The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
4. Perfect time for a week off
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney says he has started breaking down his program to correct mistakes after the seventh-ranked Tigers’ surprising loss to Syracuse last week.
to catch it. Don’t wait for it. Go aggressively to get it.”
The meltdown against the Dolphins, after the Falcons held a 17-0 halftime lead, came at a bad time. The Falcons are set to play the Patriots in a rematch of the Super Bowl at 8:30 p.m. Sunday at Gillette Stadium. The Falcons led 28-3 before giving up 31 unanswered points over 17:06 of regulation and overtime in the greatest collapse in Super Bowl history in February.
“With everything that happened in the Super Bowl, that happened then,” safety Keanu Neal said. “We are focusing on 2017. It’s a new team. We know what we know about New England, but it’s a new year.”
But the Falcons are still blowing second-half leads a season later. They don’t appear to have learned the lesson from the February collapse.
Againstthe Dolphins, the Falcons’ run defense was shredded in the second half and their potent offense was kept off the field. The run defense was giving up 93 yards per game and ranked 11th in the league. The Falcons gave up a season-high 138 yards rushing as Miami averaged 4.5 yards per carry and ran some valuable time off the clock in the second half.
Dolphins running backs Jay Ajayi and Damien Williams had success running to the weak side of an unbalanced line.
Ajayi rushed 26 times for 130 yards, becoming the first running back to surpass 100 yards rushing against the Falcons this season. Williams rushed four times for nine yards. Quarterback Jay Cutler had one carry for minus-1 yard.
“We talked about it and now it’s just about moving forward and getting ready for the next week,” safety Keanu Neal said. “We had some onesies. A few plays that we didn’t fit it right or we had a penalty here or there. We gave them extra downs. At the end of the day when we get rid of those onesies we’ll be fine.”
Neal was asked to explain the term onesies.
“Just when you mess up on a play or you don’t fit your gap right,” Neal said. “Just playing together and technically sound.”
The Falcons gave up 125 yards rushing against the Bears. They gave up 117 against the Bills, 71 to the Lions and 59 to the Packers. Buffalo’s LeSean McCoy rushed 20 times for 76 yards against the Falcons as the previous individual high this season.
The unit did a better job with missed tackles than it had this season. However, defensive end Brooks Reed lost containment early when Ajayi scooted outside for an 18-yard gain, the Dolphins’ longest run of the game.
“They executed really well,” Falcons free safety Ricardo Allen said. “They have a strong offensive line and we knew that for sure.”
The Falcons believe they can play the run much better.
“We just have to tackle,” Allen said. “You have to get into your spot and make your plays. We are a defense that has gap for gap. You’ve got to sit in your gap and make your plays when it comes to you.”
Middle linebacker Deion Jones led the Falcons with 11 tackles. Neal had eight tackles.
Defensive end/linebacker Vic Beasley has moved on to New England and Tom Brady, now the winningest quarterback in NFL regular-season history along with his postseason success.
“Tom Brady is a guy with a big heart,” Beasley said. “He never gives up, you can tell that from the Super Bowl. I have a lot of respect for him because he’s accomplished a lot of things in his career. I understand that he’s going to give us his best shot, every team his best shot.”