Sorting the Sunday Pile, Week 10: Falcons Definitely Aren't Who We Thought They Were

Sorting the Sunday Pile looks back at the NFL weekend that was. It's also an unofficial Mittens blog.

A year ago, the Falcons were 2-6, Joey Harrington was the starting quarterback, DeAngelo Hall was in the secondary giving up big plays (and occasionally getting fined hundreds of thousands of dollars for it), and Bobby Petrino was still four weeks away from high-tailing it to Arkansas.

Michael Vick, the supposed face of the franchise, had yet to be convicted of puppy murder, but the organization was already in a full-on death spiral. But in the time it took the club to hire Thomas Dimitroff and Mike Smith, and anoint Matt Ryan the new face of the franchise, everything changed. Or that's how it seemed, anyway. I suspect it took many hours of "the inmates actually don't run the asylum" detox, subliminal messages and hypnoses to change the culture of losing that had pervaded Flowery Branch.

Whatever, it worked.

(Normally, this is where I would suggest Al Davis get Arthur Blank on the horn and find out exactly how the Falcons were able to do a 180 in less than a year. This would assume, of course, that Al Davis isn't a crazy old man, paranoid that his shadow is plotting his demise.) And this morning, after another impressive victory, this time against the high-powered Saints, Atlanta is 6-3.

They trail Carolina by one game in the NFC South, and still have three remaining division games sandwiched around contests against the Broncos, Chargers, Vikings and Rams. There are tougher schedules to finish the season.

As impressive as Ryan has played -- and it's been mind-boggling, frankly -- he's not the only reason for Atlanta's turnaround; the defense, one of the worst units in the league a year ago, has dramatically improved in the first two months of the 2008 season. And in the last two weeks, they've dominated.

Sure, shutting out a hapless Raiders outfit might say more about Oakland than Atlanta, but to follow that up with strong showing against the Drew Brees-led Saints is noteworthy. Yes, Brees finished the game with 422 passing yards, but it took a 31-of-58 effort, and three of those incompletions ended up as Falcons interceptions.

Also worth some virtual high-fives: the Falcons wide receivers. For all the flak the Matt Millen-tastic Lions routinely took for drafting wideouts with seemingly every first-round selection over a five-year span, Atlanta wasn't exactly striking gold with their picks. Michael Jenkins and Roddy White could kindly be described as busts, though not in the same breath as Charles Rogers or Mike Williams .

Funny story: the players catching the passes weren't the problem; it was the guy throwing them. Ron Mexico, he of the 50 percent completion percentage, made everybody around him worse, which, I think, is exactly the opposite of what a team would like from their quarterback. Ryan is completing nearly 60 percent of his attempts, but again, he's not putting the ball in the air 50 times a game. A healthy mix of high-percentage throws and a punishing running game, along with an emerging defense, and -- above all else -- confidence, has led us to this moment.

Nobody, including Arthur Blank -- or his Salvador Dali-inspired mustachio -- saw this coming. It's why we watch.

Big Ben Needs Some Time on the Naughty Step


The schizophrenic Colts have now won two in a row, stealing a huge win in Heinz Field on Sunday. At 5-4, they're just one game out of the wild card -- along with just about every other team in the AFC -- but after staring 3-4 in the face just two weeks ago, they'll take it.

Peyton Manning and his gargantuan head (honestly, I'm almost certain that his helmet is an upside down Gatorade cooler painted white) looked as sharp as he has all season, and his numbers (21-of-40 for 240 yards and three touchdowns) would have been even better if not for several dropped passes. Indy's offensive line, which was routinely manhandled early in the year, only allowed two sacks and generally allowed Manning plenty of time in the pocket.

And although the Colts would prefer to be more than one game over .500 10 weeks into the proceedings, their schedule borders on insanely ridiculous the rest of the way: Houston, San Diego, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Detroit, Jacksonville, and Tennessee. Worst case, Indianapolis is 9-7, but I could very easily see them at 11-5, too, particularly with the offense finally rounding into shape.

The Steelers, on the other hand, should be concerned. Not the defense -- they're still arguably the fiercest unit in the league -- but the offense has qualified for EPIC FAIL status after another Ben Roethlisberger-inspired "WTF was that?!" performance. To his credit, he purportedly cried after the game, so there's that. Big Ben's battled injuries all season, and I applaud him for his insistence on playing through the pain and whatnot, but at some point -- like, say, two weeks ago -- maybe head coach Mike Tomlin should have given him two mandatory bye weeks to get himself right.

Yes, I know, it's very easy for me to sit in my blogging cave and play Monday morning quarterback, but when you hear things like, "Man, Tommy Maddox wouldn't even have thrown that pass," I think it's fair to point out when Roethlisberger's playing like crap.

"That pass" could have been any number of throws on Sunday, but the one that sticks out, was the third-down interception deep in Steelers territory very late in the first half. Pittsburgh led 17-7 and all they had to do was run the ball on 3rd-and-2 from their own 16. The Colts had just one timeout, and they surely would've used it -- assuming the Steelers, known for being able to gain two freaking yards on the ground, didn't convert the first down. Instead, Ben dropped back, woefully underthrew Santonio Holmes, and was deservedly picked off by Bengals castoff Keiwan Ratliff.

Indianapolis had 90 seconds to move the ball 30 yards and they only needed 81. A one-yard Manning-to-Dallas Clark touchdown pass later, it was 17-14 Pittsburgh, and the momentum had clearly shifted to the Colts.

Steelers offensive coordinator Bruce Arians has also earned plenty of blame, and if he could do a worse job of calling plays I'd be intrigued to see how he might top his truly uninspiring body of work these last two seasons. That the Ravens have the division's most explosive offense pretty much says it all.

Muffed Punts
Leftovers from Sunday's action...

... The Eagles didn't lose because Andy Reid wasted two challenges midway through the final quarter, but throwing the red flag on back-to-back plays in the hopes that Ed Hochuli would magically appear from under the hood and give Philly the benefit of shoddy officiating wasn't the best example of smart coaching, either. Of course, New York was the beneficiary of a suspect "Eli Manning was obviously over the line of scrimmage when he threw that ball" call that was reversed, but the Eagles still had a chance to win it several times late in the game. Didn't happen, and now they're tied for last in the division with the lowly Cowboys. The playoffs aren't out of the question but, well, they sorta are.

... The Daunte Culpepper Story ended about like you'd expect it to ... when the backdrop is Detroit. The former Vikings first-round pick and Pro Bowler retired from Pee Wee League coaching to return to the NFL, and after roughly 120 hours with the Lions, he was named the team's starting quarterback. And why wouldn't he be? You see, offensive coordinator Jim Colletto and his keen eye for talent had easily discerned that second-year backup Drew Stanton wasn't worthy to wear those homemade-looking Lions' throwbacks, much less play in an actual game. Which is why Stanton promptly took the field late in the first quarter after Culpepper went down with an injury.

The former Michigan State star could only muster one measly touchdown, nary a turnover, and 6-of-8 passing for 94 yards. Not Jon Kitna -type MVP numbers, but coupled with a consistent running game and a dependable defense, it could theoretically be a recipe for success. You know, like the Falcons. But very, very different. Which is why the Jaguars, who look like a model franchise by comparison, stomped the Lions. Naturally. By the way, glad to see Rod Marinelli dressed up for the game. Classy.

... Sage Rosenfels might have the most awesomest nickname ever, but he's a disgrace to the uniform. And in a league that still includes Mittens (former Texan!), that's a bold statement. I understand that bad games are a part of football, and anybody who regularly watches Houston certainly understands as much, but Rosenfels' uncanny ability to consistently miss his intended targets by 10-15 yards was truly breathtaking. That he only ended up with four interceptions was something of a miracle as well; he could've very easily thrown 10. He was that bad.

... I've spent much of the season defending Aaron Rogers while at the same time panning Brett Favre. It's not that I don't like Favre, it's just that I want him to go away since, you know, that's what he said he was going to do on three separate occasions. He didn't, of course, and the Packers ended up trading him to the Jets, where he's played like a wily, (sometimes) strong-armed 38-year-old, 18-year veteran. Which is to say: sometimes good, mostly not so good.

By comparison, Rodgers has been better, but he struggled last week against the Titans, and has been inconsistent enough so that fans still wonder where this team might be if Favre was still in the Captain's chair. After all, they were 13-3 last season before Favre threw that season-ending interception against the Giants in the NFC Championship game.

Not only that, but the Jets are 5-3 and tied atop the AFC East; the Packers, after Sunday's loss to the Vikings, are 4-5, good for third in the division. Ultimately, wins and losses are all that matter, even if Rodgers isn't responsible for why the team is losing. If you're looking for a silver lining, here ya go: Green Bay has a four-game lead on Detroit. You're welcome.

... Chiefs head coach Herm Edwards is known for a lot of things, playing to win the game and piss-poor clock management tops among them. But I have no beef with his decision in the final seconds against the Chargers. After Tyler Thigpen found Tony Gonzales for a touchdown to make it 20-19, San Diego with just 29 seconds to play, Edwards said screw the tie and went for two. It failed (of course it failed, we're talking about the freaking Chiefs, after all), but I applaud the man for taking the chance.

First, Kansas City was 1-6; they are, literally, playing for pride and jobs. Second, it's a young team and Edwards, who is more motivator than tactician, was basically saying, "hey, I have faith in you guys to get this done." It's a huge gesture, even if they weren't able to pull it off. I have no idea what Edwards' future will be in Kansas City, but -- and I know this sounds hokey because it's purely anecdotal -- this could be a turning point for the franchise.

I sure hope so. Partly because I have a soft spot for Herm, but also because I love Thigpen's story. The second-year player from Coastal Carolina, originally drafted by the Viking in the seventh round, has made a legit claim to the job going forward. Which means the Brody Croyle era is probably over before it ever really got started. And I'm cool with that.

... The Bills looked so promising a month into the season; a team with no real weakness -- a stout defense, a young, effective offense, and the annually awesome special teams. But injuries and bad luck have seen a 4-0 start morph into 5-4. Trent Edwards, one-time owner of the NFL's best fourth quarter passer rating, has looked very Roethlisbergian at times, holding the ball for ages before taking a sack or getting inevitably blowed up. It's not entirely his fault; the offensive line has had its issues, but in most cases, nothing good comes from giving defenders an extra two or three seconds to unload on you. J.P.Losman will attest to as much.

... The Raiders suck. We can all agree on that, but the depths of their suckiness apparently knows no bounds. They intercepted Jake Delhomme four times and still lost by 11 points. And no, they didn't cover.

Post-Game Debaclings
Quotes that Emmitt Smith might like...

"When you're 1-7, it isn't even a question of what you do. These guys deserve to win football games."
- Chiefs head coach Herm Edwards, following the 20-19 last-second loss to the Chargers

"You'll never hear me say 'I' anything, but I lost this game ... I take it on myself. I let the guys down on offense and defense. It hurts, but we'll learn from it."
- Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, after a three interception effort against the Colts

"As players and coaches, they physically beat us."
- Lions head coach Rod Marinelli robotically repeating the same tired phrase for the ninth week in a row.

"It was embarrassing. That was bad football all the way around. I can't even describe it."
- Head coach Jim Haslett, after watching the Jets dismantle the Rams 47-3

"I'm so glad we won, because you want to talk about a long plane ride home?"
- Carolina quarterback Jake Delhomme after tossing four picks and eking out a 17-6 victory against the Raiders