I tell ya, if I was a Falcons fan, this is pretty much how I felt back in the glory days of 2012 when we left a turd on the 5 yard line to fall short of our comeback. Instead, Atlanta snatched defeat from the jaws of victory by blowing the opportunity to put the game away late by giving up a sack on 2nd and 11 form the NE 23. Of course the refs decided to put the FG out of reach by calling holding on the next play. And calling PI in OT was justy icing on the cake for the bullshit job of tilting the calls toward NE. If that play is PI, then Crabtree’s certainly was, and we win Super Bowl 47.
So 1st and 10 from the NE 23 becomes 4th and 33 from the NE 45. If our new head coach simply called 3 running plays and set up for the ~40 yard FG, the game would have needed much differently. Instead, it’s all going to be about Tom Brady. Blah blah blah. Yeah, he’s a great QB, but a pick 6? He could have been picked off 3 more times, including on that last TD drive in the end zone. He missed guys open, and his WRs dropped a shitload of passes.
Brady played well, but he’s no Joe. Atl’s defense was on the field the while 2nd half, and they blew opportunity after opportunity to salt the game away. Including getting the ball on NE’s 41 on the failed onsides kick.
Blehhhh. When NE made it 28-12 early in the 4th quarter, my immediate thought was NE will tie this, it’ll go to OT and NE wins.
San Francisco 49ers Forever 
It’s better to be lucky than good. NE was very lucky last night. Atlanta ran out of gas in the second half. Their D was on the field too damn much at the end of the game. Did Brady have to face a decent pass rush? Hell no. Brady was like a statue in the pocket picking apart Atlanta. You see Brady try to run? He looks like the tin man. Brady is too old to play another season but when he gets that kind of protection why not stay on and play a few more years? Brady is the hero but Atlanta contributed greatly to his winning drive.
1. Brady is no Joe and never will be. I don’t give a crap what anyone ever says, it’s just the way it is.
2. The pass play on 3rd and 1 when a FG likely ices the game was stunning in its stupidity and takes some of the luster off of the Shanahan hiring. Is this the kind of decision making we’re in for? It looked to me like it was going to be a deep ball at that. WTF were they thinking? RUN THE FUCKING BALL. Yeah, Freeman whiffed on the block, but it should’ve been a run play to begin with. They were killing the slow Pats LB’s with the run the entire game and they go away from it.
3. Ryan taking the sack, like you mentioned, Chuck, was inexcusable. Right before the snap, I’m talking to the TV, “ANYTHING but a sack.” Unbelievable.
The Pats won, but not without the full cooperation of the Atlanta Failcons. I hate the Pats, I hate Brady and I especially hate that punk-ass bitch Edelman. What an epic choke job.
It was 2nd and 11, LJ (at least on the aborted FG drive) but the point it still valid. You don’t go max risk there. Not when a FG wins the game for you.
chuck- I agree, to be a Falcon’s fan today would really suck.
I’d just like to know who was responsible for the play calling on the 2nd and 11 pass play. Ultimately it falls on the head coach but if that was Shanahan, it does take the shine off the hire a little bit. Going for the kill was very unnecessary. Much lie the pick in the end zone from Kappy to Crabs in the 2013 NFC Championship game. It was not the right call for the situation.
Granted, being a couple plays short of winning the Super bowl sure would taste a lot better than 2-14 though . . .
I gotta say it was Shanahan. The final say likely falls on Quinn, but he’s a defensive guy and Shanahan is the offensive wiz. I know the Falcons are a high octane offense, but sometimes the old-school running game is the only way to go.
There are no guarantee’s in football. I thought the play calling was a little suspect also. But, Atlanta has been doing that all year. It shows me that Shanny is willing to gamble, it just didn’t work. I am not apologizing for shanny because I really don’t understand how he could lose that game. But the big picture is that is was a team effort.
O yeah, and it was another Ref effort.
The NFL game is not even fun to watch anymore. With all the penalties and advertisements. I would like to know who is paying the refs off, my guess is sponsored corporations. Gotta get those adds in.
I guess one can blame the coaches for a loss but really the players have to execute. Perhaps Atlanta was burning all it’s energy earlier in the game and it’s luck just plain ran out. NE was ready, able and willing to help Atlanta lose this game. Losing the Super Bowl sucks really bad especially when one could have won it just playing a “smart” game.
No, that fact that they abandoned the run screwed Atl in the end. Esp. on the drive where they got to the 23.
Shanny the Younger called a brilliant but not quite perfect game. Its easy to second guess if something didn’t work. I thought Ryan made the big error not throwing the ball away and taking the sack. I also think that the Falcons D shoulders some blame as does Quinn who has the ability to overrule Shanny and could also have told him to slow the tempo and work the clock, something Shanny should have paid attention to.
It’s not easy to put up points like that on Bellicheats #1 ranked D and it took a record setting comeback and OT for the Falcons to lose.
Great game, now the wait begins to see if he actually signs his contract.
Maiocco made the comment that having spent time around Shanny last week that he thought he was the best candidate for Niners HC, I agree.
Yeah, McDaniels I thought made some really dumb calls in the 1st half. A screen on 3rd and 18 from the 23 to close the half? At least take a shot in the end zone. Shanahan seemed like a good call a month ago.
Agreed.
Found this breakdown of the Ryan sacks, this guy pins it on Ryan:
http://www.49erswebzone.com/commentary/1654-falcons-collapse-but-shanahan-calls-impressive-game/
Damn no more football. What am I going to do? I lost interest in baseball. It’s all pitching now. Where’s the hitting? The Stick days were better. Great hitters and lousy pitching was the ticket for me. I didn’t care about nothing in those days. Help I’ve fallen down and can’t get up.
C’mon, Giants baseball, spring training, the sky is the limit. Heck, I used to be Jazzed when we had Jack Clark in LF Chili in CF, Jonny L at short, and O’Malley at 3rd. Even knowing we never had a chance. Baseball is good for the soul.
Hah! Saw so many games sitting down the RF line with chili dog, Jack the Ripper Johnny Disaster and Moon Man Minton.
Good times. $1.50 for the bus and $5.00 for the lower reserve
Its official:
http://www.49erswebzone.com/articles/103354-49ers-officially-hire-kyle-shanahan-new-head-coach/
He better get a decent QB pronto.
Tough to do this year Nipper, slim pickings.
Congrats to Shanahan. Despite yesterday’s debacle, I’m pretty excited moving forward with he and Lynch at the helm. Both guys are young and smart and should be able to bring in the good talent and depth the Niners desperately need at multiple positions. There’s a good core of young guys already there, they just need some reinforcements. I’m sure there’ll be growing pains, but just having some new blood in there is cause for excitement.
tru dat
Yeah some new faces will really help this franchise. That last GM and coach were getting tiresome.
In fairness to Baalke, at least he left the team in a good cap situation. He knew the team was going to be lousy and getting expensive FAs was not worth it. If you’re going to suck go cheap.
I can’t be fair to Baalky, he was the worst GM this team has ever had and left it in the biggest mess it’s ever been.
New thread is up. And, no, Nipp. The fact that Baalke was unewilling to use his cap space is not a plus for him.
It is fortunate that we have it. What I will give Baalke credit for is getting the 12 draft picks. Baalke always was good at dealing for future picks.
He did bupkis with them, but he got them.