Bleacher Report - Articles by Gerald Laskowski

Falcons Preseason: Building The Perfect Beast

Gerald Laskowski — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 15:13:06 -0400

"Go see the coach and bring your playbook" —The Turk

As cuts loom for the 2009 Atlanta Falcons there are still many questions to be answered this preseason.

As the Turk prepares to stalk his prey in the Flowery Branch locker room, the coaches and staff still have two games to narrow the field and finish building a team that is expected to surpass last season's success.

While most of the starting positions are already set in stone, there are a few key battles going on that will come down to the wire, most of which you can find on the defense.

The Falcons offense for 2009 will return all its starters intact and has added future Hall of Fame Tight End Tony Gonzalez to Matt Ryan's arsenal of weapons. Expect Michael Turner to continue bashing through defensive lines and Roddy White stretching the field during the 2009 campaign.

With the exception of third string QB D.J. Shockley possibly playing himself out of a job last week, and a battle for depth at the WR position, the Falcons offense is aligned for a record setting season.

Defensively the Falcons are still trying to fill the holes left by the loss of five starters from last season. Some might believe that losing those five was a good thing but unless a team picks up several solid starters in free agency, that gap is going to be hard to close.

Losses: OLB's Keith Brooking and Michael Boley

Replacements: Mike Peterson, Stephen Nicholas

Peterson comes over from Jacksonville where he served under coach Smith. While not a spring chicken(33 years old), Peterson is an over-achiever who will step right in and lead by example at the OLB spot.

Peterson was the Falcons only free agent acquisition used to fill one of five starting spots.

Nicholas comes in with two years' experience, is strong, hungry, and has shown flashes of brilliance during his time on the field. But he has never had an NFL start.

He has shown enough during preseason to earn the starting spot but still remains a question mark until he performs under real game conditions.

Loss: DT Grady Jackson.

Replacement: Peria Jerry

The loss of Jackson leaves some big shoes to fill, and pants and shirt to boot! Despite being a rookie, Jerry will fill the spot nicely and be a disruptive force in the middle for years to come. While not a seasoned free agent acquisition he was deserving of his first round draft pick position (24).

Losses: Safety Lawyer Milloy and CB Dominique Foxworth

Replacements: ???

The Falcon secondary is a mystery and these last two preseason games will hopefully yield some solid answers. Competition at both CB and safety is still ongoing with at least one spot at each position still not set in stone.

CB Chris Houston (who just returned to practice this week after a hamstring injury) has sewn up one starting spot but Brent Grimes, Von Hutchins, and Chevis Jackson are all returning vets vying for that other starting slot.

Mix in rookie Chris Owens and the clash for No. 2 CB has become an exciting match up to watch this preseason. Rookie William Middleton is also in the fray but has yet to show he is a worthy competitor for that No. 1 spot.

The safety spot is also a work in progress. Erik Coleman has his spot nailed down but Thomas DeCoud, Eric Brock, Jamaal Fudge, and rookie William Moore are all lobbying on the field to win that last starter spot.

Even CB Von Hutchins has been given some snaps which makes the competition even deeper. Moore has showed some promise but arthroscopic surgery on his knee has him just back at practice as of today.

Lastly, what I feel is the most exciting defensive position to keep an eye on this preseason is defensive end. While John "The Predator" Abraham will continue to give offensive line coaches nightmares, his bookend is another story.

Jamaal Anderson comes into his third season with still more questions than answers.

Breathing down his neck are Chauncy Davis, Kroy Biermann and rookie Lawrence Sidbury. The fight for who starts opposite Abraham is the one I find most interesting and is the one to watch in the remaining two games.

Anderson is being pushed and pushed hard. Biermann has an unrelenting motor despite being a bit light for the position. Davis has the size, speed, and drive to make a real push for the position.

Sidbury, despite being a rookie has shown that he can compete with the big boys and promises to develop into something special.

Expect all the DE's to see significant playing time as Abraham is rotated out to keep him fresh. But who will step up and earn the other starting spot is the one position battle you don't want to miss.

Many of these positions will still be up for grabs come next week as the team prepares for game four. This week we will see the starters in until the third quarter, leaving the final competition for these spots coming down to the wire.

While preseason games are technically meaningless, the competition for starting spots has made this year's games a must watch for die hard Falcon fans.

The Turk is ready. He has his clipboard, his pen, and knows all the hiding places at Falcons HQ. The only thing missing are the names that go on that clipboard.

Once his job is done, I am confident that Dimitroff, Smith, and the rest of the Falcons staff will have compiled the best players, will have built that "Perfect Beast" and will direct this team deep into the playoffs.

Will the Real Atlanta Falcons Please Stand Up?

Gerald Laskowski — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 14:36:18 -0500

Yes, I'm dating myself by quoting a famous line from a very ancient game-show, but such a line is fitting when examining the 2008 Atlanta Falcons. This team was projected by anyone who's thrown a Nerf football to fail miserably this season. Last seasons rancid display was expected to seep into this season, with the only difference being two new but inexperienced captains in GM Thomas Dimitroff and head coach Mike Smith.

Yet, the ghosts of tortured dogs and sounds of pig calls have been put to rest. This team jumped out of the gate hot and have been the "feel good" story of the NFL since week one.

Matt "don't call him rookie" Ryan has lead this team to more than double last seasons win total and has the Birds on the cusp of a winning season and possibly the playoffs. Rookies Sam Baker, Harry Douglas, and Curtis Lofton have also matured fast enough to be real assets to the team. Seasoned veterans like John Abraham and Lawyer Milloy continue to lead and prosper behind the Coach Smith's mentoring. Add Roddy White and Michael Turner into the mix and you have all the ingredients for the Falcons' sudden resurrection.

Despite all the media attention and fan fervor over the Falcons, they seem to be suffering from an identity crisis. Is this team really a playoff team or just pretenders who make things exciting, but all for naught?

Each week fans have to wonder which team will show up. Will it be the team that held LaDanian Tomlinson to 24 rushing yards and blanked the Raiders in their own house, or the team that gave up a mile of rushing yards to New Orleans and choked against Denver?

Will Michael Turner bust out for another 200 yards or be held to minuscule gains, while being tackled behind the line of scrimmage? Can John Abraham record another three sack game or will he be neutralized all day by triple teams?

Yes, the Falcons are a feel good story and it feels good to be a Falcon fan, but what we all saw happen in New Orleans gives even a life-long Falcon fan reason to wring their hands.

Yesterday's loss was a combination of things. Special teams allowed some lengthy returns, the pass rush was non-existent, and the lack of take-aways all contributed to a costly loss. More obvious to me was how flat the Falcons played. Were they looking past the Saints to this weeks game vs. division leading Tampa?

Whatever reagents combined into the formula for failure, one thing is abundantly clear; The Falcons need to spend the offseason acquiring the personnel which will stabilize this team and bring consistency to the forefront.

So far, most of the Falcons' naysayers have spent the season eating crow. An even bigger accomplishment would be for the team to continue to serve up those meals season after season. One more win and the Falcons are on the path to breaking one of the NFL's most miserable records: no back-to-back winning seasons, and with the right moves this team can toss that monkey off their backs.

The Falcons are young, inexperienced, and raw. They are on the right path and with a few adjustments, and another great draft, the real Falcons will not only stand up, but stand atop the NFL.

Roger Goodell's Rejects Strike Again, As Eagles Beat Falcons, 27-14

Gerald Laskowski — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 00:31:26 -0400

As Commish of the NFL, Roger Goodell is responsible for a great many things. One of the most important is the oversight of the league's officiating. Sure, there is a committee of Senior NFL Officials that review games and make recommendations to Goddell, but ultimately, the responsibility of fielding competent officiating crews is his.

Today brought about another blunder by his glaucoma-ridden zebras, which quite possibly cost the Atlanta Falcons the game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Today's ghastly error was not a first for this NFL season. NFL Referee Ed Hochuli has been under fire for several blown calls by his crew this season. His calls during the San Diego-Denver game were bad enough to merit the lowering of his officiating grade by the NFL. Hochuli's missed calls even brought on the wrath of Jerry Jones, resulting in a fine for Jones. Seems that the officials can continue to change the outcomes of games but no one can call them on it.

This time, it was the officiating crew led by Referee Jerome Boger.

The first of today's gaffes was a call against the Eagles when Philly's Trent Cole hit Matt Ryan just as the Falcons QB was releasing the ball. The officials called a personal foul on Cole for what was clearly a clean hit that was nowhere near being late. Yet the Eagles were penalized the 15 yards.

The big blunder, which cost the Falcons a chance at winning the game, came with 2:28 left in the game. The Falcons had just stopped the Eagles and were preparing to receive the punt from the Philly 26 yard line. The Falcons were down 20-14 and bracing for yet another comeback drive engineered by rookie sensation Matt Ryan. Yet the drive which would ultimately decide the outcome of this game was never to be seen.

The Falcons, up to this point, had been struggling. Starting off by controlling the line of scrimmage on defense, the Falcons held the Eagles scoreless through most of the first half. As the half waned, the Eagles and Donavan McNabb warmed up and led the Falcons at the break 10-7.

The second half was all Eagles, and McNabb diced the Falcons secondary for acres of yards (19 of 34 for 253), and Brian Westbrook bowled linebackers over with a sustained rushing attack (22 for 167).

The Falcons weren't doing much to help themselves either. Dropped passes and the incredibly silly decision to throw a fade pass on 2nd-and-goal from the three-yard line all contributed to the Falcons' nightmare. Ryan's pass from the three was intercepted and negated a huge scoring opportunity for the Falcons.

Yet despite the lack of a rushing game, the drops, and poor playcalling, the Falcons had clawed their way back to within a touchdown of winning the game. Ryan sat poised, ready to lead his team onto the field to try and pull a rabbit out of the hat and win the game with his last-minute heroics, as demonstrated two weeks ago against Chicago.

That was never to happen. Philly's Sav Rocca launched his punt skyward, and as it came down, the Falcons' Adam Jennings made a poor decision. Jennings ran to the ball as it came down, appearing as if he was going to catch it and try to make a play.

As the Philly defenders closed, Jennings pulled up and the ball hit the ground just before his feet and bounced straight upward. Somehow, the officials believed the ball hit Jennings somewhere on his body, which meant it was a live ball, free for anyone to recover.

Philly's Akeem Jordan grabbed the ball and dashed for the end zone while whistles pierced through the screams of thousands of Eagles fans.

Surely the officials were calling the ball dead right? Wrong. The call on the field was that the catch was "muffed" and while the ball cannot be advanced by the kicking team, it was Philadelphia's ball, thus ending Atlanta's attempted comeback drive.

Coach Mike Smith stormed onto the field, red flag in hand, but the Falcons had no timeouts left with which to challenge the call. Replay after replay on the Fox Network showed time and time again from every conceivable angle that the ball did not touch Jennings in any way, shape, or form.

Yet another game decided by the Zebras instead of the players.

After the dust settled, the Falcons defense caved and Philly ended up with the 27-14 win.

I'm not taking anything away from the Eagles. They played a solid and strong game. They ran the ball with authority and made some big plays when needed. The Falcons' Adam Jennings should have been three time zones away from the ball if he wasn't going to return it, and his indecision contributed so much to this mess that his legacy in Atlanta will be his allowing the officials to decide today's game. Jennings is averaging six yards per return and today's mistake might be his last in a Falcons uniform.

So, what happens next? The NFL will review the game, and Bogers rating will probably be lowered like Hochuli's. So basically nothing happens. The Falcons can't get that drive back, and the game becomes cemented in the record books.

Goodell has done some very positive things in the league during his short tenure with the NFL, but unless he does something to fix the horrific calls by his officiating crews, the NFL will never escape from the acronym, Not Fair League.

Don't Call Him Rookie: A Profile Of Matt Ryan

Gerald Laskowski — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 08:10:24 -0400

"He's so far beyond his age, it's unbelievable...nobody even calls him Rook around here."--Chris Redman as quoted in Sports Illustrated.

With the third pick in the 2008 NFL Draft the Atlanta Falcons, under new GM Thomas Dimitrioff, selected Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan.

Ryan was expected to be the spark that fired up the Falcons offense in the years to come. It only took six weeks for Ryan to turn that spark into a full fledged bonfire.

Ryan was considered the best QB in the college ranks but this years crop of QB's were considered far weaker than most other years. Pundits all over the tube argued about his credentials and his touchdown to interception ratio (31/19) and whether he was worthy of being such a high draft choice in a draft with so many great peripheral players.

Falcon fans were torn. The former starter for the Birds left in handcuffs and he still had a very strong following in Atlanta. Replacing him would be a difficult if not painful for a large percentage of the fanbase. The Falcons other choice was to go after Glenn Dorsey, secure the defensive line for years, and select a QB later in the draft. Players like Flacco and Brohm being most commonly coveted.

Yet Dimitroff, a self proclaimed "QB snob", went after Ryan and his "it" factor.

The "it" factor. I've heard that word countless times when someone described Ryan. What exactly is "it"? How does it differ from the "wow" factor and where does someone go to learn this "it"? Is this something genetic? Do I have to be a Sith apprentice to acquire this magical thing?

Even Coach Smith said last week that Matt had "it" but that he didnt know what "it" was.

What we do know is that Ryan has brought to the table what has been lacking in Atlanta for years, real leadership. So far his statistics have been good but not stellar. He has a 57.8 completion percentage and just over 1,100 passing yards. Five touchdowns against three interceptions and his rating of 82.9 isn't going to knock your socks off on paper but its on the field that you get to see who Ryan is...a true leader.

Has he made rookie mistakes, sure. His first pass against Carolina was picked off and run in for a score. Thankfully it was negated by a penalty but it's instances like these where we see some of the rough edges he still has to hone. Yet these faux pas are happening less and less each week and come far less often than you would expect from any other rookie.

Ryans on-field abilities are apparent in the coaching staffs confidence in him. Do you recall a rookie QB who was not only given the start in his first season but also calls his own plays from a no-huddle offense? I don't. Yet Smith and his staff have given that power to Ryan who has been using it since week 3.

Last week against the Bears Ryan showed a National stage what "it" really is. Pocket presence, grace under fire, poise, leadership, unrelenting drive, and a never say die attitude...all of these qualities wrapped up into a single QB...led the Falcons to their fourth win of the season.

Unless you've been living in a cave you saw the highlights and while his stats weren't dynamic (22/30, 301, one TD), Ryan took command of his team and showed everyone why he was selected third and just what "it" is that makes him a different kind of rookie.

Ryan showed that a game can be won on his arm when the running game is shut down and proved that gone are the days when the Falcons were a one-dimensional team. At 4-2 the Falcons have already exceeded this seasons expectations and after enjoying their bye week they, along with Ryan, will be in Philly to take on the Eagles.

As far as describing the "it" factor? For future reference Websters can just list it as:

"IT" adjective; See Matt Ryan.

Strip Clubs, Headshots, and Booze: Falcons Fall Back to Earth

Gerald Laskowski — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 02:23:15 -0400

That loud "THUD" everyone heard over the weekend was a result of the Atlanta Falcons falling hard and fast on their butts. Off to an exciting and impressive start to the season, the Falcons came right back to reality after their thrashing by the Tampa Bay Bucs on Sunday.

Before you say "same old Falcons" there are a few points about this team and Sunday's game that should be mentioned. First of all they played Tampa. The Tampa defense always seems to give the Falcons fits of frustration year in and year out. No matter who holds the reigns, Monte Kiffin is ready for them.

The team has a rookie QB who was in his second NFL start. It's quite a leap to go from facing Virginia Tech's defense to the Tampa two. Matt Ryan got the snot knocked out of him early and often yet despite the multiple head shots, four sacks, and incompletions the kid hung in there. Yes he walked out of there with a mere 29.4 QB Rating but guess what, that's 29.4 points better than veteran Chris Redman had last year against the Bucs.

The team never quit and even deep into the 4th quarter, this team was in the game. The young players got to see and experience a real defense and that can only serve to educate them and improve their play.

Injuries abound as Grady Jackson didn't even start, Sam Baker was taken out with a head injury, and Michael Turner rolled his ankle. Top it all off with the arrest of Lawyer Milloy on suspected DUI charges after visiting a strip club and you have some real adversity in Atlanta this week.

Personally I think that the team is still moving in the right direction and that there are many more highlights and exceeded expectations in the near future. This team is evolving and it wont be long before they take their place at the top of the NFL food chain.

Coach Mike Smith's leadership and motivation is certainly being tested and I believe he will find a way to turn last weeks misfortunes into future windfalls. I can't think of a better time to have the Chiefs on the menu.

Atlanta Falcons Serve Lions and Media Large Helping of Crow

Gerald Laskowski — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 09:15:21 -0400

Peyton Manning couldn't do it. Troy Aikman couldn't do it. Not only did rookie Matt Ryan win in his NFL debut, he did it with style.

With the first pass of his NFL career, Ryan connected with Michael Jenkins for a 62-yard touchdown pass and finished the day with 161 yards, the one touchdown, and no interceptions.

Free-agent acquisition Michael Turner not only showed that he can carry the rushing load throughout an entire game, he broke the team's franchise record for most yards in a game with 220 on 22 carries. Combine the two stellar performances by the newest members of the Falcons, along with a three-sack day by veteran defensive end John Abraham, and you have the keys to a 34-21 Falcons victory.

A victory over Detroit a season does not make, but for a team that was pegged as one of the worst in the NFL, today's win made a statement that these are not last year's Falcons. Ranked 32nd in most NFL power ranking polls, the Falcons were even three-point underdogs in their own home.

Yet despite all the negative press, the questions about the draft, and nobody giving them a chance, the Falcons drew a line in the sand.

Yes, there were some hiccups along the way. If you had Brent Grimes stand on Chris Houston's shoulders, they might be as tall as Calvin Johnson. Keith Brooking is still over-pursuing, Adam Jennings still averages under four yards per punt return, and the team had too many penalties. Yet despite all the youth, the oversized matchups and penalties, the Falcons stood on that line and dared the Lions to step over it.

Falcons fans haven't had much to cheer about in recent years, but today's win can be savored and looked upon as the start of something positive after suffering through so much negativity.