Lori

Good read, Simon. Couple of notes: As previously mentioned - Brady Smith didn't play last week, and is questionable this week. Didn't see the game, but from what I've read, Kerney spent a lot of time at RE (getting beat on by Walter Jones) while Lavalais and Chauncey Davis split time at LE. Also - you probably already know KMathis is done for the year and Rossum didn't suit up last week (Q again this week with a bad hamstring); that leaves Christian Morton and Chris Cash as their nickel/dimebacks. I like our chances against either one.

Aww, I missed it? Happy birthday anyway - take the whole weekend to celebrate!

Heck with it - incurable homer that I am, I'm going to pick the Bills. Some possible reasons: 1. I think the Buffalo WRs can get open. 2. The beer-fueled crowd will be going nuts when the OTHER team has the ball this week, which should help JP's game. 3. Including the playoff game in Philly, Atlanta currently has a five-game road losing streak. 4. That 11-5 record they put together last season? They only played three teams with winning records - heck, the Bills played more than that in the DIVISION. 5. Willis runs wild. 6. Since I am such an incurable homer and I hate the two-hour drive home after a loss, I put in a special request with the Football Gods. 23-17, Buffalo. (Hey, that score worked pretty well the last time.... and if you actually wager based on my opinion, you're certifiable.) Gotta go to work - catch y'all later....

What do you expect at almost 3 o'clock in the friggin' morning? Actually, I wrote it exactly that way on purpose, and I was giggling a little as I typed... at that time of the evening, simple things amuse simple minds like mine. Dean-o, this game is off the books for me until we get a better idea of Vick's status. Gutless, I know. Check back tomorrow; maybe I'll have a guess for you by then.

Indeed. Question is, just exactly how questionable is "questionable" in the cases of Fletch and Milloy? Lot easier to stop the run with them on the field than with Crowell and my boy Coy.... Here's a stat I don't like: WD has 4 100-yd games out of his last 6. To add to ATL's passing game problems, Dez White may also be out this game. Seems the DirtyBirds are having an epidemic of pulled hammies. Finneran starts if DezW can't. G'night, all. Back in the (late) AM...

Because: a.) Moulds and Evans weren't getting open vs. Tampa Bay's starting CBs, while Reed was lining up against safeties and nickel/dime DBs, and... b.) Losman wasn't hitting Moulds and Evans on the few occasions they did get open? And no, that is NOT a good sign. (Although it was nice to see Reed actually making some plays, I have to admit.) Have a nice night.

ATLANTA FALCONS (1-1) AT BUFFALO BILLS (1-1) Sunday, September 25, 2005 – 1:00 PM EST FOX: Sam Rosen and Bill Maas; sideline reporter Chris Myers REGULAR-SEASON SERIES RECORD: 4-4; Bills are 3-1 in games played at Rich/Ralph Wilson Stadium. PLAYOFF RECORD: none LAST MEETING: December 23, 2001 – Falcons 33, Bills 30 Despite battling a nasty case of the flu that sent him to the locker room for an IV at halftime, Falcons QB Chris Chandler lit up the Bills defense for 431 yards (still an Atlanta team record) and 2 long touchdown passes in the win. Buffalo rallied from a 10-point deficit to tie the game on a Van Pelt-to-Moulds pass with 0:48 left, but Atlanta had just enough time to set up Jay Feely for the game-winning 52-yard field goal as the clock hit 0:00. Buffalo dropped to 2-12 with the loss; the Falcons improved to 7-7. LAST TIME IN BUFFALO: November 12, 1995 – Bills 23, Falcons 17 On a cold, blustery afternoon at Rich Stadium, the Falcons were driving for the potential winning touchdown when Kurt Schulz picked off Jeff George’s final throw of the day in the end zone to salvage a Bills victory. With the win, Buffalo improved to 7-3 and took sole possession of first place in the AFC East. More notes: - The game marked Marv Levy’s return to the sidelines following a three-week absence due to prostate cancer surgery... - Rich Stadium continued to be a house of horrors for Atlanta QB Jeff George – his career record here is 0-4... - Bruce Smith and Bryce Paup each took George down twice. Paup’s sacks increased his career-best total to 13; he would finish the season with 17.5, and several NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards... - Jim Kelly’s 172-pass streak without an INT ended in the fourth quarter, when he was picked by DB Anthony Phillips. Phillips seemed to have a clear path to a 96-yard TD return, but Kelly knocked him out of bounds at midfield to save the touchdown – and ended Phillips’ season with a broken leg in the process... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FALCONS OVERVIEW OFFENSE: Spectacular. Electrifying. You’ve heard all the superlatives. Fasten your seatbelts, because the Michael Vick Experience is about to land in Buffalo… or at least it was, before he tweaked a hammy in Seattle. Guess we'll have to wait and see whether or not the M.V.E. takes the field Sunday afternoon. Vick may never be a great West Coast-style passer, but when healthy, his running ability makes him as dangerous as any QB in the league. And lost amid all the highlight-film hype is this: his 24-13-1 record as a starter gives him a .645 winning percentage, tops in team history. Matt Schaub is the backup QB; he’s probably a better pure passer, but not exactly a threat to run. Warrick Dunn spearheads a Falcon rushing attack that led the league in 2004, and his cutback ability meshes perfectly with OL consultant Alex Gibbs’ blocking schemes. (For those of you who might not recognize Gibbs’ name, he was Denver’s line coach/guru back when they were winning Super Bowls.) Dunn is averaging a healthy 4.6 yards/carry so far this season. T.J. Duckett gets the short-yardage work behind FB Justin Griffith; he’s scored two of the team’s three rushing TDs. The line is cast in the Denver mould, more concerned with footspeed than bulk; Kevin Shaffer and Todd Weiner might be the only pair of starting tackles in the league to both weigh less than 300 lbs. Vick’s playing style leads to a lot of sacks, though – 50 in 2004, 7 so far this season. Despite throwing a boatload of money at the since-departed Peerless Price and spending their last two #1 picks on WRs, the Falcons are still trying to find someone Vick can trust enough to throw the ball to downfield. (Atlanta’s WRs combined for a total of 105 catches last season, dead last in the league.) Michael Jenkins shows signs of becoming that go-to player someday, but for now, Vick is still looking for TE Alge Crumpler early and often – he was Atlanta’s leading receiver last season and shares the top spot with #3 WR Brian Finneran so far this year. When rookie Roddy White recovers fully from the sprained ankle that kept him out of action for most of the preseason, he’ll probably push journeyman Dez White out of the other starting spot. DEFENSE: Miscast in Wade Phillips’ 3-4 set, the defensive line blossomed when they returned to the 4-3 under DC Ed Donatell. Paced by LDE Patrick Kerney (13) and DT Rod Coleman (11.5 – tops among all NFL DTs), the Falcons led the league in sacks last season. Chad Lavalais and Jonathan Babineaux join Coleman in the DT rotation, and Lavalais has the potential to slide out to RE if Brady Smith is inactive again this week. Underrated MLB Ed Hartwell was signed as a free agent; his run-stuffing presence in the middle should free up four-time Pro Bowl WLB Keith Brooking to make even more plays off the edge. The other OLB, Demorrio Williams, leads the team in tackles after the first two games. Ike Reese was signed from Philadelphia to provide depth at LB and leadership on special teams. 2004 #1 pick DeAngelo Hall is a playmaker at CB; the rest of the DBs are average, though, and the unit took a huge hit when veteran nickel CB Kevin Mathis went on IR with a knee injury – his replacement, Christian Morton, was originally a training-camp cut. (Allen Rossum would have been Atlanta’s first choice to replace Mathis, but he missed last week’s game with a leg injury; his status for this week is uncertain.) SPECIAL TEAMS: The Falcons made changes at both kicking spots in the offseason; K Jay Feely left for the Giants as a free agent and former Bill Chris Mohr was released. Journeyman Todd Peterson was signed to replace Feely, and rookie Michael Koenen handles punts and kickoffs. PR/KR Rossum earned a trip to the Pro Bowl last February as Eddie Drummond’s replacement. If he can’t play, WRs Roddy White and Romby Bryant will probably handle kickoff returns; Hall and Finneran are the likely choices at PR. This is one week the Bills may not have an advantage on kicking teams - veteran ST coach Joe DeCamillis’ squad led the league in covering punts last season, giving up a miniscule 4.1 yards/return. The kickoff-coverage team also ranked in the top 10, and is even better this year – in the first two games, their opponents’ average drive started at their own 18.6-yard line, worst in the league. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OUTLOOK: Everything depends on the health of Vick’s hamstring – if he’s anywhere near full speed, I believe Buffalo’s best bet is to back off the blitz and try to keep him behind the line of scrimmage. (Lose containment, and he’s liable to end up celebrating in the end zone after an NFL Primetime-worthy scramble.) That also has the additional benefit of plugging some of Dunn's cutback lanes. On the other hand, if the leg injury is bad enough to keep Vick in the pocket, he turns into a below-average QB. The Bills CBs should be able to hold their own against Atlanta’s wideouts, but Crumpler is a tough matchup over the middle. On offense, it’s time for Willis McGahee and the line to live up to all that 2000-yard-season talk – some early success in the running game would help Losman find some room to work downfield. Don’t expect much production from whichever WR Hall lines up against, but I’m not convinced CB Jason Webster can cover either Moulds or Evans without help. Some Bills players compared the mugging they endured in Tampa to a “punch in the mouth” – an apt description if ever I’ve heard one. Question is, is this team ready to get up off the canvas and throw a few haymakers of their own? Tune in Sunday afternoon to find out. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Links: NFL.com - injury report NFL.com – Falcons team stats NFL.com – Falcons depth chart AtlantaFalcons.com Ourlads.com – Falcons depth chart

I've been pondering that very question for most of my adult life. If I ever figure it out, I'll be sure to let y'all know......

You're frightening me....

Thanks for the input, KTD - and odds are you're right and I'm just overthinking this. (Boring night at work, plenty of time for the mind to wander.) He did have the one shank in the Houston game, but the rest were decent kicks....

Glad you mentioned that, because I've been thinking the same thing. While Schneck's snaps might be more accurate (leading to better consistency from Lindell), I'm guessing Moorman isn't getting the ball as quickly as he used to with JD - remember how they used to make such a big deal about how Jon could snap the ball faster than anyone in the league? More elapsed time on the snap equals more time for the rushers to get closer to Brian. Think he's feeling the heat and trying to rush his kicks? Maybe... just maybe. But hey, that's just my opinion....

Maybe so... but considering Atlanta LED THE LEAGUE in rushing last year, I don't think they really needed the Tampa tape to help design a gameplan.... Oh yeah - they also have Alex Gibbs, the guy who used to coach the Broncos OL back when they were winning Super Bowls.

Well, there is that.... although I imagine the gang at GR will be taking their fair share of "shoulda kept Bledsoe" calls in the morning. I'll also be interested to read how DiCesare and Sullivan write it up in tomorrow's News - they staked out their opposing positions quite clearly back in February. I'm guessing DiCesare will be unloading a heaping helping of JP-related "I told you so", and Sully will be taking some cuts at the defense...

Agreed. You can't convince me that none of the GB DBs could've caught up to him - this is Steve Heiden we're talking about here. We saw Green Bay twice this preseason, and were underwhelmed both times. With that (lack of) defense, Favre might just be wishing he'd retired after all...

Damn. Knew I should've drafted Trent Dilfer instead of Matt Hasselbeck..... Yeah, can't fault Williams' effort. Just thought it was semi-hysterical watching the two of them rumble down the field... kind of like watching a race between two dump trucks.

Great playcall by Cleveland in their game against the Pack - instead of running the ball to ice the clock coming out of the two-minute warning, they pitched one over the top to TE Steve Heiden. He outran a Green Bay DT (didn't catch the name) to the endzone; even at regular speed, it still looked like slo-mo....

As some of us could've told you before the Chicago preseason game, that Bears D is pretty darn good...

I think I've seen that movie......

Then it's still a safety. Dunno about you, but after the two-pointer I was thinking, "well, at least that's not the WORST thing that could've happened on that play...."

Barber is a CB. Dexter Jackson and Jermaine Phillips are their safeties....

Didn't read mine, then. Let that be a lesson to you.

Do I have to? Think I'm going to take a little time before subjecting myself to a second viewing of this one.....

Hear, hear. Seeya there.

One play later - I checked the tape, then edited to add the info to my last post.

That would make sense - the Bucs O did nothing but punt before the safety, and the first TD directly followed the safety. That gives me something to work from when I rerack the tape EDIT: Got it. You're right, it was on the drive right after the safety. And up to that point the Bucs had four possessions, four punts. 2-5-BUF 39 (8:06) 24-C.Williams right tackle to BUF 39 for no gain (94-A.Schobel; 59-L.Fletcher). 3-5-BUF 39 (7:24) 8-B.Griese pass to 19-I.Hilliard to BUF 34 for 5 yards (33-J.Greer). Fletcher was on the field for this play, but appeared to be limping as he lined up - he broke left to cover the TE; the play came to the right side. Timeout #2 by TB at 06:52. 1-10-BUF 34 (6:51) 24-C.Williams left tackle to BUF 26 for 8 yards (98-R.Edwards, 36-L.Milloy). Crowell is in at MLB for this play - he's the guy with the shot at CW in the backfield.