Toonstruck 1 » Falcons vs. Panthers recap: The train is back on the tracks

The Atlanta Falcons needed this win. They didn’t need it in the sense that the season was going to fall apart if they didn’t get it Youth Ricardo Allen Jersey , of course, because it’s the second week of the season. But they had a lot to prove after the Eagles game, as we’re all aware, and the injuries they were facing only magnified the concerns about their ability to put away quality football teams.This Panthers team had plenty of injuries of their own, but the Falcons did what they needed to do, and they punctuated their win with an impressive offensive performance against a tough defense. The most encouraging note from today is that the Falcons can indeed get it done, and it appears Dan Quinn and Steve Sarkisian’s laser-like focus on the team’s execution problems a week ago was warranted. Sark dialed up a quality game, the players largely nailed their end of the bargain, and the result was a great day on the ground and 31 points overall minus Free. It was an encouraging, tone-setting performance that I’m cautiously optimistic is going to carry over in the weeks ahead.The defense was my larger concern heading into the game, and on that side of the ball, things were very much a mixed bag. The secondary did well outside of some really poor decision-making and tackling by the likes of Damontae Kazee and Jordan Richards, but the front seven applied inconsistent pressure and had some very visible tackling miscues of their own. It wasn’t enough to sink the ship, and growing pains were expected, but with a matchup against the Saints looming it didn’t exactly put me at ease to see the specific ways they struggled.Not everything is fixed, we know that. The Falcons won’t look that good on offense every drive or every week, and they have some hard decisions to make if Damontae Kazee is suspended or Duke Riley struggles going forward. But this was much closer to the Falcons team we hoped to see this year, and the fact that they did it depleted against a divisional foe gives me plenty of hope going forward. If they manage to stick the landing against the Saints next week, I think we can safely unleash our inner optimists once more, assuming the Falcons don’t continue to lose multiple starters per week as they’ve done to this point. So if the train is back on the tracks, what’s the destination? That’s a hard thing to answer, but with Carolina looking sluggish, New Orleans looking very shaky, and Tampa Bay looking impossibly hot with Ryan Fitzpatrick at the helm, the division still looks to be there for the taking. We’ve heard this team talk endlessly about their resilience and ability, as they should, and now they have an opportunity to seize the division and erase any doubt about both of those items. There are many weeks to go, but I do believe they can do it. On to the full recap. The GoodMatt Ryan was light years better than in Week 1. After an ugly overthrow early in the game and a dismal first down throw shortly thereafter, Ryan rarely missed the rest of the afternoon, finishing his day 23/28 for a tidy 272 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. He also ran in two touchdowns, one on a designed keeper and the other on a scramble that was improvised by Matty Wheels.It was good to see that the first week performance was exactly what it looked like based on past performance: A total fluke. The Saints’ secondary can be opportunistic, but he should be able to put together another strong week against New Orleans next week. Tevin Coleman was ridiculous. He finished up his day with 16 carries for 107 yards and four catches for 18 yards, a total of 125 on the day on 20 touches. He was fast, decisive and occasionally quite powerful, and the Falcons did an excellent job of getting him away from the big bodies in the center of the defensive line and toward breathing room. He should be a monster as long as Devonta Freeman is out.Speaking of monsters in the making, Ito Smith was pretty good! He had nine carries for 46 yards and a reception for a further eight yards, or a total of 54 yards on 10 touches. That doesn’t fully capture how quick he looked, and with the Falcons’ offensive line doing an excellent job blocking, he took advantage of the lanes they created. We’ve suspected all along that Ito will be in line for the #2 role a year from now, but if he keeps playing like this, it’ll be a virtual certainty that he pushes Coleman (or Devonta Freeman, if you’re willing to really go for it) out the door. Calvin Ridley’s second game went far better than his first. He picked up his first NFL reception early in this one and scored on a nice 11 yard touchdown reception in the second quarter to tie things up. He has all the tools needed to be a quality red zone weapon, and if he proves to be one and Ryan stops locking in on Julio Jones inside the 20, the offense will benefit. His route running was as good as advertised.The offensive line did a nice job today. They kept Matt Ryan clean, opened up tunnels for Coleman and Smith to work in, and weathered the loss of Andy Levitre quite well, with Wes Schweitzer stepping in effectively (minus a couple of miscues, naturally). That will be useful against the Saints http://www.falconsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-grady-jarrett-jersey , who have a quality defensive line. Brian Poole has a reputation for being a good blitzer, but this good? That’s two sacks in two weeks for Poole, who took down Cam Newton on a third and short situation in the first quarter. With Isaiah Oliver inactive and Poole playing like this, he’s in no danger of losing his job anytime soon. Speaking of sacks, Takkarist McKinley got his second on a critical second down in the second quarter. He’s going to have a monster season, and that will hopefully make up for a lot of other weaknesses on this team. Ricardo Allen has a knack for making the right play at the right time, his interception of Cam Newton very much included. With Keanu Neal out and Damontae Kazee’s status uncertain going forward, Allen is going to be more essential than ever. The Ugly That interception from Ryan was an all around ugly play, with Austin Hooper blowing his block, Ryan throwing a duck as a result, and Julio Jones not making a heads-up play on the ball. Thankfully, it didn’t prove to be fatal. Duke Riley could wind up being a good player, but he is clearly stretched at the moment as the starting middle linebacker for this defense. He was late to plays, he took bad angles to plays, and he missed tackles, most memorably on the fourth quarter drive that saw Cam Newton drive effortlessly down the field for a touchdown to bring Carolina within one score. It appeared the Falcons benched him on the final drive for Foye Oluokun, which could be a sign of things to come. I hate feeling like we’re picking on Riley, who was hardly the only problem for this defense, but these issues are either going to go away in the coming weeks or the Falcons will find an alternative.Speaking of problems, I’m not sure the Falcons are in great shape if Jordan Richards has to be in coverage consistently in the coming weeks. He took some very bad angles to the ball and looked overmatched when I did see him. Hopefully that also goes better in the weeks ahead, or this defense is going to have some genuinely exploitable holes. The pass rush has had its moments the last two weeks, but hasn’t consistently gotten pressure. Everyone’s focus is going to be on Vic Beasley, who has beyond quiet thus far in this young season, but it’s not limited to him. The Damontae Kazee hit was a mistake. You will never convince me that Kazee went in there willingly looking to hurt Cam Newton with a helmet-to-helmet hit, but a cascading series of poor decisions led to a hit so egregious that Kazee was ejected from the game. It looked like he launched himself at about the same time Newton was starting to slide, which is a mistake in its own right, but then was unable or unwilling in that split second to do anything to mitigate the possibility of helmet-to-helmet contact. If we’re lucky, the Falcons won’t lose him for a game (or more) because of it, but we’ll have to wait and see. You had one job, Matt Schaub. One job. The WrapupGame MVPI’d give it to Ryan, though there are some strong contenders this week, from Tevin Coleman to Calvin Ridley to the entire offensive line.One TakeawayThe Falcons offense is not doomed to failure, Steve Sarkisian is not sabotaging this team from within, and the playmakers all still exist.Next WeekThe Saints! This one will be hair-raising, as it always is, but the New Orleans team we’ve seen these first two weeks certainly looks beatable if the Falcons can play like they did against Carolina today. Check out Canal Street Chronicles for more. Final WordWin. Editor’s note: This piece was originally published on Nov. 7, three days before the Jimmy Butler trade.T.J. McConnell, the Philadelphia 76ers’ cagey backup point guard, leans against his locker and scarfs down bites of his pre-game meal before taking on the Raptors on the second night of a back-to-back. In four years, he has gone from an undrafted project, to a starter, and back to a bit player. He has endured 10-win seasons and tasted playoff victories. And now, the second-longest tenured Sixer behind Joel Embiid (third before Robert Covington was traded to the Timberwolves) is trying to do away with the maxim that has defined his team for longer than he’s been in the league. “As much as there’s the ‘Trust The Process’ stuff, that’s kinda in our rearview,” McConnell tells SB Nation. “That’s kinda our motto, but we gotta focus on the things that help us win games. Anything else, we can’t let it be a distraction.” Everything you need to know about the Jimmy Butler dramaJimmy Butler wants out of Minnesota. This is how we got here.Winners and Losers from the 76ers-Wolves blockbusterJimmy Butler’s ‘vociferous’ return to Timberwolves practice, explainedThe 7 most savage moments from Jimmy Butler’s interview with Rachel NicholsThe Timberwolves let the Jimmy Butler mess happenJimmy Butler was ruining the Timberwolves’ season, and maybe their futureInside the state of the 76ers before the Jimmy Butler tradeThat’s been more difficult than expected. After four seasons of tanking, the Sixers were supposed to have been vindicated by last season’s 52-win outburst Brian Poole Jersey , powered by Ben Simmons’ Rookie of the Year campaign and Joel Embiid’s first healthy season. Flanked by sharpshooters J.J. Redick and Covington, plus Croatian wonder Dario Saric, the 76ers had one of the best starting lineups in the league.And then came the second round of the playoffs, when the Celtics punched a hole in their motley of athleticism, length, smarts, and shooting. Boston’s bruising, switch-happy wings formed a wall against Simmons’ penetration, daring the rangeless wonder to shoot while Al Horford made Embiid feel every bit of his youth. With No. 1 pick Markelle Fultz out due to a mysterious shoulder injury that added a hitch to his once perfect jumper, the 76ers were low on shot creation and fell in five games. They looked slow-footed, easy to exploit.So it is that Fultz, a crafty point guard who may or may not have unlimited potential, has replaced Redick in the starting lineup. They’re also revamping last year’s third-ranked defense. And by the way, Jimmy Butler is now here, coming from Minnesota in exchange for Saric, Covington, Jerryd Bayless, and a 2022 second-round pick. “What’s our sport look like in June?” asks head coach Brett Brown prior to the Raptors game. “What’s it look like in late May? How do you coach proactively?” If Philadelphia is letting perfect be the enemy of good, it’s not like they have much of a choice. You don’t brazenly tank for half a decade, spark a league-wide existential panic, and invite scorn from all corners of the sporting world just to be good. Sam Hinkie didn’t die for an era of second-round outs. Like it or not, the Process is still everywhere. But on this night, it’s hard to trust. The Raptors are running roughshod over the confused 76ers’ defense, finding open shooters all over the floor and using Kawhi Leonard’s isolation game to bust switches. He treats Simmons like a sock toy in the post, and on defense, the man nicknamed The Claw shrinks the floor, intercepting passes and cutting off driving lanes. Adjusting to a defensive scheme that asks him to call out switches, watch off-ball screens, and cover his own man, Embiid often finds himself with his back turned, opening up layup lines for Kyle Lowry. After the game, he is stewing with frustration and pride. “I’m the guy behind, so if I call something, my teammates gotta respect it and they gotta honor it,” Embiid tells SB Nation. “We have a lot of communication problems. That’s the key to a great defense.” “I gotta communicate better,” he adds later. “If our defense is not good, I feel like I’m not doing a great job so I gotta do a better job. I don’t ever allow someone to give up 129 points. That’s bad. I’m pissed about it.”After dropping back-to-back games against the Bucks and Pistons a few days prior, the coaching staff gathered the team together to remind them what they were capable of being. They echoed the signs that hang all over their practice facility: Philly hard, Philly real, Philly edge. The problem wasn’t talent, the message went. It was focus, toughness, repetition, and, above all, communication. Despite last season’s success, the Sixers are trying to meld old concepts with new ones. On defense, they want to switch forwards with forwards — “apples to apples” as Brown calls it — while asking Embiid to continue dropping back and stay close to the rim, where he can have the most impact. But with a 6’3 point guard in Fultz interchanging with a 6’10 point guard in Simmons, it’s not as simple as switching every pick set by a wing and playing guard-big pick-and-rolls traditionally. Some mismatches will require a quick switch back Authentic Deion Jones Jersey , some will force doubles, and some they have to live with. They are hoping that by the post-season, the specifics will feel natural, leaving them ready for what — and who — awaits them in the NBA’s second season. Simmons, who increasingly finds himself off the ball after switching onto wings, has zoned in on improving his awareness of weak-side cutters. Fultz has been dogged about getting around screens. Every player has made it a point to talk more. They are in fact on the upswing defensively, allowing just 103.5 points per possession in the five games since the meeting, a mark that would rank in the top five if accomplished over the entire season.When Simmons, Fultz, and Embiid share the floor, that number drops to 95.5, despite the fact that opponents are rarely taking the ball out of the basket. Indeed, the Sixers haven’t managed to capitalize on the other end, where Fultz and Simmons struggle to extend their range and find enough space for their speed to put the hurt on opponents.“I think there’s a genuine desire from their part to wanna make it work,” Brown says a week later prior to a loss against the Nets. “Math wouldn’t say that. And when you look at them in isolation, they’re pretty impressive numbers. Markelle especially, as a point guard, his numbers for a rookie — effectively a rookie in my eyes — are very impressive.”Fultz is being fast-tracked, and despite his shooting struggles, he’s been pugnacious defensively and shone with the ball in his hands — that is, when Simmons hits the bench. But the 76ers need their most important players to be able to share the court, even now that Butler is one of the five.“I’m trying to have it all, where I can grow [Simmons and Fultz] together and play them together and then give the team the best chance and Markelle the best chance to play well and that is with the ball,” Brown says. “It’s a work in progress for sure.”More from Seerat SohiThe scripted chaos of Stephen CurryLeBron James knows that winning big will erase any early strugglesDanny Green is the key to making the Kawhi Leonard trade workAnthony Davis is leading a big man training revolutionOperation Keep Kawhi is already workingThe league has gotten faster and spacier than even the analytics-obsessed 76ers could have imagined. With a center that can shoot and point guards that can’t, the Sixers are somehow both archaic and modern. The contradictions could be smoothed out if Fultz or Simmons finds some range. If they don’t, the Sixers might have the tools to be the modern era’s great course-correction. There’s Simmons — a 6’10, point-guard playing athletic marvel with no jumper — running the break with eyes in the back of his head, encouraged to crash for offensive rebounds while the rest of the league rushes their guards back to protect against perimeter 3-point threats. “We feel that with his size and athleticism that we would be making mistake not encouraging him to go out there,” Brown says.Then there’s Embiid, a 7’ shot blocker who operates in the restricted area as a tabletop foosball goalie. He is hyper-mobile despite weighing 250 pounds, a matchup nightmare in a the small-ball era that can also, in his own words, kick 7’, 280-pound Andre Drummond’s ass. There are nights the Sixers make you believe. Fultz squeezes through picks, the forwards switch perfectly, and scorers funnel into Embiid’s imposing frame. Then, they’re off to the races, with Simmons and Fultz leading the break. These are the games when Brown sounds less like Don Quixote and more like a man really riding unicorns. You wonder: with their combination of patience, talent, and a steadfast bent towards analytics, could the 76ers find a formula that flips the NBA over on its head? And then Embiid gets triple-teamed without a release valve in sight. So it goes when you’re trying to push against the ocean and win games at the same time. Perched up against the concrete walls of the Scotiabank Arena, Brown is musing on the future of the league. “Our sport is incredibly influenced every year and more and more by analytics,” he says. “The volume of the threes and the pace of the game is at an all-time high, and I don’t see that trend being corrected for a while.”What, asks one reporter, would it take to tilt the balance?Without missing a beat, Brown’s eyes perk up. He cuts the reporter off at the end of his question and replies, as though the answer is as obvious as he hopes it is. “Joel Embiid.”