Say what you will about Matt Bryant; yeas he’s getting a little long in the tooth, yes he’s lost a few yards on that booming leg he had when he was young, and yes he is bald; but at the end of a tight game between two evenly matched teams, he’s a guy you like having waiting. He doesn’t ice. He’s too old for those mind games coaches like to play with younger kickers. Get him within reasonable range as the clock expires, and you’re better odds than most to walk off the field happy. And give him the thin air of Mile High and a slight wind at his back… He might just get those extra yards back for you.
It wasn’t the best showing by Matt Ryan and the offense, of course. Roddy White still looks a little old and missing a step he used to have. Julio Jones’ foot didn’t seem to notably bother him, but his routes weren’t crisp at all. And new-guy-that’s-not-Tony-Gonzalez was not Tony Gonzalez. But a couple of ground and pound drives late in the third quarter made Stephen Jackson look young again, including the decisive 22 yard scamper that got Bryant into position to win it at the end. And the new O-line opened up holes that weren’t there last year. So that’s a positive.
But the real stars of the show for Atlanta was the revamped secondary. The new D-line didn’t get tons of pressure on Peyton, but they did hassle him enough to be an improvement on last year’s debacle. And simply being not-porous like a sieve allowed William Moore and newcomer Dwight Lowery to shine in the middle, and Rob Alford made a bit of a statement by shutting down Bebe Thomas more or less all night. Granted, anyone might be an improvement over Thomas DeCoup, but you’ll take that performance against a HOF QB, even if he is aging out a bit…
Wait? What? That was a baseball game?! Fcvking Colorado, man.
Well done. Well done.
Yes, three cheers for Sam.
Persian Julius heads into Coors with the best ERA in baseball. Good luck with that.
I’d say this game was more like the Georgia-LSU shootout from last year. Kimbrel’s performance was the equivalent of thwarting the attempted go-ahead drive by recording four straight sacks.
A victory tonight guarantees a winning road trip. Here’s the ball, Julio…
Well done on the recap. And to Kruger from the previous thread, that’s great to hear about your son.
(In the voice of Morgan Freeman)I hope that Evan Gattis can keep this up. I hope that Jason Heyward continues to be as good he is in our dreams. I hope that Shae Simmons is for real. I hope.
(Morgan Freeman)I do believe the two years Dan Uggla was playing second base and BJ Upton was in centerfield were the worst for Andy.(Morgan Freeman)
There is ALWAYS something interesting on this site
“In the voice of Morgan Freeman”. I love it.
How about “in the voice of Sam Elliott”
When you go to Denver, you go to kick some ass.
Relevant bad news for the ATL…
Fredi’s an ASG coach.
http://tinyurl.com/okoexp7
That’s too bad. Fredi’s brain could use a little rest.
@10
Why? It’s not like he uses it a lot.
You know what they say — practice makes perfect.
“Alright Brain, you don’t like me, and I don’t like you. But lets just do this, and I can get back to killing you with beer.”
Good info on how good our OF defense is.
https://twitter.com/msimonespn/status/476794848624656384/photo/1
Artist’s rendition of Fredi’s decision-making process
I enjoy reading the posts and comments on this site, and though I’ve had many close calls, I kept my lurker status intact, at least until now, and even now, only to the best of my knowledge. I admit: some mornings, hazy still with post-game rage or elation, I’d read a comment and wonder, did I write that? The comments that seemed as if I wrote them were never the good ones, the erudite, or funny, or insightful ones – I knew I couldn’t write those. Comments of the “Andrelton made a great play in the 5th, he’s pretty good” variety, those were the ones I wondered about; accurate but obvious, as best I can hope for.
I’ve never read a comment deriding or mocking Fredi Gonzalez’s management or intelligence, and wondered “did I write that?” I don’t understand the basis for those comments. Comments criticizing certain decisions? Sure, could’ve been me. Comments along the lines of “he’s dumb and doesn’t know what he’s doing?” – No. He’s a good manager. He’s also a smart guy.
Support for these two conclusions? I’d draw on the same seasons that those who conclude otherwise would draw from to suppport their conclusions. To each his own, I guess. I’d like also to guess that, eventually, Fredi’s record will cause his critics to reconsider their views, but I’m not stupid. Just dumb.
No such rendition is necessary as long as there are Magic 8-Balls.
Tyler Matzek is making his major league debut against us tonight. So, of course, we’re doomed.
Well, this start is rather discouraging. It is still Coors Field, though, so all is not lost yet.
Julio’s first-inning ERA has got to be in Minor at Coors territory.
Do we even scout these first-time MLB pitchers? Or do we just hand everyone his baseball card, a printout of his MLB.com bio and say, “OK, go get ’em”?
Clearly the Rockies had scenes of the ocean painted on the windows of the Braves bus, so the hitters are all under the impression they’re playing in San Diego.
Amazing what difference 24 hours make (or did they just use up all of their hits last night for the rest of the month?)
No Joe, Braves fans know that when pitchers make their major league debut against us, they dominate us.
Matzek’s going to throw a sub-90 pitch complete game, the way we’re hacking.
Fight the good fight, my friends. Good night.
Wow, how did we give up a run there? Did Freddie forget about the runner on third?
Walk the dog time. So glad Fredi has already punted tomorrow’s game by giving JUp and Gattis the same day off.
65 pitches and 7ks in the 7th inning.
Meanwhile, Nats 3, Giants 0, top 1, and Matt Cain can’t find the strike zone with a map and a compass. First place was fun while it lasted.
No shutout, so we’ve achieved that much.
Our first rally of the night and Dan Uggla walks up to the plate. Is he our new White Flag—how Fredi admits that even in Colorado a 7-run deficit in the 8th inning is too much to overcome?
BJ Upton apparently can stop being useless now that it’s garbage time.
I wish I could get paid so much to do little. Uggla is who I aspire to be.
The Falcons could only muster a safety for the whole game. Wasted a wonderful performance by the defense tonight.
Recapped.