Falcons fan here

[Foghawk]

I think most of us here are happy to concede Atlanta should be favourites, what has been bristling about the falcon fans on here so far has been there insistence that Atlanta will win by 20+ points and deliver an 'asswhoppin'. That's not impossible of course, but I'd render the chances unlikely at best.

Who was it? Quote please? I'd like to tell him he's probably a bit too excited and shouldn't use words like "asswhoppin."

I totally believe Atlanta wins but I'd be more inclined to say somewhere between a 7-15 point margin of victory.

As for Graham... yeah , he was a Falcon killer back in the day... but the Saints used him a lot more than Seattle does for some reason.

Bad equivalency. We pass less in general.

I don't know, I kind of have a feeling Jimmy is going to have a decent day Saturday unno:

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/G/GrahJi00/gamelog/?opp_id=atl

 

[Seahwkgal]

Bad equivalency. We pass less in general.

I know... which makes we wonder why they'd give up Unger for him.

Because Unger was very over rated. The prior season he was not very healthy and was having horrid high snap issues in the shotgun. I think they wanted another target for Wilson and it made sense at the time. An all-pro TE for a somewhat above average center who is no longer missed(Britt is our glowing bright spot on the OL). I feel the Seahawks won that trade in a big way.

 

[NINEster]

I would have thought after all of these years the Falcons would have had answer by now for James Graham.

 

[ivotuk]

Hi all. Falcons fan here. Just wanted to stop in and say I can't wait for this game! its going to be another classic. Hope our boys can pull it off this time! The last home game we played you guys I met some of your fans, and have to say that they were a lot of fun to tailgate with. Saturday can't get here fast enough. Cheers!

Welcome to. Net! Here's to no injuries!

 

[Followthelegion]

I think most of us here are happy to concede Atlanta should be favourites, what has been bristling about the falcon fans on here so far has been there insistence that Atlanta will win by 20+ points and deliver an 'asswhoppin'. That's not impossible of course, but I'd render the chances unlikely at best.

Who was it? Quote please? I'd like to tell him he's probably a bit too excited and shouldn't use words like "asswhoppin."

I totally believe Atlanta wins but I'd be more inclined to say somewhere between a 7-15 point margin of victory.

As for Graham... yeah , he was a Falcon killer back in the day... but the Saints used him a lot more than Seattle does for some reason.

the asswhooppin quote was from that wonderful poster Treefidy.

On the initial 'is it too early to be thinking about Atlanta thread' (and others) I said again and again, we may lose but thinking we are losing by some huge point spread is pure homerism. If we lose by 3TDs or something along those lines I will come on here and eat my crow to all Falcon fans who were predicting it and wish you all the best at knocking off Dallas / GB and the Pats.

 

[toffee]

There's no reason why the Falcons aren't the favorite in this match up. The Hawks are missing vital pieces, Earl out on defense and Wilson not being 100% himself on offense. Earl is out due to season ending injury, our reduced strength defense facing Falcon's "best in the history" offense. Reason enough to worry.

Wilson is playing of course, but he hasn't been moving as decisively or quickly as the Wilson we have witnessed in the past, injury? hearing footsteps? But more importantly he also hasn't been as accurate, again, hearing footsteps? rushing his throws? Our OL and RB have been wildly inconsistent, I wouldn't take Lion's game as evidence that our OL/RB finally clicked as Lions' rush defense was lousy.

Since we are somewhat handicapped both defense and offense, the Falcons ought to be the favorite. However, I still see hope:

1. Even without Earl, our defense is formidable. Our run defense is still very good. Our pass defense may need some luck and an errand flow or two from Ryan to get going. This game the pressure is on Ryan, all the expectations, will he crack?
2. It has been a long time since we have a healthy and confident starting RB and backup, if we are lucky, we may even have a very capable change of pace back in Prosise. We haven't had Rawl, Collin, Prosise, and Reese together so this is something new ... their presence could potentially force the Falcons to ease off a bit on the pass defense.

I don't blame the Falcons' fans for being confident, but I still like our chances.

 

[Hawkscanner]

Welcome!

Have all the annoying Falcons fans been shown the door yet? I despise the knuckledraggers from other fan bases who show up to white knight their team and are obnoxious as hell.

I just got here myself.

I'm not here to pump up my team. Instead, I just want to see what you guys have to say about this Saturday's matchup.

I'm excited to see my team back in the playoffs after a 3 year drought. I'm hoping the Falcons can shine in the spotlight, and not wither like delicate flower.

I'm curious to see if the Seahawks D starts off in man coverage or zone. I want to see if the Falcons D can generate some pressure, or get a turnover or two.

Aside from the last two divisional games (which are always tough), the Falcons haven't played any really good teams since KC, and they lost that one.

Keys to a Falcon win:

The offense has to get off to a fast start, score immediately, and then score some more.

The Falcon D needs to limit 3rd down conversions and get off the field.

The Falcons D is not good in the red zone, so they need to get some turnovers to keep things going their way.


Keys to a Seahawk win:

Offense needs to control the clock by running the ball.

Get Jimmy Graham involved, as he is a Falcon killer.

Don't let the Falcon running backs get into a groove

Get pressure on Ryan. Ryan won't fold but you need to disrupt him, because he will find the open man more often than not.


Here's to a good game and no injuries. GO FALCONS!

Hey FalconsFanFrom Birth and 4DaBirds! Welcome to .Net. I've been that guy in the past posting on opposing boards before the big game (doing exactly what you 2 are doing) looking for insights. Welcome! It's certainly refreshing getting fans who actually want to talk X's and O's and the game itself ... rather than just seeking to provoke and annoy. I'm not above good humored jabbing/needling (all in good fun) -- I totally do it myself -- but it's nice not to be simply getting avalanches of trolls seemingly w/o anything of substance to say.

So as far as the Hawks are concerned, 4DaBirds is absolutely spot on regarding his keys to a Seahawks victory. Establishing the run and clock management is absolutely the biggest key in this game for the Hawks. That is the essence of Seahawks football. As I'm sure you both know, going back to Pete Carroll's days at USC ... that's ALWAYS been central to his overall philosophy. He is all about establishing the run -- FIRST And Foremost -- and limiting the offensive opportunities of the opponent. This season was a complete fluke as far as running the ball went. Finishing near the bottom in that category is something new to us Seahawks fans. Go back as far as you want into the stats from the Pete Carroll era ... the Seahawks are nearly always, always at the very top of the list when it comes to running the football. All season long, the running game has been derailed by a crappy offensive line (one of the very worst I've ever seen) ... and just overall inconsistency and injuries. Last week was in so many ways a complete surprise, as FINALLY the Thomas Rawls we saw last season (who was so dominant down the stretch and looked like a viable candidate for Offensive ROY in the NFC) showed up. The OL looked like they had figured a few things out. That's what a lot of us around here are pinning our hopes on that they finally have. I would take it to the bank that Carroll and company are going to look to run the ball A LOT ... and keep Matt Ryan and that offense on the sidelines. If they can't establish the run though ... then I'm frankly nervous about the prospects of getting into a shootout with this high powered Falcons offense.

Getting Jimmy Graham going? That goes without saying. He's a nightmare match-up for anyone. I'd certainly use him in those mid to intermediate zones.

And I completely agree with you about the Falcons and stopping the run game. In fact, THAT is always, always priority #1 when it comes to the Seahawks and their approach to defense. Ask anyone -- playing the run -- taking that away and making the opposing offense 1 dimensional is virtually always what the Hawks seek to do. And they generally do that VERY well. I would be highly surprised if the Hawks DON'T seek to make it their #1 Goal to shut the Falcons Run Game Down first and foremost ... and then pin their ears back and come after Matt Ryan.

The Seahawks have chosen to blitz more this season than in past years ... so I would expect them to come bring the heat in strategic situations. They could very well get burned in this game with that approach. Ryan's one of the best at hitting / working those mid to intermediate zones ... and for years, that's been this defense's Achillles Heel. Dan Quinn knows that VERY well, which is why I expect him to look for ways to exploit that ... as well as take shots downfield now that Earl Thomas has been lost for the season.

It should be a heck of a match-up. With the Falcons Defense giving up an average of nearly 28 points/game AT HOME this season ... I fully expect a high scoring nail biter. We'll see how it goes. In the end, I agree with you in saying -- here's to a good game ... and for the love of Pete, no serious injuries.

 

[byau]

Welcome, great posts.

The numbers tell me the Falcons are the favorites. And they are rolling. And pretty much up until this morning my gut was telling me we'd lose.

However, all today, I've realized a few things and I can't reconcile that with the idea of the Seahawks losing:


1) While Earl is out, Kam is back in. Both are smart players and Kam is better at setting the defense and the communication. Plus, from what I remember, Matt Ryan is most effective in the 10 to 15 yard completion zone which is where Kam lives. What this all amounts to: Seahawks +Kam/-Earl are better than Seahawks +Earl/-Kam

2) For three quarters, the Seahawks dominated Atlanta. They really got to Matt Ryan too. For one quarter, Atlanta dominated the Seahawks. I'm bound to think that the one quarter was the outlier.

2a) Getting back Frank Clark and Michael Bennet. And I have a feeling they will get to Matt.

3) The third quarter they started rolling Matt out more. However, Bobby and KJ have really done some special things the last few weeks. Unreal. And I think they will both have a directive to get at Matt even more, which will be a real possibility with Kam back in the game patrolling the middle (vs. Earl patrolling the back)

4) On offense, Russell Wilson healthy, Thomas Rawls healthy, and Marcel Reece whose performance I think was way underrated against Detroit and I think was a key to the run game

Up until yesterday, I had a gut feeling that the Seahawks were going to lose.

Starting about this morning, with all the above, I can't shake the feeling that we're going to win

The only feeling that is still the same is that I feel it will only be a 10 point win at most and come down to the last few minutes.

Thanks for visiting and posting, those are my feelings about the game

GO HAWKS