Falcons coach Jim Mora reacted passionately, which should surprise nobody who knows him even a little, after his team's 24-21 win over the Saints on Sunday. He didn't care for a question about whether he was frustrated by his team's "failure" to close out wins.
It seemed a strange question to ask the coach of a 9-2 team minutes after his squad rallied to win. But the reporter was trying, and failing, to get to an important point: The Falcons have established themselves as a team that starts quickly and then goes into hibernation.
They've scored one offensive touchdown in 11 third quarters this season and have held the ball for just 42 minutes and 41 seconds combined in those periods while opponents have held it for 107:19.
That's pretty amazing.
Sunday evening, though, Mora started talking about how difficult it is to win in the National Football League and how his team's been pretty good in the fourth quarter all season when it's needed to be good.
On Monday, though, Mora admitted some that he's perplexed.
"It's a lull. I'm concerned about it," he said. "I wish we could find a way to come out of the locker room (after halftime) offensively and get something going right away. I'm not quite sure what the solution is right now.
"Like (offensive coordinator) Greg (Knapp) says, 'Is it better play-calling?' We're doing the things we've always done in terms of preparing for the second half. I don't know what it is. I don't want to make it too big an issue because when you make it too big an issue it becomes too big an issue."
NOTES, QUOTES
--FB Justin Griffith missed his first NFL game Sunday when a sprained right knee kept him out of the Falcons' 24-21 win over the Saints. His strained posterior collateral ligament might improve this week, but if it's anything less than 100 percent, Falcons coaches seem likely to stick with backup Stanley Pritchett, the nine-year veteran who played well in Griffith's absence. With a five-game lead in the NFC South, the Falcons don't have to push injured players.
--FS Cory Hall, who signed with the Falcons last year as an unrestricted free agent after spending his first four pro seasons with the Bengals, is with a winner for the first time in his pro career. The Falcons' 24-21 win over the Saints moved Atlanta to 9-2, assuring a winning season. "It's what I've always wanted. It's like a dream, to be honest with you. I'm just like, 'Don't wake up, don't wake up, keep winning, keep on as far as you can," Hall said. "That's why I signed here, to play with No. 7 and not against No. 7. I call (Michael Vick) the Jordan of football. No quarterback is perfect all the time. He has the talent to make up for some things that maybe he didn't do well earlier in the game."
--NT Ed Jasper, who blocked a 37-yard field goal try in the Falcons' 24-21 win over the Saints Sunday, broke the scheme of special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis to do it. He shot a guard gap on a play that was supposed to be an outside block. "Now, the downside of that is, if I hadn't blocked the field goal, Joe D. would probably still be chewing me out right now."
--WR Brian Finneran suffered a sprained ankle late in the Falcons' win over the Saints and was wearing a removable cast Monday. Coach Jim Mora said it is not a high ankle sprain, however, and it might heal up in time for Sunday's game against Tampa Bay.
--RCB Jason Webster, who was forced from the Falcons' game Sunday with a sore groin muscle, probably will get a chance to rest it Wednesday and maybe beyond that. Although coach Jim Mora said Webster could've kept playing, it seems unlikely that with a five-game lead in the NFC South the Falcons would risk playing Webster rather than letting him heal up this week.
STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
REPORT CARD VS. SAINTS
PASSING OFFENSE: B -- QB Michael Vick went through a fairly dreadful stretch in the middle of the game where he was either overthrowing his receivers or skipping the ball in front of them. But he was solid in the beginning and the end, especially on the final two offensive plays for Atlanta, completions of 27 and 20 yards to TE Alge Crumpler. The last one was the game-winner with 1:22 left. Vick was sacked just twice, a very low number for him considering he tied his season high with 29 attempts. Crumpler (four catches, 103 yards) continues to roll, and WR Peerless Price (four catches, 59 yards) had a couple of important grabs.
RUSHING OFFENSE: B-plus -- The Falcons averaged a whopping 5.6 yards per carry, and it wasn't just because Vick went wild. His 10 carries for 69 yards and a touchdown were somewhat modest numbers by his recent standards. Running backs Warrick Dunn (11 carries, 5.4-yard average) and T.J. Duckett (12 carries, 4.8) pitched in on a day when the Falcons rushed for 186 yards on 33 carries.
PASS DEFENSE: B -- The pass rush was steady but rarely overwhelming although the Falcons had four sacks (two by DT Rod Coleman, who has a whopping eight despite missing three games). New Orleans QB Aaron Brooks (19 of 34, 189 yards) never really unloaded, making most of his hay when throwing to WR Joe Horn (nine catches, 101 yards, one touchdown and one two-point conversion). The Falcons didn't give up a pass deeper than 26 yards although rookie LCB DeAngelo Hall was picked upon a little bit. Both interceptions were freebies, one by CB Allen Rossum (who replaced injured RCB Jason Webster) when Brooks made a terrible throw shortly before halftime to set up an Atlanta field goal (remember, the winning margin in this game was three points), and another on a Hail Mary to end the game. Hall picked that one.
RUSH DEFENSE: C -- Deuce McAllister did most of his damage in the second half, rushing 15 times for 68 yards to finish with 23 carries for 100 yards. That made him just the third individual back to rush for 100 or more against Atlanta (Priest Holmes and Tiki Barber are the others). It's not as if the Saints had huge holes to run through while rushing 28 times for 141 yards (including a 26-yard reverse by WR Donte Stallworth), but the Falcons had one of their least impressive tackling games.
SPECIAL TEAMS: B-minus -- Jay Feely missed a 37-yard field goal, his third miss in a four-game stretch covering six kicks. He also made a 31-yarder and sent two of four kickoffs into the end zone with one touchback. The coverage teams were solid, the return teams average. Allen Rossum had a 47-yard punt return that was reduced to 7 yards by a dubious blocking-in-the-back penalty against Siddeeq Shabazz. Rossum had to fair catch three of five punts and had a good day (very good for Atlanta) day returning kickoffs (24.8-yard average). Feely's missed field goal might've been a big problem in what was a three-point game if NT Ed Jasper hadn't blocked a 37-yard try by Saints K John Carney.
COACHING: B -- There was nothing spectacular about the schemes the Falcons threw at the Saints, and on offense in particular Atlanta was stale more often than not against a defense that's been terrible for most of the season. Defensive coordinator Ed Donatell did solid work moving his unit forward and back as the Saints' ground game and passing attack took turns giving the Falcons periodic difficulty. Some of the best coaching work was done by Jim Mora, who played cheerleader on the Atlanta sideline when times looked tough, and defensive line coach Bill Johnson, whose unit was gassed down the stretch only to hold on and help shut down the Saints when it mattered most.