By Don Stone - Football Atlanta
Any Falcon fan who is paying attention to the
national media will wonder why their team is even getting on the bus to the
Georgia Dome on Sunday. Virtually all of the so called experts are singing
the praises of the 49ers. Showtime's Inside the NFL featured the highlights
of the four playoff games from last weekend. Three of the four were
classics, the last in New England was a yawner. They began by spotlighting
the Ravens win at Denver. They discussed Peyton Manning
before the clips and after. Then, they showed
highlights of the Falcons win over Seattle. A small portion was spent
showing how Atlanta went up by 20 over a team that many favored to win. But,
the focus of the piece was not on that great start or the last minute Falcon
win., It was on how great the Seahawks' were with their impressive comeback
that put them ahead near the end of the game only to lose in the final
minute.
Then, following the piece, not a single word was said about the
game. They went right back to more talk about Manning and the Broncos. In
the end, both Chris Collinsworth and
Phil Sims chose San Francisco.
On the NFL Network's Playbook, Donovan McNabb
smirked each time Brian Billick and
Sterling Sharpe mentioned a perceived
advantage for Atlanta. McNabb and host Brian Baldinger
chose the Niners while Billick and Sharpe went with Atlanta.
Looking at the ESPN website, you'll find a picks section with
fourteen staffers from Mike Ditka and
Mike Golik to Ron Jaworski
and Tom Jackson
choosing who they think will on Sunday.
Twelve of them pick the 49ers. Only Chris Mortensen
and Keelan Johnson picked Atlanta. You
could go on and on with other media outlets. Sports Illustrated did a cover
story on SF QB Colin Kaepernick, etc.
When former 49er Randy Cross
told CBS Sports Radio's Greg Gionani
that he favored the Falcons, the response was "Wow, really!"
San Francisco fans watching the coverage in Atlanta must be
wondering why all of these fans have Falcons Fever. How can they be so
naive? They're going to be so let down after the game on Sunday.
Well, let's check out a few items that might give the Falcon
faithful some room to justify their collective hope.
The Falcons with Matt Ryan at
QB are 34-6 at the Georgia Dome, the best home record in the NFL. The 49ers
have lost 3 of 4 games played in domes this season. They've lost five of six
conference championship games. They're 2-9 all time in road playoff games.
And, even though their young quarterback played great at home last week, he
is untested in this environment. San Francisco as a team is experienced in
this game having played in the NFC Championship last year. But, they lost.
They also lost big three weeks ago to Seattle. One of the worst
teams in the NFL, the Rams, tied them in San Francisco in overtime this
season and later took them to overtime in St. Louis and won.
So, bottom line is that they're a very good team and may very
likely win this game. But, to give Atlanta no credit makes no sense. And,
they way the Falcons have played in 2012, its very possible they will take
it and move on to the Super Bowl.
My pick, Atlanta 31, SF, 28.
The Falcons started the game with a 13 yard pass to Julio
Jones at the 36. On a third and 9, Ryan hit
Roddy White for 16 yards Niner
territory. He struck again with a 47 yard bomb to Jones in the end zone to
make it 7-0.
San Francisco could do nothing on offense going three and out with
a booming 63 yard punt putting Atlanta on their 18 to start the next drive.
Ryan went right back to work connecting with Jones for 8 yards to
the 26. Michael Turner got three to
convert the first down. Jones fourth catch got seven to the 35. Tony
Gonzalez's first catch gave them another
first at the 40. White got ten more to midfield.
On a third and ten, Jones grabbed the ball out of a defender's
hands to the 23. With the pass, Jones went over 100 yards. Gonzalez grabbed
another for six. The drive stopped with Matt Bryant
hitting a 35 yard field goal to put Atlanta
up 10-0.
After a near fumble on the kickoff, SF started their second drive
at the 20. Cory Peters made two good
plays with a near interception followed by a sack of Colin Kaepernick
for a nine yard loss. A 46 yard punt to Harry Douglas
gave Atlanta good field position at their 43.
Turner took care of the next first down with two carries for 14
yards to the SF 43. Ryan changed the pace with a 23 yard pass to White at
the 20 to end the first quarter. Atlanta won time of possession in the
quarter 11:28 to 2:16.
Jones started the quarter with an amazing catch in the far corner
of the end zone to make it 17-0.
A friend in New Orleans texted "NOLA is about to have its worst
nightmare. Roger Goodell giving the
Falcons a Super Bowl trophy in the Superdome."
Plenty of game left to be played. But a 17 point cushion doesn't
hurt.
But, as with last week against the Seahawks, the momentum started
to changed with the big lead. The 49ers finally got a nice drive going
starting with a nine yard rush by Frank Gore.
The running back converted the team's first first down to the 33. Gore gave
them another first with 7 more to the 43. Kaepernick hit Randy Moss
for 8 then made another first to Michael Crabtree.
The noise may have gotten to the young QB with a delay of game penalty
making it third and seven at the 41. He overcame the obstacle with his first
big play of the game by hitting Vernon Davis
for 27 yards to the AF 15. LeMichael James
showed that the game was far from over by taking it all the way in to pull
San Francisco to within 10.
With players draped all over him, Ryan started the Falcons' drive by
hitting White for 14 yards to the 34. The drive stalled as they were forced
to punt to the Niners' 18.
A stop here would be crucial for the Atlanta defense. But, it
didn't happen. A nice completion to Davis was nullified by a 10 yard holding
penalty. As with last week, the tight end was making hay as Davis got them
out of a hole with a 19 yard reception to the 31. Kaepernick finally ran
with the ball and took effectively it 23 yards to the 41. Atlanta helped the
drive with an unnecessary roughness foul on Stephen Nicholas
to the 30. Again Davis was wide open to give SF first and goal at the four
at the two minute warning.
A sense of Deja Vu
moved through the nervous crowd. But, this time, the opponent
had started their comeback much earlier. Making it look easy, Davis snagged
another to make it 17-14.
Could Atlanta pull themselves together and reverse the change of
direction the game had taken? They would have to find an answer to the tight
end problem and get some points on the board themselves to stop the
bleeding.
Ryan would begin the last drive of the half doing what he does best
with another patented last minute drive starting with 1:55 at the 20. He
began things nicely with a 15 yarder to White. Gonzalez took it 16 yards
into Niner territory with 1:10 to play. White drew an illegal contact call
to give Atlanta a first down at the 44 with 1:04 to go. White pulled down
another going out of bounds at the 31 with 57 seconds remaining. Jones
continued the drive up the middle with 15 yards to the 16 as the 49ers
called their first time out with 37 seconds left. Gonzalez got the next
catch at the as the Falcons called their first time out at 29 seconds. The
future Hall of Famer made it complete with a TD catch over the middle to
return the Falcons to a 10 point lead. Ryan had already thrown for more
yards in the first half, 271, than he had in all of the Seattle game with
all of his passes going to Gonzalez, White and Jones. An 18 for 24 half with
three touchdowns was all Atlanta fans could ask for from the offense. What
they needed as the second half began was some production from the defense.
The 49ers had won the coin toss and opted to get the ball as the
second half started. It apparently was good decision. They started their
drive at 18 and immediately got a pass to Randy Moss
for 22 yards. Gore would carry the next two
for another first down at the 36. Delanie Walker
got his first catch and it was a big one for 20 yards taking them all the
way to AF 42. Moss grabbed another for 17 up the middle. Gore again made up
the difference to get SF its third straight TD in as many possessions.
Now the pressure was squarely on the Falcons' offense to reciprocate with
just a three point lead. A three down rush by Turner was followed by a 14
yarder to Gonzalez at the 37. Some confusion on the line forced Mike
Smith to take a time out. Tony got another 14
to midfield. Two huge plays followed that may have turned the tide for the
visiting team. First Ryan was sacked for no loss. On the next play, the
first big turnover of the game when RCB Chris Culliver
pulled in an interception to give the revived SF offense the ball at their
47. The small lead was in jeopardy as Davis continued his great play with a
31 yard reception to the AF 25.
After a Kaepernick sack, the QB faced a third and five at the 20.
William Moore dove in front of a pass
intended for Davis for a near pick forcing a failed field goal attempt by
David Akers that bounced off the top of the
left upright to preserve the precarious lead.
Turner left the game with an ankle injury with his return doubtful.
It was time for Jacquizz Rodgers and
Jason Snelling to handle the load.
They did that in the next four plays moving it 30 yards in the process.
Jones continued to be clutch pulling in a 13 yard pass on a third and ten to
get Atlanta to within field goal range at the 29. The momentum that Atlanta
had gotten was lost as Ryan took his eye off the snap and fumbled it to OLB
Aldon Smith at their 37. In the end,
would that almost certain three points make a difference?
The least penalized team in the NFL continued to make mistakes as
SF missed on a third down pass only to have a roughing the passer call on RE
Cliff Matthews. With a new set of
downs, the drive was alive at the AF 43 as the third quarter came to an end.
Crabtree made it all be certain that the lead was about to change
hands for the first time as he bullied his way with a 33 yard catch to the
10 yard line. Gore added five more. But, on the next play, what could be the
most important play of the game came as the drive was stopped when
Dunta Robinson knocked the ball loose from
Crabtree inches before crossing the goal line as Moore fell on the ball to
give the Falcons offense a chance.
Three plays, though, could not get them a first down and after a 48
yard punt with a 20 yard return by Moore, SF had another shot to make undo
the mistake with great field position at the AF 38. Gore pounded his way to
the 30. FB Anthony Dixon gave them a
first down at the 25. James added eight more to the 17. Crabtree set up a
first and goal with a catch for eight yards to the 10. A Gore run finally
gave San Francisco the lead they had been chasing all game putting them up
by four with 8:33 left in the game.
Even more pressure was now on the shoulders of Matt Ryan. Could he
perform still another 4th quarter comeback? He would start at the 20. He
found White for nine to the 29. Rodgers converted. Douglas got his
first catch setting up a third and four at the 37. Mr. Clutch, Julio Jones,
caught a big first down at the six minute mark to the 37. Jones caught
another for five as he got hit bringing up another third down with two to go
at midfield. On another big play, Douglas made a catch at the 28 as he was
falling down. The play was challenged by Jim Harbaugh
with the result maybe deciding the outcome of the game. IT went the Falcons'
way as the head coach three a fit on the sidelines.
With 3:53 to go Rodgers carried several defenders for nine yards to
the 19. Douglas caught another to give Atlanta another first down. The
Falcons needed seven to win. The lost three points from earlier was looming
large now. as a field goal would not be enough with the clock moving down to
the two minute warning.
At this point, Randy Waters
from 11Alive, asked if they were in the same end of the Dome as Georgia was
in the SEC Championship Game on their ill fated finish. The answer was yes.
The first three plays would not give them the first down they
needed forcing them to go for it on fourth and four. Unfortunately, an
intended pass to White was batted down at the six and the 49ers took over on
downs with just over a minute to go. Arthur Blank's
head fell to his chest on the sidelines. In an eerie repeat of last week,
After leading 17-0, the Falcons' demise would come from being outscored 28-7
the remainder of the game.
The Falcons would get the ball back with six seconds but not enough
time even for Ryan to pull this one out.
The home team clubhouse after the game was filled with reporters
anxious to ask questions but no sound could be heard. Only an overwhelming
sense of heartbreak among the players. Many were getting dressed, others
headed to the showers to cleanse the loss. Most waiting out of respect to
speak with a forlorn Tony Gonzalez who sat motionless at his locker trying
to hold back the tears. Some of the tears for the feeling of how close they
were to a Super Bowl. Most probably feeling the loss of a career, knowing in
his heart that he had played the last down of an illustrious sixteen year
run with no more dressing for games and no more camradery with teammates. A
95 percent prediction of likelihood of retirement would likely be 100
percent very soon.
Atlanta had fought valiantly but it ultimately came down to the
defense's inability to stop the 49ers' offense. No fault could be laid on
Ryan and the offense who did more than was expected. The Bulldogs came
within a few yards of playing in the National Championship Game in the same
building in virtually the same spot where the Falcons shared those same few
yards short of a trip to the Super Bowl. Each would give hope for next
season but leave much disappointment in a city full of fans wondering again
what might have been.
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