. I guess we rushed to the line and made Atlanta panic a bit, but another mistake here.

I think in the long run on this game... the defense finally cracked after spending an eternity on the field. Atlanta had to or should have known Tom Brady might start carving them and they may have needed one more scoring drive to close us out. So in a two-score game, even with 2 pointers required (and we had great play calls on both), you can't be making the mistakes they did like the strip sack and the series after Julio's catch. They weren't many mistakes by Atlanta in this collapse, but they were brutal ones.