Quote:
Originally Posted by Kenny Camaro
Were the calls perfect, or was the execution poor? Probably not perfect, but definitely poorly executed.
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I'm not the only one, copied from CBS sports,
Then the real bonehead plays came a bit after that. On the next series, the Falcons moved to a first down at the New England 22 on a great catch by Julio Jones for 27 yards. On first down, the Falcons ran Devonta Freeman for a yard.
That set up a second-and-9 from the 21. Run it twice, kick your field goal, and you are world champions.
Instead offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan got greedy. He called a pass play and Trey Flowers dumped Ryan for a 12-yard loss. On the next play, Matthews was called for holding, which wiped a 9-yard completion to Mohamed Sanu. After an incomplete pass, the Falcons punted.
Passing is the way in the NFL, and it certainly was the thing that got Atlanta to this game, but sometimes you have to be smart. Shanahan got too arrogant in the fourth quarter.
Asked if Shanahan was too aggressive, Ryan shrugged that notion aside.
"Too aggressive? No," Ryan said. "I thought Kyle did a good job. I thought we played the way we play. We always play aggressive and play to win."
Three knees and they kick a 40-yard field goal and win the game. A first down and a short field goal and they win the game. The only thing that kills them is a sack and then a holding penalty.
Bad thinking.
Center Alex Mack said the pressure on the sack came inside the A-gap with a stunt by Flowers. He blamed himself.
He should have blamed Shanahan, who is on his way to be the head coach of the 49ers. I think Shanahan is brilliant. He will be a good head coach. But sometimes these guys in this league outsmart themselves.
Kyle Shanahan's aggressive play-calling might have cost the Falcons a championship. USATSI
"You don't think just run the ball and make your guy kick a 50-yard field goal," Shanahan said. "You try your hardest to give him a great chance to for sure make it, but we ended up getting a sack and it's not really an option after that."
Uh, it would have been a 40-yard field goal if they don't gain an inch. Shouldn't the offensive coordinator know that? Falcons kicker Matt Bryant has made 51 of 63 field goals from 40-49 yards in his Falcons career. He probably wasn't missing.
"I wouldn't second-guess throwing the ball there," Mack said. "We just need to be able to block it."
It was tough for the Falcons offense to get any real continuity. They ran only 46 plays to 93 for the Patriots. New England had 42 plays in the first half alone. Atlanta was 1 for 8 on third down in the game, which isn't close to being good enough for an offense that led the NFL in points and scored 80 points in two playoff games.
That forced the defense to get worn down. End Vic Beasley said that didn't happen, but defensive tackle Grady Jarrett said it could have been a possibility.
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So did the Falcons choke?
"I think it was more we took it," Patriots defensive end Chris Long said.
I beg to differ. I think this might be the biggest collapse in sports history and it certainly is the biggest on this stage.
As Ryan slowly walked out of the locker room, the hurt on his face was easy to see as he trudged out to see his family.
On the other side of the locker room door, bodies were strewn about, waiting for the coroner to come.
Choking is a cruel way to die. One minute you're chewing on the best piece of filet mignon, and the next minute you're dead. One minute you're sizing up your finger for a ring, and the next you're in a body bag, one of many strewn about a locker-room morgue.
Say it after me one more time: The Atlanta Falcons flat out choked away a Super Bowl.
Pete Prisco has covered the NFL for three decades, including working as a beat reporter in Jacksonville for the Jaguars. When he's not watching game tape, you can find Pete on Twitter or dreaming of an... Full Bio