Play of the Game: Crumpler

Nov. 12, 2007

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The Third Quarter

Wednesday - 01/16/08, 03:03PM

Falcons Season Review: The Third Quarter

by J. Michael Moore, Atlantafalcons.com Managing Editor
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Features » Season Recap » News » Bobby Petrino » Carolina » Tampa Bay » St Louis » Indianapolis » Adam Jennings » Alge Crumpler » Byron Leftwich » Chris Crocker » Chris Houston » Chris Redman » DeAngelo Hall » Dwayne Blakley » Jerious Norwood » Joey Harrington » Jonathan Babineaux » Keith Brooking » Michael Boley » Michael Jenkins » Morten Andersen » Rod Coleman » Roddy White » Todd Weiner » Trey Lewis » Warrick Dunn »

 

EDITOR'S NOTE: Over two weeks AtlantaFalcons.com will review the Falcons 2007 four games at a time. Today, we look at games nine through 12. Check back Thursday for the final four games.

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- The Falcons started the third quarter of the season with the second of back-to-back wins (the only winning streak of the season). It breathed some new life into the season and presented a chance to get back into the playoff race in the NFC South. That didn't happen but the victory over the division-rival Panthers did its part in providing good vibes.

The Falcons started the third quarter of the season with the second of back-to-back wins (the only winning streak of the season). It breathed some new life into the season and presented a chance to get back into the playoff race in the NFC South. That didn't happen but the victory over the division-rival Panthers did its part in providing good vibes.


Atlanta Falcons 20, Carolina Panthers 13
Bank of America Stadium
Week 9

On this Veterans Day, the Panthers and Falcons delivered a gritty, blue-collar game that any career military man or woman could appreciate.

The field at Bank of America Stadium stood chewed and pot-holed after this NFC grudge match, which featured determined running games and veteran kickers. The Falcons had the age advantage in both categories in a 20-13 victory.

But it came down to the final moments.

A 30-yard touchdown pass from Joey Harrington to North Carolina native Alge Crumpler with 20 seconds left gave the Falcons a second-straight win.

"We had Alge coming across the middle," Harrington said when asked about the touchdown. "We had a re-route coming in behind him. They did a good job of disguising the pressure.  They brought it right at the last second. I knew I could get the ball out. I saw Alge come open and then I listened to the crowd. You learn to do that as a quarterback. You let go of the ball and you listen to the crowd."

It took some work, though, as the Falcons had to put together a second-half comeback.

Two field goals by 25-year veteran Morten Andersen pulled the Falcons back from a 10-7 halftime deficit. Andersen eclipsed the 2,500-point mark on the afternoon and gave the Falcons most of their scoring punch after 11th-year pro Warrick Dunn gave the team an early 7-0 lead on a 30-yard touchdown run.

Roddy White had two key catches to set up the second of Andersen's field goals, which gave the Falcons a second-half lead. He finished with a game-high six catches for 57 yards. Panthers superstar Steve Smith was held to five catches for 61 yards and running back DeShaun Foster remained off-balance for much of the game. The back, who picked up 122 yards on the ground in the previous meeting between these teams, had 59 rushing yards and a 3-yard per carry average.

Crumpler had just two catches on the day, but the second resulted in his second score of the season.

On defense, the Falcons were led by rookie cornerback Chris Houston (eight tackles) who drew the starting assignment and got plenty of action on the outside.


STAT OF THE GAME: The teams combined for just eight third-down conversions in the game.


QUOTABLE:  "He definitely grew up today," cornerback DeAngelo Hall said of the rookie Houston. "I told them if I have to take less money just to play alongside him I’ll do it. That kid definitely grew up today. He’s a force to be reckoned with."


FROM THE BLOG: "Mother's Day is still several months away. The holiday Sunday was one to honor the nation's veterans. But you know Alge Crumpler made his mother happy with his game-winning touchdown reception against the Panthers."


MORE FROM THE FALCONS-PANTHERS GAME:


Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31, Atlanta Falcons 7
The Georgia Dome
Week 10

The Falcons stepped into the Georgia Dome winners of two straight games and looking at a perfect opportunity to gain ground in the NFC South race. They left with a 31-7 loss to the division-leading Tampa Bay Buccaneers that included several key injuries and visible frustration.

Defensive tackle Trey Lewis (knee), tackle Todd Weiner (knee) and tight end Dwayne Blakley all left the game with injuries. Defensive tackle Rod Coleman left the game for several minutes with an arm injury but returned (he would eventually be placed on injured reserve along with Lewis and Weiner).

Bumps and bruises were just part of an ugly and unusual contest, however. The Falcons and Bucs seemed to battle themselves more than each other Sunday, combining for five turnovers and creating what can best be described as a bizarre NFL game.

The Buccaneers were out of official challenges in the first half. The Falcons finished the game with 11 penalties for 105 yards.

Quarterback Byron Leftwich, starting his first game since Oct. 21, threw two interceptions and was later replaced by Joey Harrington.

"My performance was poor and I will look over the things that I didn't do so well," Leftwich said. "As the quarterback of this team I have to set the precedent and put numbers on the board. I just didn't get it done but we will be ready for next week."

The first interception canceled out a Keith Brooking fumble recovery on the previous play and set up a 44-yard touchdown pass from Buccaneers quarterback Jeff Garcia to wide receiver Joey Galloway.

The Falcons also had issues holding on to the football.

The first of two Leftwich fumbles came in the second quarter. As he tried to escape a collapsing pocket the signal-caller was hit from behind by Greg White and lost the football. Ronde Barber recovered and raced 41 yards for a touchdown and a 14-0 Tampa Bay lead.

The Falcons avoided the first shutout in Georgia Dome history inside the two minute warning with a 7-yard touchdown pass from Harrington to Adam Jennings.


STAT OF THE GAME: Atlanta held the ball for more than half of the game, but was thrown off track by four turnovers.


QUOTABLE: “They were making plays," running back Warrick Dunn said. "I can’t say they are better than last year’s defense, but they’re playing well together and making plays. Their front four, obviously their ends, caused a lot of problems today. Guys were just really flying around. To me, that’s just traditional Bucs football. We have to give them a lot of credit. They played well, they played hard, they made plays, they caused turnovers and they just really got us out of our game.”


FROM THE BLOG: "Say what you want to about the Falcons 31-7 loss to the Bucs that wrapped up, oh, just about half an hour ago. There are plenty of story lines to go through and plenty of speaking points for the football mind (message boarders are surely debating)."


MORE FROM THE FALCONS-BUCS GAME:


Indianapolis Colts 31, Atlanta Falcons 13
The Georgia Dome
Week 11

A quick start got the Georgia Dome crowd on its feet, but a rapid rally by the Colts ended a chance at a holiday upset for the Falcons.

Indianapolis ended it's short week with a 31-13 win over Atlanta in the Thanksgiving Day nightcap, the second such game broadcast nationally by NFL Network in the past two years.

"This is a very tough loss because we have not gotten off to a good start the entire season," tight end Alge Crumpler said. "I felt like we had something that we could build on, but we were not able to finish."

Colts quarterback Peyton Manning threw three touchdown passes and rookie wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez caught six passes for 105 yards in the game. That eclipsed the effort of Falcons quarterback Joey Harrington, who finished 14-of-30 for 155 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. Wide receiver Roddy White finished with six catches for 104 yards and a score.

Running back Warrick Dunn also reached an important personal milestone in the game, becoming the 22nd player in NFL history to reach 10,000 career rushing yards. Dunn finished with 17 rushes for 70 yards.

The Falcons used a an opening drive that ate up 8:01 of the first quarter to take a 3-0 lead and a 48-yard touchdown pass from Harrington to White for a 10-0 advantage with 3:43 remaining in the first quarter.

But Manning took advantage of several odd penalties and a Falcons turnover to rapidly bring Indianapolis back.

Manning led three consecutive scoring drives to give the Colts 21 second-quarter points. The Falcons countered with another Morten Andersen field goal to keep the halftime deficit at 21-13.

The Colts' first three scoring drives measured three, 10 and four plays. The Falcons' opening drive tipped the scales at 19 plays, making it the longest drive of the season for the Falcons and -- at the time -- in the entire NFL.

Manning's efficiency over-shadowed an early defensive charge by Atlanta, which included a sack on the Colts first possession that forced an early punt and confusion along the offensive line. Linebacker Michael Boley would lead the team with a career-high three sacks. Boley was also credited with a team-high nine tackles.


STAT OF THE GAME: The Colts held the ball for just 3:43 in the first quarter but finished the game with 365 yards of total offense.


QUOTABLE: “It was very disappointing after coming out like we did," Boley said. "I think that the running into the kicker call kind of changed the momentum around for us, unfortunately. But that’s not an excuse. We did some things early, but we’ve got to keep it up for four quarters.”


FROM THE BLOG: "If the team's official bye week came at a good time, this unofficial break comes in an even better spot."


MORE FROM THE FALCONS-COLTS GAME:


St. Louis Rams 28, Atlanta Falcons 16
The Edward Jones Dome
Week 12

Rams backup quarterback Gus Frerotte threw three first-half touchdown passes to give St. Louis a 21-0 halftime lead but it was Atlanta's backup signal-caller that made plays down the stretch and nearly led the Falcons to a miraculous comeback.

Chris Redman, who replaced Joey Harrington at the start of the fourth quarter, finished the game 16-of-24 for 172 yards and two touchdowns. The Falcons had a shot at victory inside the final three minutes, but a fourth-down incompletion in the red zone and an interception with 1:31 remaining brought the Edward Jones Dome crowd to its feet.

A 50-yard touchdown run by Steven Jackson blew the game open with 1:17 left and secured a 28-16 victory for the Rams.

Before the late score it seemed the Falcons had a chance to pick up another victory on the 2007 season.

Redman had taken just one snap in the regular season entering Sunday's game but he piloted the offense to scoring drives of 80 and 72 yards in the final 15 minutes. He was helped along the way by teammates young and old.

Roddy White showed speed after the catch, Michael Jenkins showed the ability to make acrobatic grabs, Alge Crumpler hauled in short passes and clashed with defenders, Jerious Norwood busted long runs, Michael Boley flew around the field to make tackles, Jonathan Babineaux exploded into the Rams backfield and safety Chris Crocker got a key interception that set up a chance for victory with less than three minutes to play.

It was an unlikely ending to a game that was controlled by the Rams for three complete quarters.

Frerotte had scoring tosses to wide receivers Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce and tight end Randy McMichael and led the home team to that big halftime lead. St. Louis had scoring drives of 75, 95 and 80 yards in the opening half to put the Falcons at an early disadvantage.

“We came out and spotted that team" Crumpler said. "We can’t afford to spot anybody. We have not put up enough points in any game. They had a nice long drive to start the game offensively and got their confidence going and that is the way things went.”

“We are more worried about ourselves more than them," Redman said. "We want to go out and play good football.  We know we are a good team, we just have to learn how to finish games.  I am proud of the fact that everyone stayed in there and hung in and didn’t give up and played a hard game.”


STAT OF THE GAME: The Falcons ran the ball just 18 times in the loss at St. Louis.


QUOTABLE: "We made the quarterback change in the fourth quarter because I felt like Joey was being ineffective," former head coach Bobby Petrino said. "Chris came in and threw the ball around, hit hands, got us into a position where we had an opportunity to win the game and then we just came up on the short end.”

FROM THE BLOG: "The outcome wasn't what anyone wanted. I sit on the bus now with the normal frustrations and sad looks. However, we're talking more about the individual performances in this game and not as much how victory slipped away."


MORE FROM THE FALCONS-RAMS GAME:

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