The Agony of Defeat

I think most Falcons fans penciled in the New England game in Week Three as a loss for the Falcons before any games were played. In those first two games the Falcons looked solid and the Patriots looked rough so confidence swayed higher going into Sunday’s game to the point that most thought the Falcons had a 50/50 chance. The first half of the game on Sunday did nothing to sway confidence as the Falcons were in the game from the start to the finish of the first half but both teams left points on the board. In the second half the Patriots won this game on both lines of scrimmage. Their OL won the battle against our DL (I think that one OL is still holding John Abraham, but hey if they don’t call it it’s not holding) and their DL outplayed our OL. That was ultimately the key to the game. The Patriots also out schemed the Falcons with their defense and really took away Tony Gonzalez, Michael Turner and Roddy White. The Patriots were ripe for the picking today because Brady and his receivers just seemed to be off a bit. But the ball just didn’t bounce the right way for the Falcons- Michael Turner fumbled in a key spot, Thomas Decoud missed two interceptions- one easy and one that would have been a little tougher and Mike Jenkins got called for offensive pass interference that called back a TD. Those 2-3 turnovers and the called back touchdown combined with New England taking the line of scrimmage in the 2nd half and our defense not being able to get off the field were the stories of the day. It was a winnable game today but losing to the Patriots was something we thought was going to happen coming into the season so it doesn’t sting as bad. The Falcons go into their bye week at 2-1 with lots of things to work on. I kind of like going into the bye week on a loss (if we have to lose) as it will make the team and the coaches work that much harder the next two weeks to make sure that we win our next one. Hopefully Dimetroff will look elsewhere for some DL help cause not having Peria Jerry really hurt on Sunday.