Cowboys 38 Falcons 28

First off, let me say that the NFL Network was tough to listen to. It was my debut experience in listening to the network and let's just say the announcers made it very difficult to listen and not want to bop their heads a few times. It was like listening to some friends of mine and I calling a game. Heck, I imagine we would do a better job, because we actually observe what's going on. How did Bryant Gumbel and Dick Vermeil get the spots? Then, out of nowhere, comes Marshall Faulk and Deion Sanders. Vermeil is a great coach, but I wish he'd stick to coaching. I'm not sure what Gumbel is great at. Faulk and Sanders sounded like they should still be playing. So, don't announce. Go out there and play. Oh, you can't anymore? Then don't announce it like you're still one of the current greats in the NFL.

On Atlanta's first drive, Alge Crumpler was pushed in the back before the ball got to him on a 3rd down play. Gumbel and Vermeil were calling it accidental and because of that, it shouldn't be pass interference. Is this why coaches get upset with every call? They don't know what constitutes a penalty and what doesn't? Guys, if the players' feet get tangled with one another, then it can be called accidental. If the defender has his left arm around the back of the receiver and bumps him before the ball gets there, that is pass interference. They went on about this for five minutes (it seemed longer). Perhaps they should be given a Dummy's Guide to the Rules of Football for Christmas or a Cliff's Notes for Football, so they can better follow along during sixty minutes of action.

Toward the end of the game, Michael Vick came out with a minute left and down by 10 points with an apparent groin injury. Gumbel, Faulk, and Sanders got on his case the rest of the game, saying that it would call into question Vick's leadership, Vick as a player, Vick as a teammate, etc. The Falcons were backed up inside their own 10-yard line, with one timeout left, down 38-28, with about a minute left to play. They would need to go 90 yards for a touchdown, recover an onside kick, and gain another few yards to get into field goal range. They'd have to do all this with one timeout in about a minute. What's more important? Having Vick in at quarterback in an almost impossible to win game where all he could do is further injure the groin, enough so, that he'd be out of next week's game against Carolina or limiting the damage as much as possible, so that he's almost certain to go in the final home game against the Panthers? Faulk and Sanders went on and on about how, if they were playing, they'd stay in the game, even with a strained groin. Yeah, right. Deion, a cornerback, would stay in the game with a strained groin? Not going to happen. If he had a banged up finger or arm, then I could see him still playing, because he could still cover a lot of ground with his legs and the guy couldn't tackle anyway. Faulk could play with a strained groin? A tailback and a guy like him, who was just as valuable in the passing game as in the running game? Again, not a chance. While the game on Saturday, just like any other, was important for the Falcons to win. A loss didn't mean the end of the season. If they lost Vick for an extended period of time, then you might as well throw in the towels. Idiots.

Now, on to the game and it was a fun one. It didn't appear to be that way at first when Dallas jumped out to a 14-0 lead, but the Falcons came storming back to score 21 points in the 2nd quarter and tie the game at 21-21 going into halftime. Atlanta continued to build off its momentum at the start of the second half when they drove down the field for the go-ahead touchdown to lead 28-21, their first lead of the game. But, it was all Dallas from there on out. Halfback Marion Barber and wideout Terrell Owens had two touchdowns each in the Cowboys' 38-28 win on Saturday night. This loss dropped the Falcons to 7-7 on the season and are currently ranked 7th in the NFC, one game back of Philly and even with the Giants. But, because of New York's head-to-head win against Atlanta, that gives them the tie-breaker.

So, how about that defense? What Atlanta did in their previous two wins against Washington and Tampa Bay was make big plays on defense and prevent the big plays. They made a big play on defense Saturday, when outside linebacker Michael Boley picked a pass off and ran it down inside the Dallas 20-yard line. But, the Falcons D gave up the big play. Terrell Owens burned Atlanta cornerback DeAngelo Hall early and often. Marion Barber ran all over the Falcons in the second half. The Cowboys had the ability to convert on third and long. The pass rush wasn't all too effective. There were some missed tackles, especially in the second half. I don't know what to say about the defense. They have been inconsistent all year long. When their front seven has played well, their secondary hasn't and vice versa. You won't win many games in the NFL if you allow 38 points. The Falcons D has allowed 27 points or more six times this season. Surprisingly, they're 2-4 in those games. They allowed 38 to Dallas, 31 to New Orleans, 30 to Detroit, 38 to Pittsburgh, 27 to NY Giants, and 27 to Cincinnati. In about 43% of the games this year, the defense has allowed four touchdowns or more. It's hard to win consistently when the defense plays like that.

Offensively, Atlanta played pretty well. Vick was on target for most of the game. The receivers actually made the catches. The line didn't block too well at times and Warrick Dunn had another mediocre game. But, overall, the offense was able to click, generate some solid yardage, make the big play, and keep the defense off balance, through the first three quarters, at least. Vick broke the single-season record for rushing yards by a quarterback, which was 968 by Bobby Douglass of the Chicago Bears in 1972. Vick, with his 56 yards on Saturday, now sits at 990 and needs just ten yards in the final two games to be the first NFL quarterback in history to eclipse the 1,000 yard mark rushing. He also tied a career high with four touchdown passes in the game: one to Michael Jenkins, one to Ashley Lelie, and two to fullback Justin Griffith. He had two touchdown passes called back because of penalties, but in both scenarios, he threw another touchdown toss on the very next down. Kicker Morten Andersen also set a record, becoming the NFL's all-time leading scorer. Roddy White played good ball and has shown improvements in the second half of the year as compared to the horrendous first.

What hurt the Falcons most? Five things: Penalties, the 4th down play call, the field goal, the drive, and the slow start. What is with the Falcons and their slow starts? They fell behind 14-0 to Washington before they stormed back and won 24-14 three games ago. They were down 6-0 to Tampa two games ago following two field goals before winning 17-6. Again, they fell back 14-0 to Dallas, before coming back to take a 28-21 lead in the third quarter. Ill-timed penalties made things very difficult for the Falcons in this game. The penalties either backed them deep into their own territory, erased an interception, or took back two touchdowns. The 48-yard 3rd quarter field goal by Martin Gramatica was overlooked by the announcers, but that was a huge play in the game. Atlanta was up 28-21 at that point when Dallas looked to be on the move. The defense came up with a couple big plays though, including a big sack of Tony Romo on third down to force a much longer field goal than anticipated. If Gramatica had missed, it would've set up the Falcons in great field position with a chance to increase their lead to ten or even fourteen with all the momentum they could have ever dreamed up at that point in the game. But, Gramatica nailed it, to trim the lead to four, erase any chance of the Falcons getting the ball in great field position with a seven point edge, and stripping away the temporary momentum the defense had attained through the sack. With Atlanta down 31-28 in the 4th quarter, Jim Mora decided to go for it on a 4th and 1 in Dallas territory. What was the play call? A play action pass. While Dunn wasn't exceptional in the game, I'd hope that the guy could be counted on for a 4th and 1. What about Vick? Run him to the outside and give him the option of running or throwing the ball. Atlanta tried to get cute (which they did a lot of in this game) and it didn't work. Some like to point to that play as being Vick's fault, since Alge Crumpler was wide open, but as can be seen by the play call and Vick's positioning on the field, unless the guy truly had eyes in the back of his head, there was no way he could have spotted Crumpler and thrown the ball to him. It was just a bad play call. That's all there is to it. Finally, THE DRIVE. This happened against Baltimore, New Orleans, and now Dallas. Atlanta was within one possession of these teams in the 4th quarter when their defense got pounded for a double-digit play, 7-9 minute drive, which took the breath out of the team and gave the offense little to no chance at coming back. Atlanta pulled to within 17-10 of Baltimore when the Ravens did this to win 24-10. Atlanta was within 21-13 when New Orleans did this. Finally, this past Saturday, the Falcons were within 31-28 when Dallas marched down the field in almost eight minutes to drain the clock and the life out of Atlanta.

Word has it that Michael Vick, John Abraham, Jerious Norwood, and Jason Webster are all likely to play on Sunday against Carolina. While it's not a "must win" game for Atlanta, if they want to control their own destiny, they better win out. It's a much more comfortable situation to win and not have to worry about what other teams do. Atlanta has lost four of seven home games this year, including their last three. I sincerely hope that they are able to snap out of that odd funk this upcoming Sunday. There are three games Falcons' fans should keep their eyes on this weekend: Dallas/Philadelphia, NY Giants/New Orleans, and of course Carolina/Atlanta. If either the Eagles or Giants lose on Sunday, Atlanta would still have a chance to make the playoffs even if they lose to the Panthers. It'd be much more comforting if the Eagles lost to the Cowboys, because Philly plays Atlanta in the final week of the season. Philly would then enter the game at 8-7, Atlanta at 7-8 and if the Falcons won, would win the tie-breaker between the two clubs based on head-to-head. The Giants currently own the head-to-head tie breaker on the Falcons, so the only way Atlanta can move past New York is if they finish a game ahead of them in the standings. The only way that's likely possible is for Atlanta to win out and for the Giants to lose to the Saints. Anything's possible. As long as the Falcons win their final two, they'll be fine, but we must root against the Eagles and Giants, just in case.