- While their pass rush was suspect early on, the Giants’ offensive line did a fantastic job opening holes for Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw. Then the Falcons’ defense helped out by constantly diving at shoestrings instead of wrapping up. The G-Men hadn’t run the football well all year but they finally got their bruising, punishing style back today.

- It took a while for Eli Manning to get going but once Jacobs and the running game started to open up passing lanes, the Giants’ offense really took off. One thing Manning did was stay patient. John Abraham was getting a ton of pressure on him early on, but Eli stood tough and constantly kept his eyes downfield. When his receivers started to beat the coverage, he made accurate passes and then guys like Hakeem Nicks did the rest. (Again, with a lot of help from piss poor tackling by Atlanta.)

- It’ll be interesting to see how New York fares next weekend heading into Green Bay. They hung with the Packers earlier this year in New York and they certainly have the weapons to pull off an upset. They’ve also looked like a more confident team these past three weeks, so we’re probably in store for a great matchup in the Divisional round. Then again, the Packers aren’t going to piss themselves like the Falcons did today.

- While the media will surely make this game about the Giants (who did dominate, there’s no question), you can’t overlook the fact that Mike Smith, Mike Mularkey and Matt Ryan continue to kill the Falcons in big games. His defense bailed him out by getting a safety on the next possession but Smith blew it by going for it on fourth-and-1 in the second quarter. Instead of taking a field goal after a successful drive (the Falcons’ first in three possessions), Smith went for it, then the Falcons’ o-line didn’t get any push and Ryan was stopped short. Then, in the same situation in the third quarter, Smith elects to go for it again and Ryan is stuffed on another sneak. This isn’t the first time that Smith has blown it on fourth-and-1 this season. He cost the Falcons a potential victory against the Saints earlier this year by going for it on his own 29-yard-line in overtime. The Falcons were stuffed then too, and the Saints received a rather easy victory. Smith clearly has no idea what “risk versus reward” means and he cost his team yet again today. Both of those plays deflated an offense that couldn’t move the ball to save its life and a defense that had kept the team in the game. It was stupid, stupid coaching from a man that has been fantastic in the regular season but now 0-3 in the playoffs.

- Of course, Smith doesn’t call the plays for the Falcons – that’s Mike Mularkey’s job. Why Mularkey would run two quarterback sneaks when his offensive line had gotten zero push all day is beyond me. Mularkey wants to be a head coach again in the NFL and the Falcons should be praying he gets his shot. He’s a horrendous playcaller in big games because he gets too conservative, too predictable and he puts his players in losing situations. He has no imagination when it comes to game planning for good defenses and he can’t make in-game adjustments either. His game plan today was to run Michael Turner 25 times and hope that would be enough. When the Giants’ shut down the Falcons’ running game, Mularkey had no other plan. For this offense to only score two points is pathetic, especially when you consider how vulnerable New York’s secondary was coming into the playoffs. And hey, the Falcons’ offense wasn’t even though ones that scored the two points – that was the defense. I just keeping thinking about the Miami Dolphins, who are reportedly interested in Mularkey as a head coach. What are they thinking after today? “Yep, that’s our guy! Dude clearly knows how to win.”

- Of course, Mularkey isn’t on the field. Matt Ryan has proven to be a pretty good regular season quarterback but he quivers when the spotlight is on him. Just like he did versus Chicago, Tampa Bay, and New Orleans earlier this year, Ryan anticipated the rush instead of reacting to it. When he’s scared, he takes his eyes off his receivers and immediately looks to dump the ball off. At this juncture, it’s entirely fair to play the, “Can Matt Ryan ever win a playoff game?” card.

- Hey Roddy White, that’s not a flaming arrow coming at your face – it’s the ball. Try catching it.

- I actually feel for Atlanta’s defense because until the fourth quarter, they played well enough to win. They didn’t tackle well but their top corner Brent Grimes was deemed inactive before the start of the game and they were without starting strong-side linebacker Stephen Nicholas as well. They also lost their starting strong safety William Moore in the first half, yet despite being overmatched they hung in there while the offense continued to fail them. It’s certainly not the defense’s fault that Atlanta came up short in the postseason yet again.

- When you watch a punchless, scared team like the Falcons, you have a greater appreciation for teams like the Packers, Saints, Steelers, and Patriots, who don’t lack that killer instinct when it comes to the postseason. Unfortunately for the Falcons, they can’t trade up in the draft for a backbone.

Here are five quick-hit thoughts on the Saints’ 17-14 win over the Falcons on Monday Night Football.

1. Gregg Williams’ defense steps up big-time.
On a night when the offense largely sputtered, Williams’ defense stepped up and won a game for the Saints. Outside of one 27-yard run by Michael Turner in the first half, the run defense was outstanding. This was a unit that has largely been gashed on the ground, which includes giving up over 100 yards last week to Ray Rice. Jonathan Vilma and Co. didn’t do anything special Monday night to shut down a potent Falcons’ rushing attack. They simply filled gaps, won in the trenches and got pressure up field. They dared the Falcons to beat them with the pass and while Matt Ryan was able to hit a few plays to Michael Jenkins throughout the game, this contest was largely won on the strength of New Orleans’ run defense (something that has often cost the Saints games this season).

2. The Falcons offense owes its defense an apology.
The reason I mentioned the Saints’ defensive effort first was because I didn’t want to take anything away from their effort. And I still don’t. That said, what a putrid effort by Mike Mularkey’s offense. They got zero push up front in the running game, center Todd McClure cost his team seven points with one of the worst snaps you’ll ever see and Turner put the ball on the ground at the goal line when the Falcons had seized momentum. And this came on a night when Atlanta’s defense held one of the most explosive offenses in the league to just 17 points. The effort that Jonathan Babineaux and John Abraham gave up front along the defensive line was outstanding. Yes, they missed Drew Brees on a handful of plays but they largely dominated the Saints’ offense with their aggressive play. Defensive coordinator Brian Van Gorder deserves high praise for putting together a game plan that should have won the Falcons the game. How frustrating.

3. Brees is incredible but he’s still making too many big mistakes.
Had the Saints not been playing the Carolina Panthers’ offense, Brees would have cost his team a win. Abraham’s interception was just pure athleticism; there wasn’t much Brees could have done differently outside of tucking the ball and taking a sack. But his shovel pass right to Chauncey Davis was something a rookie would have done. Mike Tirico creamed his pants when Brees made the behind-the-back flip to Pierre Thomas the possession before the Davis’ interception and it was an incredible play. But the fact is, that was also a stupid decision and it was a precursor to the Davis’ INT. Brees was fortunate that Thomas was able to hang onto the ball as it rattled around in his hands. However, I don’t want to focus solely on the negative because Brees made some plays that were absolutely incredible. Some of his throws were picture-perfect and how many times did he avoid the Falcons’ consistent rush by moving around in the pocket and buying himself more time? Most quarterbacks would have been sacked 10 times but not Brees. If the Saints are going to defend their title this year, they’ll do so on the back of Brees. Talk about elite.

4. The Saints are set up to make another run.
Let’s play the assumption game for a second. Let’s assume the Falcons beat the Panthers to win the NFC South and earn a first round bye. That would mean the Saints would earn the fifth spot in the playoffs and take on either the inexperienced Rams or hapless Seahawks in the Wildcard Round. Brees and Sean Payton aren’t going to lose to a NFC West team – no matter where the game is being played. Thus, they could essentially set up another date with the Falcons inside the Georgia Dome (assuming that the No. 6 seed goes on the road and losses to either Philadelphia or Chicago). The Saints already proved that they can beat the Falcons in the Georgia Dome and then what’s stopping them from building a full head of steam and running right into the Super Bowl again? New Orleans has its issues, don’t get me wrong. But this may be the most dangerous team in the NFC right now because they’re starting to get a ton of confidence. And God help the conference if somehow the Panthers beat the Falcons on Sunday and the path runs through New Orleans again. Yikes.

5. The Falcons have a lot of tweaking to do.
Mike Smith has to love the way his defense played. The secondary is still a concern but if Van Gorder can figure out a way to drum up that much pressure every game, then Atlanta is going to be in good shape. But this game proved that the offense needs to be more explosive. Earlier in the season, Mularkey was criticized for his lack of play calls that test defenses vertically. We saw on Monday night that unless the Falcons can methodically go up and down the field on the strength of their running game, their offense is highly, highly, HIGHLY ordinary. And if the Saints’ run defense can shut down Turner, then teams like the Bears and Eagles can do it, too. I’m not suggesting Mularkey make wholesale changes at this point because the Falcons have won 12 games this season on the strength of their running game. But his play calling has to be better – especially around the goal line. Running Turner straight up the gut twice when they were primed to take the lead in the second quarter was ridiculous. Turner has to hang onto the ball, but how about a little play action? And why, when it has been so successful this season, did Mularkey only put Ryan in the no-huddle once? It was only one game, but this might have well been a playoff contest and Mularkey’s unit failed miserably.

Merry training camp season, everyone. It’s been a long offseason, but football is finally gearing up again and to celebrate I’m rolling out a new series on TSR entitled “2010 NFL Question Marks,” where I discuss one or two of the biggest concerns that teams have heading into the new season. Granted, some teams have more issues than others, but I’ll primarily be focusing on the biggest problem areas. Today I’ll be discussing the Falcons, who still have some holdover questions from last year in their secondary.

When you look up and down the Falcons’ current depth chart, you don’t see a lot of weaknesses. Their offensive core of Matt Ryan, Michael Turner, Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez is outstanding and while their offensive line is comprised of five no-names (save for maybe former first rounder Sam Baker), they’re solid as a collective unit (even underrated to some extent).

Atlanta’s biggest question marks come on the defensive side of the ball, although they’re not as prevalent as some may think. John Abraham saw his sack total drop from 16.5 in 2008 to only 5.5 in 2009, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t effective. He still provided the Falcons with a steady pass rush – he just didn’t get to the quarterback as frequently as he did in ’08.

That said, the Falcons definitely need him to pick up his game if they’re going to make a trip back to the postseason this year. The good news is that he’ll have help in the form of Jonathan Babineaux (the team’s most underrated defensive player and best interior pass-rusher) and Peria Jerry (assuming he’s healthy), as well as two ends in Kroy Biermann and Lawrence Sidbury that I firmly believe will turn heads this season. Plus, if former 8th overall pick Jamaal Anderson ever lives up to the potential he displayed during his final year at Arkansas, the Falcons could have the makings of a great defensive line.

At linebacker, third-year player Curtis Lofton is the anchor of the defense. He’s a budding star and will soon be accompanied by versatile 2010 first rounder Sean Weatherspoon, although the former Missouri product will be eased into a starting role. For now, veteran Mike Peterson and the steady Stephen Nicholas will flank Lofton on the outsides.

That leaves the secondary as the team’s biggest question mark heading into the new season. But considering the Falcons broke the bank to bring in former Texan Dunta Robinson, it’s less of a question mark this season than it was in ’09.

Robinson is coming off a down year, but he’ll provide a dramatic upgrade over Chris Houston, who was traded to the Lions in the offseason. Some believe he won’t live up to the massive six-year, $57 million contract he signed in early March of this year and maybe he won’t, but at the very least he brings stability to a secondary that desperately needed it after having a revolving door at the cornerback position last season.

The other starting corner spot is up for grabs, although Brent Grimes flashed a lot of ability towards the end of last year by picking off four passes in the final three games. He’s undersized, but he’s also highly athletic and often turns heads with his playmaking ability. Can he become an every game starter is the question. If he can, then Chris Owens, Chevis Jackson and rookie Dominique Franks (who has received high remarks this offseason) will battle for the nickel and dime spots.

At free safety, the Falcons have an emerging young star in third-year player Thomas DeCoud. He had a breakout year of sorts in ’09 and the team is enamored with his potential.

But the strong safety position is the concern. The general consensus is that the Atlanta coaching staff wasn’t thrilled with Erik Coleman’s play last year and would love it if former second rounder William Moore overtook the starting SS position this season. Moore is a young, heavy hitter, but has been plagued with injuries the last two seasons (which includes his senior year at Missouri) and hasn’t been able to unseat Coleman yet.

Can Robinson rebound and live up to his contract? Can Grimes secure the No. 2 corner role? Will DeCoud’s stock continue to go up or will he suffer a letdown after such a productive ’09 campaign? Can Moore unseat Coleman? Assuming everyone stays relatively healthy on both sides of the ball, there’s little doubt that the Falcons are playoff contenders this season. But can their secondary become a strength or will it be the thing that holds them back in 2010?

With over eight games remaining on the schedule, it might be a little early to suggest that a division winner could be theoretically crowned tonight in the NFC South, but a closer look reveals otherwise.

At 6-0, the Saints currently have a two game lead over the 4-2 Falcons in the division. A win tonight and New Orleans will open up a three game lead over Atlanta with nine games remaining for each team. Granted, a lot could happen in nine games but barring injury to Drew Brees the Saints don’t look like a team that will implode in the second half.

A quick peak at the rest of the Saints’ schedule reveals very winnable games against the Panthers (twice), Rams, Bucs (twice) and the Redskins. The only games that present a challenge are home dates with the Patriots (Week 12) and Cowboys (Week 15), as well as a trip to Atlanta in Week 14. The Falcons have a longer roe to hoe, with road games against the Giants and Jets, as well as home games against the Eagles, Saints and pesky Bills. So with all things considered, a loss tonight and a three-game hole would be incredibly tough to climb out of if you’re Atlanta.

Even at 4-2, the Falcons have a lot to prove. Michael Turner is averaging a full YPC less than he did last season, Matt Ryan started off hot but is now fading and the defense has major issues in the secondary. After they were spanked last week in Dallas, the Falcons need a good showing tonight in New Orleans not just to keep pace in the NFC South, but also to prove to themselves that they’re a legitimate playoff contender.

Atlanta will certainly be tested tonight. The Saints have the most balanced offensive attack in the league and if the Falcons can’t generate any pressure on Brees, he’ll light up a secondary that is athletic, but is often overmatched in coverage do to lack of size (Brent Grimes) or technique (Chris Houston). The Falcons’ corners don’t play well in man-to-man coverage, so blitzing extra linebackers isn’t always a possibility. That means the front four of John Abraham, Jonathan Babineaux, Jamaal Anderson and Chauncey Davis must step up and provide a consistent pass rush or else Atlanta will get torched.

Of course, it would be nice if the Falcons could get Turner going and leave Brees and Sean Payton’s offense on the sidelines. But the Saints’ run defense has been solid this season and they’ve been a more aggressive unit on a whole under new coordinator Gregg Williams. If Ryan has to win this game through the air, he could have trouble because New Orleans does such a great job of sending pressure and relying on its secondary to come up with big plays (which Darren Sharper and company have produced).

We’ll learn more about the Falcons tonight than we will the Saints. At 6-1, New Orleans would still be in great shape and they could chalk up their one loss to a division rival and familiar foe. But at 4-3, Atlanta would likely be left with more questions than answers, especially if they happen to get blown out.

We’ll see if the Falcons can rise to the challenge and shrink the Saints’ lead in the NFC South.

Putting aside their lackluster effort Sunday in New England, the Atlanta Falcons have more than enough offensive talent to reach the Super Bowl. They have a rising superstar at quarterback in Matt Ryan, a solid back in Michael Turner and two excellent receiving weapons in tight end Tony Gonzalez and wideout Roddy White.

But the Falcons aren’t going anywhere unless Mike Smith fixes the issues on the defensive side of the ball.

Atlanta’s game plan in its loss to New England on Sunday was befuddling. They often only rushed four down linemen and allowed Tom Brady to stand back in the pocket for seconds, minutes and even hours (maybe not hours, but it sure seemed like it) on end. What should frustrate the Falcons is that Brady wasn’t very good, especially in the first half. He routinely overthrew his receivers and often failed to hit them in stride despite having loads of time to get the ball out of his hand.

I want to meet the person for the Falcons that watched the tape of the Jets’ win over the Patriots last week and decided not to attack Brady with multiple defensive fronts. I get that Atlanta didn’t want to be burned deep by Moss and was getting beat by New England’s screen passes in the first half, but why the Falcons didn’t get more aggressive in the second half is beyond me.

The simple answer is that Smith doesn’t trust his secondary enough to send extra defenders. John Abraham can be a one-man wrecking crew and provide enough pressure on his own to allow Atlanta’s linebackers to sit back in coverage. But in a situation like yesterday when the Pats’ O-line bottle Abraham up, Smith and defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder have to be able to make adjustments.

Smith proved in Jacksonville that his defensive scheme works. But for whatever reason (lack of talent, experience, etc.), it isn’t working in Atlanta and unfortunately it could be the one thing that holds the Falcons back this year.

Unfortunately, I don’t have the answer, but I do know that this bend-but-don’t-break defense that the Falcons employ isn’t going to get them far in the end. The Falcons’ front seven is getting abused on the ground and is too passive in obvious passing downs. For a team that went with a linebacker corps of Curtis Lofton, Mike Peterson and Stephan Nicholas (three players who are better run-stoppers than blitzers), that’s not a good sign. They need to be more aggressive in their approach and their play calling, because what they’re doing now isn’t working.

Smith needs to fix the problem now because don’t forget that the Falcons play in the same division with a Saints team that has the ability to score 40-plus points a game. I shutter to think what Drew Brees and Sean Payton can do to Atlanta’s defense if the Falcons afford Brees as much time as they did Brady.

Patriots 26, Falcons 10.

The Patriots are back right? They rolled over a good Falcons team today and they’re back. They’re ready to take control of the AFC East again and stomp everyone in their way.

Uh, not quite.

The Patriots definitely deserved to win Sunday because they were the better team. But the Falcons should be embarrassed by their effort, because they were outplayed and outcoached in every phase of the game. Simply put, Atlanta wasn’t ready to go into New England today and earn a victory.

This game is a perfect example of how stats sometimes lie. Tom Brady threw for 277 yards and a touchdown on 25 of 42 passing, but if he were more efficient, his numbers should have been dazzling. The Falcons were brutal defensively. They generated zero pressure, allowed Brady to sit back in the pocket for minutes at a time and were completely unimaginable in their play calling.

Brady had all day to throw and yet he could only muster 277 yards. Don’t be fooled by his stats – he wasn’t that impressive today as he consistently overthrew open receivers and benefited from the horrendous play of Atlanta cornerback Chris Houston and one of his offensive lineman holding on a fourth quarter touchdown pass to Chris Baker to seal the game. (Seriously, John Abraham was molested as the New England O-line bear-hugged him and the refs did nothing.)

What was impressive was the way New England moved the ball on the ground. The Pats churned out 168 rushing yards and controlled the game on the ground by eating up the clock and keeping the chains moving. The Pats won because of their running game – not because of the pedestrian play of Brady, although the mass media will probably have you believe otherwise.

Defensively, the Pats played much better today than they did the previous two weeks. But they benefited by Michael Turner fumbling in New England territory and also by a pass interference call on Michael Jenkins in the third quarter, a play that could have given Atlanta a 17-16 lead. The call could have gone either way because Jenkins was jostling back and forth with the Patriot defender, but the refs sided with the Patriots, which they seemed to do all day. (See the molest/hold on Abraham, as well as a crap roughing the passer call against Jamaal Anderson in the first half, which helped the Pats net a field goal.)

I think we learned two things from this game: The Falcons aren’t an elite team yet and the Patriots are far from fixed. Neither team was impressive, even though some pundits will have you believe that New England’s problems were solved with this victory. Had Atlanta been prepared, this game would have been closer.

That said, a win is a win and the Pats played better today then they have the past two weeks.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is reporting that defensive tackle Peria Jerry, who was the Falcons first round pick in April, will miss the rest of the season after suffering a knee injury in a win over the Panthers on Sunday.

This might not sound like a significant loss given that Jerry was a rookie and defensive tackles are rarely in the limelight, but this is a blow to the Falcons’ defensive line. Jerry was quickly emerging as a solid interior pass-rusher and offered a nice complement to John Abraham and Jonathan Babineaux on Atlanta’s D-line.

The Falcons rotate their defensive linemen on game days, so Trey Lewis, Thomas Johnson and Vance Walker will all see playing time at the tackle position next to Babineaux. Unfortunately, none of the three provide the pass rush that Jerry does, although maybe the big-bodied Lewis (who was impressive as a rookie in 2007 before a knee injury sidelined him for the entire ’08 season) can help the Falcons fix a leaky run-defense that is allowing 5.1 YPC.

This is a bad time for the Falcons to lose a pass rusher with a trip to New England and a pissed-off Patriots team on the docket.