TNF - Pats @ Falcons

[Catsfan69]

What we saw last night from the Pats should be the model for is going forward. 

Lots of runs and short passes and shut people down on D.

Good ole fashion football!!!!

[KatsAzz]

The Falcons showed last night they have obvious needs all over the roster, including at the position group the Falcons have invested a lot of draft capital in in recent years: the offensive line.

After years of neglecting the o-line in the draft, the Falcons  selected four blockers in the first three rounds over the last three years. 

Put another way, Atlanta has selected eight players on Days 1 and 2 since 2019. Half of them have been offensive linemen.

Former general manager Thomas Dimitroff tried so hard to fix the offensive line quickly that in 2019, the Falcons took two offensive linemen in the first round. Dimitroff traded Atlanta's 2019 second and third-round picks to acquire another first-round selection to choose Kaleb McGary. Before him, the Falcons drafted Chris Lindstrom at No. 14.

In 2020, Atlanta picked center Matt Hennessy in the third round. This past spring, new general manager Terry Fontenot added guard Jalen Mayfield to the mix in the third round.

Lindstrom, McGary, Hennessy and Mayfield make up four of the five starters up front for the Falcons. The unit hasn't worked out as the Atlanta front office hoped. 

That came to a point Thursday night when the Patriots recorded four sacks, 12 quarterback hits and six tackles for loss. It seemed like the New England front-seven spent a majority of the game in the Atlanta backfield.

Despite the draft capital spent on offensive linemen, the unit was a major question mark heading into the 2021 season. To see them struggle isn't surprising or new.

[BlitzMonster]

oh this was sweet to read:

"New England shut out the Atlanta Falcons 25-0, the first home shutout for the Falcons since 1988. 

source

Edited November 19, 2021 by BlitzMonster

[trueblade]

Against the Patriots, I don't understand why other teams don't crowd the line to stop the run, take away the short zones, and force Mac Jones and their questionable outside receivers to beat you.

[KatsAzz]

1 hour ago, BlitzMonster said:

oh this was sweet to read:

"New England shut out the Atlanta Falcons 25-0, the first home shutout for the Falcons since 1988. 

source

Belichick is a master at taking away one thing an offense does well. And he did on Thursday night, making Pitts a non-factor. Pitts had three catches for 29 yards. 

[Craig Cartner]

22 hours ago, 4Corners said:

Would love to see one of the ATL defenders go at pats QB knees 

[run-run-pass-punt]

16 hours ago, t96 said:

I agree on Brady, people feel justified calling him the GOAT and ignoring Belichick by him winning with a stacked Bucs team last year but to anyone looking at it objectively, Belichick is one of the greatest football minds of all time and can have success with his systems without all-time great QB play. I mean Brady has never in his career done things to carry his team like guys like Rodgers, Mahomes, Manning have. He fit Belichick's system perfectly and did exactly what Belichick said his entire career and had that success largely because of the consistent greatness he had around him. I've said it before and I still believe it -- you could put a guy like Tony Romo or Philip Rivers on those Pats teams under Belichick and they easily have nearly the same # of championships. Brady is great at what he does within those systems but he's never proven to elevate a bad team to contender like some others have done. Mac Jones could very have plenty of success under Belichick, doesn't make him a great QB. We really just need the cheater to retire soon.

Yep, right time, right place matter so much in life/success.

I'm not suggesting Brady isn't a very talented QB, but he landed in the perfect spot (in NE with BB), and last year he benefited from a team of mercenaries. He's always had outstanding and very fortunate surroundings.

I've always been in the BB>>TB camp. Look at the year without TB in '08. They won 11 games with Matt Cassel. (The following year they won 10 *with* Brady.)

[trueblade]

7 hours ago, KatsAzz said:

The Falcons showed last night they have obvious needs all over the roster, including at the position group the Falcons have invested a lot of draft capital in in recent years: the offensive line.

After years of neglecting the o-line in the draft, the Falcons  selected four blockers in the first three rounds over the last three years. 

Put another way, Atlanta has selected eight players on Days 1 and 2 since 2019. Half of them have been offensive linemen.

Former general manager Thomas Dimitroff tried so hard to fix the offensive line quickly that in 2019, the Falcons took two offensive linemen in the first round. Dimitroff traded Atlanta's 2019 second and third-round picks to acquire another first-round selection to choose Kaleb McGary. Before him, the Falcons drafted Chris Lindstrom at No. 14.

In 2020, Atlanta picked center Matt Hennessy in the third round. This past spring, new general manager Terry Fontenot added guard Jalen Mayfield to the mix in the third round.

Lindstrom, McGary, Hennessy and Mayfield make up four of the five starters up front for the Falcons. The unit hasn't worked out as the Atlanta front office hoped. 

That came to a point Thursday night when the Patriots recorded four sacks, 12 quarterback hits and six tackles for loss. It seemed like the New England front-seven spent a majority of the game in the Atlanta backfield.

Despite the draft capital spent on offensive linemen, the unit was a major question mark heading into the 2021 season. To see them struggle isn't surprising or new.

This shows that just throwing draft picks at the line doesn't guarantee it will be better. We need to spend some picks on the line, but we gotta pick the right guys.