It’s safe to say the Falcons 2011 season opener did not go as well as planned. The Falcons fell behind early and couldn’t catch the Chicago Bears on road, losing 30-12. Losing by 18 points is never good, and two turnovers by your quarterback doesn’t help. That said, there were positives to be taken away from the game.
Pro Bowl quarterback Matt Ryan got off to a very rough start. In the first quarter, he fumbled once and was intercepted once. The Falcons played from behind virtually all game and trailed by a touchdown by the end of the first quarter.
The NFL season is not a sprint, though, and the opponent was a Chicago team that won their division and came within one game of the Super Bowl last year.
After the disappointing first half, Ryan did what he could bring his team back. He shouldn’t necessarily be absolved from the turnovers, sure, but look at what he had to deal with in the game and what he accomplished.
The Falcons started to rookies side by side in the game on the offensive line. Rookie Joe Hawley started for the injured Todd McClure at center and Garrett Reynolds made his debut at guard as the replacement for the departed Harvey Dahl. Also, fullback Ovie Mughelli is a big part of the pass protection scheme but left the game in the first half with a knee injury. As head coach Mike Smith said after the game, “We didn’t protect the quarterback very well. There were some situations where [the Bears] had the opportunity to pin their ears back and go, but we did not protect the quarterback. I don’t want to speak to specific guys until I watch the tape.”
Ryan was sacked five times in the game, yet somehow he threw for over 300 yards. (He would finish with 319 yards and complete over 60 % of his passes). When you consider that the Bears knew that Atlanta was going to throw the ball in an attempt to comeback, that’s pretty strong. It’s tough to be successful throwing in the NFL when everybody in the stadium knows what you’re going to do with the football. The Bears had the luxury of ignoring the run and defending only the pass. As evidence, Michael Turner ran for 100 yards on only ten carries, but because the Falcons were playing from a deficit, he only touched the ball 13 times all game.
As Ryan said afterward, “When you get behind against a good defense like this, it’s tough because they know you’re going to throw the ball, and they’re a very good pass rushing team.” With the heavy pass rush and the Chicago secondary playing an “umbrella” coverage to protect against deep passes, Ryan spread the ball around well. Tight end Tony Gonzalez, wide receivers Roddy White and rookie Julio Jones each caught at least five passes and finished with over 60 yards receiving.
It wasn’t a great day for the Falcons. There’s no reason to sugar coat it. That said, Ryan and the offense did have some positives. They settled down and moved the ball against a premier defense that knew exactly what was coming. It’s doubtful Ryan will turn the ball over twice in the first quarter very often this season. It’s much more likely he’ll continue to have 300 yard passing games and spread the ball to his talented playmakers regularly.
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