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2017: Falcons final play a disaster, Eagles knew 'before they broke the huddle'


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Posted

NFL Playoffs: Falcons final play a disaster, Eagles knew 'before they broke the huddle'

Quote

 

Philly defenders were calling out the sprint right

by Will Brinson  @WillBrinson

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nfl-playoffs-falcons-final-play-a-disaster-eagles-knew-before-they-broke-the-huddle/

Jan 14, 2018 at 12:46 pm ET • 2 min read

The Falcons literally let a chance to win the divisional round game slip through their hands on Saturday night, with Julio Jones missing on a 4th-and-2 catch that would have given the Falcons the lead. Ultimately they would lose 15-10. Don't blame Julio entirely though: pin the problem on a terrible red-zone approach from Atlanta and offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian. 

The approach was so obvious that Eagles players were calling out the final play, a sprint-out right by Matt Ryan, before it happened. 

Safety Malcolm Jenkins said after the game the Eagles knew Ryan would be sprinting right "probably before they broke the huddle." Jenkins said this, according to Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com, while laughing in way that "could haunt" Falcons fans this offseason.

His fellow safety Rodney McLeod spotted Levine Toilolo motioning across the formation and began yelling out the play. 

"It was right hash. That's a lot of teams' tendencies for a sprint out. As soon as I saw the tight end come over, I was like, 'There it is!'" McLeod said. "This is everything you dream of as a player."

You can see it happening as soon as Toilolo (80) goes from left to right on the formation. McLeod (23) is screaming to the cornerbacks on Ryan's right side about what's going to happen.

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The end result is a disaster for the Falcons. Not only did they cut the field in half, but they created a situation where there are two offensive players against five defensive players, all of whom are sprinting in the same direction as Ryan, fully aware of where the ball is going to go.

And making matters worse -- the only option on the left side of the field is fullback Derrick Coleman.

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The "chess move" situation would have been to put a wide receiver on the left side, get man coverage on a slant route, fake the sprint right and fire back to the left. Who knows, maybe that's what Sarkisian was planning for the potential two-point conversion.

It's worth noting this play still had a chance for success. Not only did Jones barely miss catching the ball, but he was also being ridden like a pony by cornerback Jalen Mills.

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For whatever it's worth, Julio didn't complain about going to the ground before the ball was thrown. And it's hard for him to complain too much because, again, the ball went threw his hands after he got up (although it's tough to adjust from being on the ground to making a play like that). 

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The entire red-zone sequence for the Falcons was a nightmare, from the underhanded pass on second down to final play that the Eagles saw coming.

Unfortunately for the Falcons it meant the end of their season, and about six-to-eight months of hand wringing over Sarkisian's play-calling.

 

 

 
Posted

Maybe we did know what Ryan was going to do. Seems a little irrelevant because what we absolutely knew was the ball was going to go to Jones. Really that was what mattered.

Posted

I feel like either in the chat or the announcers were calling the play as well. 

Posted
On 6/8/2020 at 1:58 PM, VaBeach_Eagle said:

but he was also being ridden like a pony by cornerback Jalen Mills.

Julio fell, whether it be on purpose to draw a flag, or just tripped, Mills was lucky, no one can tell me anything else. 

Posted

That was a tense moment for sure!

 

Now we gotta beat Minnesota!

  • Like 1
Posted
18 hours ago, EagleJoe8 said:

That was a tense moment for sure!

 

Now we gotta beat Minnesota!

I think we will run riot against Minnesota. 

Posted
36 minutes ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

I think we will run riot against Minnesota. 

I’m thinking we should hit ‘em with a flea flicker in the early 3rd. I wouldn’t waste any other trick plays in this game though. Maybe save one for the following game. 

  • Like 2
Posted
49 minutes ago, EagleJoe8 said:

I’m thinking we should hit ‘em with a flea flicker in the early 3rd. I wouldn’t waste any other trick plays in this game though. Maybe save one for the following game. 

Yeah I'm thinking like a really clever play where the QB ends up making the catch. 

Posted
7 minutes ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

Yeah I'm thinking like a really clever play where the QB ends up making the catch. 

Too risky. It’ll never work. 😂

Posted

I had a delay in seeing Julio miss the catch. I was looking down to see where his feet were. Left foot came down out of bounds. Still glad he missed the catch too though.

Posted
13 hours ago, PoconoDon said:

I had a delay in seeing Julio miss the catch. I was looking down to see where his feet were. Left foot came down out of bounds. Still glad he missed the catch too though.

I was the opposite. I didn’t notice the foot hit OoB until later. In real time I was excited, but also checking for a flag. 

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