J. Mike's Missives

Injuries Headline Loss

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). That said, injuries are the pressing concern. You could hear the worry in Head Coach Bobby Petrino's voice.

Rookie defensive tackle Trey Lewis left the game with a knee injury and, judging from his reaction, won't be jumping back into action next week. The team also needed to wrap up Rod Coleman's injured arm to have him play and provide relief to what quickly became a rotation of two defensive tackles.

The team also lost tackle Todd Weiner and tight end Dwayne Blakley in the game. The extent of those injuries also remains unclear.

So, that's the thing to keep an eye on as the team moves into an extremely short week to get ready for the Colts on Thanksgiving night. If they can make it, however, the post-Thanksgiving schedule provides a sort of "second bye week." That's something every trainer has to look forward to at this point in the season and something only six teams will get the joy of experiencing.

On a more positive note, wide receiver Adam Jennings' touchdown did more than just lighten the blow of a blowout loss. It was his first as a professional. The extra point extended Morten Andersen's point-scored streak to 354 and prevented what would have been the first shutout in Georgia Dome history.

Just something to keep in mind... Now, let's wait for some injury news.

Fourth Quarter Notes

14:53 -- Earnest Graham runs 26 yards for a touchdown. Extra point good. 31-0 Tampa Bay.

14:43-- Jerious Norwood scampers in for a touchdown on the next kickoff, but it's nullified by a holding call. Instead, the Falcons get first down at their own 30.

14:22 -- Well, it's been a rough day. I'm off to make sense of things in the postgame story. Check back throughout the night for news and updates, including thoughts from the locker room.

Third Quarter Notes

12:20 -- A first-down completion to Ovie Mughelli and a personal foul on the Buccaneers have helped the Falcons move out to their own 45 after forcing an half-opening punt by the Bucs.

10:32 -- Warrick Dunn dives forward after hauling in a short pass from Byron Leftwich. He's short of the first down, bringing up fourth-and-1 at the Tampa Bay 46. The Falcons take a timeout as they figure out if they're going for the first down or not.

10:03 -- The Falcons line up and the pitch goes to Dunn who dives straight toward the sticks on the Bucs sideline. No dice. Turnover on downs.

6:46 -- The Bucs face third-and-goal at the Falcons 6. Single back, rollout Garcia. He throws the ball away but a flag is thrown. Holding on the offense. Penalty is declined and we're going to see a field goal try by Matt Bryant. Good. 17-0 Buccaneers.

6:32 -- Tampa Bay looks to keep the ball out of Jerious Norwood's talented hands on special teams and pooch kick after the score. The Falcons take over first-and-10 at their own 37.

6:20 -- Another interception on offense. Leftwich got the ball away but it was altered by the hand of defensive end Gaines Adams. The ball went right into the juggling hands of defensive tackle Chris Hovan at the Falcons 27.

4:51 -- Touchdown pass -- Garcia to Alex Smith. 24-0 Tampa Bay.

4:43 -- Joey Harrington checks in at quarterback in a bit of a bind. A holding penalty on the kickoff return backs the ball up to the 15-yard line. UPDATE (2:24): The Falcons punted to the Buccaneers who now are working their way back into Atlanta territory.

Saturday, Nov 18., 3:40 p.m. EST
J. Michael Moore

Second Quarter Notes

14:53 -- A delay blitz by Keith Brooking helps the rest of the defense get a stop off an incompletion (third-and-7 after a Bucs penalty). Holding on the Bucs on the ensuing punt pushes the Falcons out to the Tampa Bay 26.

13:33 -- Rod Coleman has left the game for the Falcons with a right arm injury. His return to the game is questionable. That leaves only two healthy defensive tackles in the game, Montavious Stanley and Jonathan Babineaux (Trey Lewis injured his knee in the first quarter).

12:19 -- John Abraham is leading a charge of the defensive line right now. The veteran just picked up his first sack of the game moments after Babineaux dropped Earnest Graham for a loss. Third-and-20 for the Bucs... Michael Pittman takes the hand off and rushes for 12 yards -- no where near the first down.

11:00 -- You can't get much more wide open than Laurent Robinson just was. Byron Leftwich overthrew the rookie, however, on first down. Of course, it may not of counted as Robinson had stepped out of bounds on the play. If he made the catch, a penalty may have followed (as signified by the official who threw his hat to mark the point Robinson left the field).

10:42 -- As I write the previous post, the Falcons line up for third down. Leftwich faced pressure and stepped up in the pocket. He got hit from behind and the ball bounces right into Ronde Barber's hands. The Pro Bowler sprints untouched into the end zone. No challenge. 14-0 Tampa Bay.

10:35 -- Jerious Norwood returns the next kickoff to the Falcons 38. Tight end Dwayne Blakley is shaken up on the play, but is able to walk off the field on his own.

UPDATE (9:23): Blakley has been ruled out and will not return.

9:50 -- A fumble by Warrick Dunn is recovered by Cato June. First down Tampa Bay at the Falcons 49. The fumble was forced by Derrick Brooks, who played with Dunn in Tampa Bay and at Florida State... We will get a challenge though in hopes the pass to Dunn was incomplete.

OK. Incomplete pass. The call is overturned and the Falcons come back on the field with third-and-7 at the 49.

9:39 -- Leftwich found Roddy White with a third-down pass. White appeared to fumble, with the ball being recovered by Brian Kelly. Kelly tossed the ball to Cato June who couldn't get his hands on the ball. The ball went to the Falcons as Todd McClure worked his way into the pile and came back with the ball... Interesting point by Wes Durham on Falcons radio. If the Bucs indeed fumbled... Yes, a re-change of possesion means a first down for the Falcons.

You knew this was coming -- the Bucs are challenging to see if Kelly was down before the lateral to June. That is the Bucs last challenge of the game.

(Cue the Jeopardy music).

Call stands... We have two fumbles on the play and the Falcons have a first down. As an FYI, it took seven lines in the Gamebook to describe the action on that play. Most plays take two or three, max.

9:39 -- In other news, Todd Weiner has a knee injury. His return to the game is questionable. Weiner started the game at left tackle.

7:25 -- The Falcons are now 1-of-8 on third down and got just one first down on this drive -- a completion to tight end Alge Crumpler.

7:17 -- Think the game is taking awhile? Four games that started at 1 p.m. are at halftime. The rest ar within two minutes of the half.

4:53 -- Abraham picks up his second sack of the game, but it's taken off the board after an illegal contact penalty on Chris Houston. That's 5 yards and an automatic first down at the Falcons 45.

3:31 -- Coleman returns to the game with tape on his arm. At the same time, Garcia tries to call a timeout. The officials stop the clock and then realize the Bucs have no timeouts. That'sa 5-yard penalty and fans are looking at third-and-10 at the Falcons 45. Incomplete pass on third down thanks to pressure from Abraham. Bucs punt that's downed at the Falcons 5.

1:26 -- Leftwich is sacked and fumbles, but the Falcons recover. Pass falls incomplete on third down (now 1-of-9 on the down).

Saturday, Nov 18., 2:45 p.m. EST
J. Michael Moore

First Quarter Notes

15:00 -- The Falcons won the toss and elected to receive. Not a lot of words exchanged between the captains at midfield. Business.

15:00 -- A healthy Jerious Norwood lines up on the goal line to take Matt Bryant's opening kickoff. He takes the kick at teh 7-yard line and pushes ahead to the 25.

14:45 -- The Falcons and Byron Leftwich open up in the shotgun with all wide receivers split wide. He finds Michael Jenkins over the middle for a first down.

14:02 -- Warrick Dunn, who is just 58 yards away from 10,000 rushing yards gets his first carry, a 1-yard gain to the Falcons 41.

12:57 -- After another short run the Falcons faced third-and-medium. Leftwich's second pass of the day was intended for Alge Crumpler, but fell incomplete. Michael Koenen, thus, punted to Phillip Buchanon, who returns it to the Bucs 15.

11:21 -- Early timeout from the Bucs, who have found nothing with the running game through two plays. Facing third-and-6 at his own 19, Bucs quarterback Jeff Garcia steps out from under center and slams his hands together to ask for a break.

11:16 -- The Bucs fail to convert and Trey Lewis is hurt. Lewis was a key player on the last play pushing center John Wade and guard Arron Sears deep into the backfield. Something happened to his right knee on the play, though, and he's laying just inside the Bucs 10.

It doesn't look good for Lewis who is now getting helped off the field by two members of the Falcons training staff. The group spent a good bit of time working on the knee. That leaves three defensive tackles for the Falcons -- Montavious Stanley, Jonathan Babineaux and Montavious Stanley. Another interior lineman, Tim Anderson, is inactive.

UPDATE: Lewis is now leaving the field on a cart. The injury is being called "a sprained right knee." He will not return.

8:55 -- The Falcons went three-and-out on offense but got the ball right back deep in Bucs territory. Garcia found Michael Pitman on a slant on second down. It was close, but it looks like he caught the ball and coughed it up. It was recovered by Keith Brooking and brought up to the Bucs 31. Jon Gruden didn't wait long to throw the red challenge flag to see if the running back actually caught the football.

The six greatest words in football (at least right now): "The ruling on the field stands." First-and-10 Atlanta at the Bucs 31.

8:47 -- Well that didn't last long. On the next snap Leftwich was hit hard by Javon Haye as he threw. The pigskin wobbled into the air and Barrett Ruud picked it off. First-and-10 Bucs at their own 28.

7:59 -- The Bucs just got some help on a penalty. John Abraham got caught for hitting Garcia low, but it appeared he was getting blocked into the ground by tackle Donald Penn.

7:43 -- Garcia finds Joey Galloway with a 45-yard touchdown off play action. Galloway faked a slant route on DeAngelo Hall and broke free down the near sideline. 7-0 Bucs.

4:47 -- The Falcons are on the move thanks to some quick passes over the middle and to the side. Norwood just picked up a first down on a swing route and stays in the game with a first down at the Bucs 49.

3:35 -- Norwood is showing no side effects from his ankle injury from a week ago. He's made players miss on three straight plays and the Falcons are now at the Bucs 36.

2:08 -- The Falcons quickly found themselves in third-and-long after a 2-yard loss on a running play to Norwood. The Bucs brought the blitz on third down and Leftwich's pass fell incomplete. The punt skips into the end zone for a touchback. A personal foul on the Falcons added 15 yards to the spot -- first-and-10 Bucs at their own 35.

0:00 -- The first quarter ends with the Bucs facing third-and-2 at the Falcons 37.

Saturday, Nov 18., 1:48 p.m. EST
J. Michael Moore

No Question. Big Game

Well, here we are at the Georgia Dome gearing up for what is the biggest game of the season. You never want to overstate the importance of a game but it's hard no to with so much on the line. A win today and the Falcons are one game back in the NFC South with the early edge on the team ranked at the top of the division.

Plain and simple.

But, enough of that. Here's some news as we barrel toward kickoff.

Quarterback Byron Leftwich is healthy and he's starting. At the present moment a tall, No. 4, is taking reps and launching the ball down field to his receivers. That group, unfortunately, will not include Joe Horn. Horn has a pestering hamstring injury and will be inactive for a second straight game.

Injured Bucs who practiced during the week will play, including Earnest Graham, who is expected to get the start at running back. Michael Pittman is also healthy.

Saturday, Nov 18., 12:27 p.m. EST
J. Michael Moore

Business as Usual

Took the wife out for her birthday last night to our favorite restaurant. It was, by both our accounts, a normal night with a wonderful celebration. I know that sounds like an oxymoron, but think back to a time in your life when "average" is great. Still don't believe me? Think about that in terms of rainfall.

This morning I got to thinking about how sometimes we need status quo. When you go awhile without business as usual it gets tough to take care of business.

The Falcons can identify with this.

Two straight wins have brought a sense of peace to Flowery Branch -- a sense of normalcy. This is the way it is supposed to be. The coaches know it. The players know it. The staff knows it. So don't look for anyone to complain tomorrow if after a Falcons victory the team strolls off the field like a business man walks through an airport concourse. Normal builds confidence. Normal, when it comes to winning, feels good.

Maybe I'm just a boring husband with a little imagination, but Kelli and I's average birthday dinner was quite special.

A Falcon's win and a step up the NFC South rankings? Yeah... that's special, too.

Saturday, Nov 17., 7:20 a.m. EST
J. Michael Moore