Former UTC Moc Alonzo Nix. Click to enlarge.
photo by Dave Weinthal, Enigma
To the casual football fan Friday night, it is hard to convince someone that the Atlanta Falcons were the 11-5 team last season and the Tennessee Titans 5-11 as Tennessee won on the scoreboard 24-21 and in a statistical blowout.
Much like their regular season meeting two years ago the Falcons sprinted out to an early sizable lead only to see it go away and lose the game in the final two minutes of play.
Atlanta’s first team sprinted out to an early 14-3 lead on the Titans, primarily thanks to special teams. Rookie DeAndra Cobb returned a kickoff in the first quarter 101 yards to help the first team take the 11-point lead. Other than that, neither Falcons’ first or second team offense looked sharp. In fact in the first half Atlanta’s offense only managed five first downs compared to 14 by Tennessee.
The only thing going in the Falcons’ favor all game was the inept kicking game of Tennessee who missed two field goals and an extra point.
Poor offensive execution and turnovers spelled doom for the Red Birds. “We made a lot of mistakes,” said Falcon running back Warrick Dunn. “We had some false starts and weren’t really in rhythm on offense.”
The Falcons let their 11-point lead shrivel and eventually disappear as the Titans took a 16-14 lead into the locker room. With 10:58 left in the half quarterback Steve McNair hit Brandon Jones from seven yards out to cut the Falcons’ lead to 14-10. With under two minutes left in the half McNair’s heir apparent, Billy Volek hit Jones for his second touchdown of the half from 29 yards out. The extra point was missed and the score at half was Tennessee 16 and Atlanta 14.
“We had a good opening drive, but after that, we haven’t had a whole lot of good – other than the kickoff return,” said Falcons’ coach Jim Mora.
Mora was pleased, however, with starter Michael Vick’s development into being more of a quarterback. “For the second week in a row, he was well over 100 percent in his quarterback rating” he said.
Despite Mora’s optimism, Vick’s stats show differently. Vick was 6-of-9 for 64 yards, most of which were short dump-off patterns. He was also sacked twice in a quarter-and-a half of play. Vick did have one exciting run of 21 yards in the first quarter as he led the Falcons to a touchdown on their first possession of the game, hitting Brian Finneran from four yards out.
The second half played similar to the first half as Atlanta was out-gained and turned over the ball three times – one time too many. The Atlanta second team offense could not get the ball moving at all. For the second week in a row Matt Schaub looked lost with poor execution of his passes and showing poor judgment were he put some of the throws. One such throw to Peerless Price was a 13-yard pass that the former number one receiver incurred bruised ribs and a concussion because Schaub was late executing the throw, putting Price in harms’ way.
The only sign of life in the second half from Atlanta’s offense came on their first possession of the half. After holding Tennessee at bay, the Red Birds took over at their own 28-yard line. T.J. Duckett, after shaking off two would-be tacklers went off left tackle and into the Titan secondary and sprinted 72 yards to give Atlanta the lead back 21-16, which they would hold until, just like the first half lose with under two minutes remaining.
The Titans had many chances to score, but the Falcons’ defense did their best to keep them out. But Atlanta’s defense was continuously back on their heels when the offense was unable to sustain a drive for any length of time. “Defensively it was frustrating. We didn’t play well as a team, but we got a chance to watch some young guys perform,” said Mora.
The Falcons also lost DeAngelo Hall early on defense when he was ejected for delivering a left-right combination to the helmet of Tennessee receiver Courtney Roby. Hall was unhappy with Roby’s blocking technique after a Tyronne Calico reception along the Falcons’ sideline. The Falcons also played without four of their starters including four-time Pro Bowl linebacker Keith Brooking and four other defensive starters.
Schaub was intercepted on the Tennessee 42 when Rocky Calmus stepped in front of the pass to start the fourth quarter. Atlanta defense held a forced a punt.
Brian Bratton could not handle the punt and fumbled with Tennessee recovering on the Atlanta 31-yard line. Atlanta had two turnovers in four plays.
The Falcons’ defense held once again, as the Titans were held out of the end zone. The Falcons’ defense held steady at the goal line as Jeff Fisher and his team tried on fourth-and goal at the three. Atlanta took over at their two with 4:19 to play.
The Atlanta offence did nothing to improve their field position, as a running play almost amounted in a safety. On the next play from scrimmage Schaub ran for his life in the right corner of the end zone as Tennessee just missed another safety opportunity.
Forced to punt out of the end zone. The Titans took over just inside the Atlanta side of the field. It was there that former Tennessee-Chattanooga receiver Alonzo Nix made his presence known. Third string QB Shane Boyd hit the rookie free agent as he sprinted down the right sideline for a 34-yard gain to the Atlanta 10-yard line. Defense once again held for thee plays as it came down to another fourth-and goal. This Boyd hit O.J. Small in the left corner of the end zone and the lead. Tennessee went for two and succeeded scoring what would be the last of the points on the night taking the win 24-21.
Schaub was unable to get the Falcons’ downfield, as they were bitten by another holding call, as the series stalled at midfield with Schaub launching a Hail Mary pass which fell incomplete inside the Titans’ 15-yard line.
Despite the close score, that was the only stat close in the game. It is painfully obvious that the Titans’ bench is much deeper than Atlanta’s. Of course Tennessee is the benefactor of having two first-string quarterbacks in McNair and Volek, who both did very well in the Georgia Dome Friday. Even Boyd looked good as he was given plenty of time to throw the ball and there are still glaring weaknesses in the secondary.
To give you an idea of how outplayed Atlanta was by Tennessee,, check out these stats:
First downs: Tennessee – 29 Atlanta – 11
Total net yards: Tennessee – 503 Atlanta – 231
Time of possession was almost 3:1 in favor of Tennessee.
Stat-wise McNair was no target going 14-of19 for 137 yards and one touchdown. Volek was 13-of-19 for 181 yards and one interception. Boyd was 9-of-16 for 93 yards and one touchdown.
By comparison Vick was 6-of-9 for 64 yards and Schaub with another poor showing went 5-of-15 for 47 yards and an interception.
Duckett would lead all rushers with 80 yards on four carries – 72 coming on the touchdown run on Atlanta’s first offensive play in the third quarter.
Despite the loss Falcons’ coach Mora didn’t seem too phased. “We would have preferred to have won, obviously,” he said. “You have to look at the preseason as an opportunity to learn, both as coaches and players. That being said, I certainly wasn’t happy with our performance past the first drive and return for the touchdown.”
“They’re a talented football team,” said Dunn.
Keith Bullock was impressed in his first meeting against Vick since college. “Man, chasing him is like chasing thin air,” he said. “Bottom line is: Mike is good for this league.”
Coach Fisher was a little unsettled about his special teams performance which missed two field goals, and extra point and allowed a kickoff to be returned 101 yards for a touchdown. “Each week in the preseason, you look for improvements, not only what you stressed the week before, but also overall,” he said.
The Falcons take to the road next week as they travel to Jacksonville to play the Jaguars on Thursday night. The Jaguars are coming off a 20-17 victory off of Tampa Bay.
Falcons versus Titans
photo by Dave Weinthal, Enigma