J. Mike's Missives

Finding the Bright Spot

It was a tough locker room. Quiet. You can cut the frustration with a knife these days around the Georgia Dome and that isn't a good thing. But, if you try, you can always find the bright spot -- that little hint of optimism that, multiplied by 53, can carry a team through anything.

In this case, it came from cornerback DeAngelo Hall who pointed out the Falcons, even at 1-5, still have a shot to catch division leaders Carolina and Tampa Bay (4-2).

So, that's where the Falcons are as they race into a trip to division foe New Orleans and into the bye week.

There's still time especially, as Hall said, in the NFC South.

Good night (or good morning) from Atlanta.

Tuesday, Oct 16., 12:52 a.m.
J. Michael Moore

Fourth Quarter Notes

11:52 -- Back-to-back first-down completions by Eli Manning have the Giants on the move and the clock following suit. The visitors have pushed into the red zone and managed to keep the game clock ticking away in the process.

11:18 -- A Falcons challenge of a completed pass paid off as the call was overturned and forced a third down in the red zone the Giants did not convert. The play set up a 32-yard field goal by Lawrence Tynes that gave New York a 24-10 lead.

10:46 -- Atlanta has the ball back now, first-and-10 at its own 29. Hope you've enjoyed the blog this evening. Look for a postgame post from me a little later.

Monday, Oct 15., 10:59 p.m.
J. Michael Moore

Third Quarter Notes

11:45 -- Roddy White just took a short pass over the middle and took it 38 yards to get the Falcons out of a whole inside their own 10. White showed some speed on the play, which he said he picked up by losing some weight and hitting the weight room in the offseason.

9:14 -- This Falcons drive comes to an end with a sack, this one by Justin Tuck. The play goes for an 8-yard gain and brings in Michael Koenen to punt with the ball spotted on the 50.

4:34 -- The defense again comes up with the big play as DeAngelo Hall picks off an Eli Manning pass deep in his own territory. Hall steps out of an initial tackle attempt by Amani Toomer and returns it 27 yards to the 41. A 15-yard penalty on the Giants for a low block during the return gives the Falcons offense first-and-10 at the Giants 44.

3:49 -- The Giants have the ball back after a quick Falcons punt. The Falcons have now taken the ball away three times (two interceptions and a fumble recovery) and have not turned them in to any scores.

Monday, Oct 15., 10:59 p.m.
J. Michael Moore

Second Quarter Notes

12:49 -- Grady Jackson just made one of the most nimble football plays I've ever seen. The big defensive tackle not only exploded into the backfield, but he was able to adjust his body just enough to grab Derrick Ward around his legs and drop him for a loss.

12:08 -- It didn't take long for another big play. Safety Chris Crocker just picked up a Giants fumble at the New York 28. The Giants are challenging the play however, saying it was in fact an incomplete pass on third down. The review revealed a fumble and the Falcons took over at the Giants 28.

10:43 -- A 48-yard field goal attempt by Morten Andersen falls short and the Falcons fail to convert on a Giants turnover.

8:21 -- Suddenly the scoring blitz has flipped over to the Giants. A 43-yard pass from Eli Manning to Plaxico Burress went for a touchdown and now the Giants have an 11-point lead, 21-10. Burress has at least one touchdown in every game the Giants have played this season (four catches for 79 yards thus far tonight).

7:09 -- Special teams captain Corey McIntyre was just helped off the field taking extra care with his left ankle. No word yet on his condition.

3:25 -- Less than five minutes after McIntyre left the field with an injury, John Abraham goes down. The pass-rusher walked off the field under his own power, but had to shake his head a few times to get the cobwebs out. McIntyre's return, by the way, is questionable at this point.

1:50 -- Back-to-back sacks by the Giants sets up third-and-26 and creates a little pain for Joey Harrington, who was slow to get up after Antonio Pierce got to him deep into Falcons territory. The second sack brings up a Falcons punt inside of two minutes.

0:28 -- The Giants, without a timeout still found a way to drive into Falcons territory, but that changed quickly as linebacker Michael Boley intercepted Manning at the Falcons 27 and returned it 12 yards.

0:00 -- Harrington's deep ball to the end zone on the half's final play is intercepted.

Monday, Oct 15., 10:11 p.m.
J. Michael Moore

First Quarter Notes

15:00 -- Always an electric introduction on Monday Night Football. The flames and fireworks are the icing on the cake. The Falcons introduced the defense to the Georgia Dome crowd before the game, with Georgia native Keith Brooking getting the largest ovation.

15:00 -- ESPN has a way of working in as much time before kickoff as possible. More time for the mascots I guess, and Freddie Falcon made the most of his extra time in the spotlight. The oversized bird rolled around the turf for a good five minutes before the captains took the field, taking out his pregame aggressions on a stuffed doll in a Giants uniform.

15:00 -- Jerious Norwood's going to get a crack at the league's second-worst coverage unit early as the Falcons get set to take the opening kickoff... The second-year pro made it out to the 30 yard line before being taken down with a shoe-string tackle by Domenik Hixon.

11:47 -- The Falcons are on the board. Morten Andersen, the 47-year-old kicker just skipped a kick over the cross bard on a 47-yard field goal. That finished off an eight-play, 41-yard drive that featured two straight first down grabs by wide receiver Roddy White and a 14-yard completion from Joey Harrington to Joe Horn that set up the field goal. 3-0 Falcons.

10:29 -- Atlanta was all set for a three-and-out on the Giants, but a roughing the kicker call on Demorrio Williams kept the Giants opening drive alive.

5:32 -- The Giants have made the Falcons pay for the mistake on the penalty. That roughing call kept the drive alive and Eli Manning finished off an 11-play, 73-yard drive with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Amani Toomer off play action. 7-3 Giants.

5:14 -- Needing to get the running game going, the Falcons gave to Norwood on the next offensive play. We just saw a 67-yard, juke-filled 67-yard run for a touchdown. Falcons radio play-by-play man Wes Durham called it "dramatic." Yup, that sums it up. 10-7 Falcons.

2:18 -- Norwood's run may have pumped some air into the dome, but the Giants aren't going flat. A toe-dragging grab by Toomer has given New York a first-and-goal at the 1. Next play, Reuben Droughns on a touchdown run. Extra point. 14-10 Giants.

0:00 -- We end the first quarter of what could be a high-scoring game with the Falcons looking at second-and-9 at their own 41.

Monday, Oct 15., 9:19 p.m.
J. Michael Moore

Countdown to Kickoff

We have a Rod Coleman sighting both on the field and in writing.

Coleman, the Pro Bowl defensive tackle who has missed all five Falcons games this season, is on the active roster and will likely get his first playing time tonight. Coleman ruptured his quadricep in the offseason and had to have subsequent knee surgery just before the 2007 campaign.

In other injury news, quarterback Byron Leftwich is listed as the team's third quarterback despite being ranked second on the depth chart. Leftwich injured his ankle this week and landed on the injury report...

The crowd is starting to file in here for Monday Night Football. "Moore" in the pregame Falconcast with Matt Moore and yours truly.

Monday, Oct 15., 7:26 p.m.
J. Michael Moore

Prime Time Patience

Tom Petty was right. The waiting really is the hardest part.

Of course, I'm not doing myself any favors right now since I got to the Georgia Dome a little more than five hours before kickoff (I didn't want to run any risks with the Atlanta traffic).

It's now about three hours before the big game and, yes, I'm ready for kickoff.

I was thinking this morning about what the players must have been going through today. Not only did they have a chance to watch every game yesterday, but they had to sit through a whole day-time television schedule. I don't know about them, but I find it a little tough to get pumped up with episodes of "The People's Court" and reruns of "The Jerry Springer Show."

One plus, I guess, would be the premier of the Drew Carry-hosted "Price is Right."

But... I digress.

Waiting is in the very nature of Monday Night Football. It's been that way for more than 30 years. And, somewhere in that mix of waiting and anxiety, comes a an injection of pure intensity.

I wish the same could be said for us tie-wearing spectators up in the press box.

We're just trying to fight some boredom.

Are you ready for some football?

Monday, Oct 15., 5:45 p.m.
J. Michael Moore

Sundays Off? Mondays On

This is, indeed, a strange day. It's just after 9 a.m. on Sunday and I've had to remind myself 10 times that the Falcons don't play a game today. Think Monday Night Football is a departure for the players? It's kind of weird for the staff, too.

So, what does a Falcons website employee do on the rare Sunday away from the stadium? House work mostly. It's amazing how long the "honey do" list gets in just five weeks. But, enough about my chores (unless you have any ideas on how to get them all done in time to watch the afternoon games).

Let's go ahead and talk some football on this brisk Georgia morning.

All but two teams take the field today, with the Falcons and Giants waiting for a nationally-televised duel tomorrow night. The fact the game is on national TV may mean the most to both teams.

Talk around the locker room this week included breakdowns of the normal X's and O's -- the running game, pass protection, rookie Renardo Foster's preparation to block against the Giants defensive line -- but it also featured plenty of eye-twinkles about Monday night.

"I think it’s a great opportunity for us to display and put on a show and prove to everyone that we’re a team with great character and we never give up," linebacker Keith Brooking said.

Look back just to this preseason to see how the Falcons love to respond on Monday night. The team played the Bengals just hours after Owner and CEO Arthur Blank held a press conference to discuss non-football events. The team went out and beat Cincinnati 24-19.

The Giants are also looking forward to a big audience, saying they are still not getting the respect a 3-2 team deserves.

Prime time fireworks? You bet. So, Falcons fans, do what I'm going to do today. Get some stuff done so you can enjoy the game tomorrow (I'm starting to sound like my father, again).

Sunday, Oct 14., 9:12 a.m.
J. Michael Moore