Which is worse?  Matt Ryan making three costly mistakes on the same play, or Kyle Shanahan not knowing basic arithmetic?

Despite a couple of decent games earlier this season Matt Ryan had a long history of choking in playoff games, when his team needed him most.  On Sunday, he worsened his reputation.   How much of that falls on his own shoulders is debatable.   The only solace Ryan can take is that very few people are blaming him.   Most analysts, myself included, are piling the blame on that ridiculous idiot Kyle Shanhan, who called the worst plays in Super Bowl history.

And of course, head coach Dan Quinn ALLOWED Shanahan to call those bad plays, so he has earned our wrath as well.

As more and more analysts continue to dissect the infamous 1st-and-10 series from the 22 yardline with 3 minutes left, I continue to emphasize that it was the series before that doomed the Falcons.   Facing a third and one, and only needing a few feet to win the Super Bowl, Shanahan called for a long bomb pass.   You don’t even have to know the result of the play to know how wrong this is.   No, it’s not wrong because it failed.   It’s wrong because it was so incredibly unneeded and unnecessary.   The Falcons played like they were down 40 points, instead of UP by 16.

But I first need to mention another thing I picked up on, that most everyone else missed. and I was talking about this to reader Sean during the game.   After Atlanta had the huge lead, they were still passing the ball, and everyone saw that.   But what I noticed in my analysis was that Ryan was snapping the ball with 20, 15, 19. 22, 19, even 25 seconds still left on the play clock.

Just image if Ryan knew football 101.  He wouldn’t be known as the ultimate choker today if he ran the play clock down to Zero in the 4th quarter.   If Ryan had snapped the ball with 1 second left on the play clock, that would have eaten away more than two full minutes of game time, and New England has no time at the end.

If you’re going to call idiotic pass plays when you’re up by 25 points, at least milk the clock before you run those idiotic plays.

It’s a brutally incorrect decision to play pass-happy football when you lead by 25 points.   But it’s even worse to take no time off the clock.   Even on the strip sack, watch all the mistakes Ryan makes.

On this one single play, the choke artist makes THREE AWFUL decisions.

ONE:   Ryan doesn’t run enough time off the clock.   Watch the play clock.  Why snap it with 16 seconds left when you could have taken those seconds away from New England?   Ryan did this nonsense consistently throughout the entire 4th quarter.

TWO:  Ryan watches the same receive the entire time, absolutely oblivious to the danger quickly approaching him.

THREE:  Ryan tries a risky long bomb instead of throwing the sure-thing first down screen pass.   Needing only ONE measly yard, the running back is so incredibly wide open for an easy first down.    The announcers kept harping on the RB for missing the block… but his job was not to block!!!   It was to chip the rusher and then get open.   He played it beautifully, but it all went for naught because of Matt Ryan’s three mistakes.  The ONE TIME you want to throw it to your check-down man is when you only need a yard.  Matty Choke forgot that and locked his eyes on the incorrect target way too soon.

Watch that video again and look at my points.    Long before the 22-yardline fiasco, I knew the Falcons would lose because, they simply were not taking any time off the clock.

The series before that?  The Patriots botched an onside kick AND had a penalty, meaning that the Falcons began their drive inside Patriots territory.  Pass pass pass punt.    Incredibly poor decisions.

If Matt Ryan is the Prince of Choke, then Kyle Shanahan is the King.   As we hear more and more about Atlanta’s decisions making, it becomes more and more infuriating.   When the Falcons had the ball at the New England 22, well within field goal range, they passed.

This is what Kyle Shanhan said about why they “had” to pass with only 3 minutes left:   “You don’t run the ball and make your guy kick a 50-yard field goal.”    Attention, Kyle.   It was a 39-yard field goal, not 50!!!   And after you lost a yard on first down, it became a 40-yard field goal, not 50!!

Not making this up folks; Kyle Shanahan’s incorrect math and field awareness doomed the Falcons just as much as Matty Choke did.

Dan Quinn’s reply to all these mistakes?  “We decided to let ‘er rip.”   As our reader FlyerFinFan stated, letting ‘er rip is nice sentiment when you’re playing Madden with your kids, but when you have a 25-point lead?   Or even an 8-point lead when you’re already in field goal range?

The lethal combination of Dan Quinn’s ignorance, Kyle Shanahan’s stupidity, and Matty Choke’s lack of awareness means that we have to hear about Tom Brady et al. for eternity.    Thanks for that, Atlanta.

 

27 Comments

  1. @admin

    Which is worse?

    A MORON like you trying to be a Monday morning QB in hindsight over seasoned pros that do football for a living!!!

    BTW clearly the Prince of Choke is 18 years of Dan Marino!!

    1. Author

      Speaking of morons, you asked a question about which is worse, but then you only gave us one choice.

    2. Author

      Good old Jay, the only person on earth defended Kyle Shanahan!!

      1. @Admin

        At lest Jay is consistent he always roots for the losers! Philbin, Moore, Johnathan Martin and now Kyle Shanahan!

        This is why Im sure hes a Jets fan!

        1. Author

          And to think the 49ers actually WANTED Shanahan to run their team. The folks in Atlanta are like, Yep he’s all yours.
          Kyle: “Why take a knee when we can hand the Super Bowl to the opponent instead?”

          1. @Admin

            He should have said he was thinking about not getting the last pick in the First round!

  2. I know Admin, it pains us all to see the Patriots get the gift of another team’s spectacular snafu and be handed another unwarranted Superbowl win. But this is DOLPHINS TRUTH so most of us Dolfans can only imagine the pain that a Falcon fan is feeling right now.

    I’ll say it again, I’m happy it wasn’t my team, the Dolphins, looking that inept in the Superbowl because the pain would be unbearable. The police department would have to surround the Dolphins headquarters 24/7 to protect the OC, HC, and the QB from the wrath of Fin Fans over that BS we saw Sunday.

  3. What astounds me is that those two fools are basically saying that they wouldn’t change anything they would make the same calls??? Jay along side them haha! Are you kidding me you make the worst calls in super bowl history and you wouldn’t change them if you could? I guess let’er rip you idiots. Blank should fire Quinn immediately. Jay shouldn’t be allowed to talk football. Done!

    1. Author

      Flyer, yep. That’s what I used to say about Philbin all the time. The mistakes were bad, but the stubborn refusals afterward were worse.
      I got mad at his mistakes, but I got infuriated when he said, “It was the right call. I wouldn’t change a thing.”
      And I would fire him too. I wouldn’t have even let him on the plane ride home. Fire him in the locker room right after the game.

    2. p.s., This blog would be boring without Jay’s rants. I mean, who wants to read accurate and truthful comments all the time, right? That’s what Jay is for.

      1. This blog is boring without me. All you clueless out of touch out of town kool aid drinkers that know nuthin about football trying to be Monday morning QB’s.

        Its friggin hilarious!

        1. Author

          Kyle Shanhan mistakenly thought that Atlanta would have to try a 50-yard field goal when they had the ball at the Patriots’ 22 yardline (It was actually a 39-yard chipshot).
          Jay mistakenly believes today is Monday morning.

          1. Author

            Jay also acts as if Dolphins Truth readers are the only ones on earth pointing out the numerous Falcon mistakes. 5 billion people on earth, and only 3 of them think Atlanta played flawlessly: Jay, Shanahan, and Quinn.

            1. Hahahahaha! Funniest thing I read or heard all day. But yes Jay makes me laugh too….

      2. Heck, even the admin got booted off Phinsiders for being so CLUELESS!!! LOL!

        1. Author

          No, I gotted booted for saying, Quote, “I don’t understand why you Phinsiders are so optimistic about Zac Taylor being the QB coach. He is Mike Sherman’s son in law, and he has zero experience.”
          They wrote me back, saying “your comment is far too negative for what we’re trying to produce here.”

      3. Author

        I don’t think Jay’s rants are funny. It’s his reactions to our comments that are hysterical. Each and every time we prove jay wrong, his comebacks are laughably inconsistent. Sometimes he denies making the original claim. Other times he just calls us names. Still other times he doubles-down on his incorrect assertions.

    3. @FlyerFin

      As you have probably figured out Jay dons’t talk football he only talks Stupidity and he dosn’t even do that well!

      1. Yeah but in a round about way he’s comical. We’re all fans so be it.

  4. I have a question, did the Falcons play zone after the 28-9 lead and were they in nickle or dime? I ask this because if they were not, then this, in my mid would be another mistake. Linebackers cant cover the Patriot’s receivers out of the backfield and a CB would entice the Pats to run the ball and therefore keep the clock running.

    1. I’m not sure but it was clear that the patsies were in pass mode. For the most part they were in man but should have mixed it up a bit down the stretch since they were tired. Hard to man up when tired. Either way further reason to run the ball.

      Oh apparently Brandon Marshall has joined Jay’s team as he didn’t think that the play calling was bad. That makes four in the world. Those brainiacs must know something we don’t perhaps new world order or something?

      Brandon thinks that a 40 yard FG is impossible as well in a some no wind when guys hit 56 yarders….he also didn’t know what to say when Irvin said by running it doesn’t mean that you will not get a first down or closer to an easier FG. Definitely not the sharpest tool in the shed…

  5. @Brian M. I have to respectfully disagree. Jay pretty much has the market cornered on talking stupid.

  6. I couldn’t believe the Atlanta coaches weren’t calling defensive timeouts at the end of the game.

    1. Especially in OT when they needed a break to regroup. Horrible coaching…

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