Week 9 Game Recap: Atlanta Falcons 17, Miami Dolphins 10

What you need to know

Atlanta Falcons

QB Michael Vick had by far his best passing day of the year. He made good decisions in the pocket and showed much better accuracy than he has in the recent past. He set season highs in completions, attempts, and yards. Vick led the Falcons on drives of more than 70 yards four times.

WR Brian Finneran was Vick’s go to receiver. Finneran had a career high eight receptions and nearly had a monster day with two touchdown receptions had it not been for one being dropped in the end zone.

FB Justin Griffith filled RB T.J. Duckett’s role while Duckett remains sidelined with injury. Even though Griffith fumbled in the red zone, the Falcons still gave him touches throughout the game. RB Warrick Dunn is still the focus of the Falcons offense. Dunn’s 25 carries against the Dolphins were a season high.

Miami Dolphins

The two headed running back monster of Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams only had 22 carries, but both ran hard and looked strong carrying the ball between the tackles. Each player averaged more than five yards per carry. Ronnie Brown remains the starter and continues to see a slightly higher percentage of the carries. The two running backs were on the field several times during the game with Brown splitting out wide as a receiver. Miami showed a penchant to throw out this formation.

QB Gus Frerotte struggled to move the Dolphins through the air. Amazingly, he went the entire game without getting touched in the pocket. No hurries. No knockdowns. No sacks. His fourth quarter interception in the red zone killed what could have been a game tying drive.

The Dolphins have the potential to have a fantastic running game, but without more effective play out of their quarterbacks they’ll continue to be frustrated. Miami was a pathetic 0 for 9 in converting third downs. Making matters worse, they reverted back to being riddled with penalties after improving over the past three weeks. The Dolphins simply can’t afford these sorts of mistakes if they want to be a power running team that controls the clock while playing solid defense.

What you ought to know

QB Michael Vick, Pass: 22 - 31 - 228 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 8 - 38 - 0

Vick was poised and in control standing in the pocket through the entire game. Further, in several instances he was surrounded by a heavy rush, but still kept his eyes down field and delivered accurate passes. The Falcons’ offensive line and running backs did a nice job of picking up blitzes allowing him opportunities to get rid of the ball. His reads and check downs were effective and helped to keep drives alive. Lastly, Vick didn’t come close to making any huge mistakes that could have resulted in a turnover. When Vick did flee the pocket he picked up several first downs with his legs.

RB Warrick Dunn, Rush: 25 - 88 - 1, Rec: 4 - 23 - 0 (4 targets)

Dunn had a very tough time getting started. Six of his first nine carries went for one yard or less, although one of them was for a one yard touchdown plunge. However, Dunn had two nice runs between the tackles for 21 and nine yards before the half. Also, Dunn was particularly effective catching the ball in the first half and also in picking up blitzes. The Falcons were committed to getting Dunn the ball throughout the game (season high 25 carries). FB Justin Griffith spelled him for a drive in the second quarter, but Dunn was the only running back featured in the second half. As he has been for most of his career, Dunn didn’t allow his lack of size to stop him from grinding out yards up the middle. Dunn put the game out of reach late with a nice first down run doing an excellent job of staying in bounds to keep the clock running.

RB Justin Griffith, Rush: 7 - 20 - 0, Rec: 1 - -2 - 0 (2 targets)

Griffith caught a swing pass inside the ten yard line and fumbled after taking a huge hit from LB Channing Crowder. The fumble killed a drive of more than seventy yards, but the Falcons went right back to Griffith on their next series giving him four carries. His only other carry was late in the game for no gain. Griffith took several huge hits in the game.

WR Brian Finneran, Rec: 8 - 92 - 1 (12 targets)

Finneran hooked up with QB Michael Vick twice in the first quarter picking up two first downs. In the second quarter Finneran caught what appeared to be a touchdown pass that was called back by a holding penalty. However, two plays later Vick went right back to Finneran on a slant for the touchdown. Finneran was open deep behind the defense just before half time, but was overthrown on the play. He continued his strong showing in the third quarter with two more quick catches. One was on a crossing route, and the other was hitch. However, at the end of the drive Finneran had a chance to pull in his second touchdown on a fade, but dropped the ball after it hit him in the hands. Finneran finished up his best game of the season with two short grabs in the fourth quarter.

WR Roddy White, Rush: 1 - 16 - 0, Rec: 3 - 50 - 0 (5 targets)

The injury to WR Michael Jenkins allowed White the chance to see more action. White wasn’t involved in the game at all until the Falcons second drive in the second quarter. White caught two balls for 15 and 20 yards gains. The later came on a third and long on a quick out. White broke a tackle and got up field quickly. White followed this up with a 16 yard carry on an end around on the same drive.

WR Michael Jenkins

Did not play due to his ankle injury.

TE Alge Crumpler, Rec: 6 - 65 - 0 (8 targets)

Crumpler showed off his great hands making three tough catches with a defensive back draped all over him in the first half. He almost scored on a deep out. He tried to reach the ball forward just as he was going out of bounds but was just short of the pylon. During the second and third quarters Crumpler disappeared as QB Michael Vick relied more on his receivers to move the ball down field, but Crumpler showed up again late with four fourth quarter targets including a tight end screen designed specifically for him that picked up a big third down late in the game.

PK Todd Peterson 1 - 1 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 5 points

Peterson hit his only attempt in the game from 21 yards.

ATL Rush Defense

The Falcons’ front seven was brutalized between the tackles by both Miami running backs. Atlanta wasn’t able to fill gaps at the point of attack and was being blown off the ball on most running plays. Even worse, once a running back got past the line of scrimmage they quite often broke into the secondary. Twelve of the twenty two carries by Miami running backs went for at least five yards.

ATL Pass Defense

The Falcons’ pass rush was non-existent. QB Gus Frerotte went untouched throughout the game. However, The Falcons’ secondary did a nice job of sticking with their coverage making it difficult for Miami receivers to gain separation. SS Keion Carpenter’s diving interception put a stop to the Dolphins last chance to tie the game up.

QB Gus Frerotte, Pass: 13 - 22 - 103 - 0 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 1 - -1 - 0

Frerotte completed more than half his passes (13 of 22), didn’t turn the ball over, and was complemented by a running game that was consistently averaging more than five yards per carry. However, his inability to get the ball down field to receivers kept Miami from being able to move the ball. Frerotte completed only three passes of more than nine yards and didn’t convert even one third down via the pass. Frerotte had the Dolphins in position to tie the game late, but he tried to force a pass into WR Chris Chambers who was double covered and it was picked off.

RB Ronnie Brown, Rush: 12 - 67 - 0, Rec: 2 - 11 - 0 (4 targets)

Brown started the game and looked great breaking tackles and running hard, but he only had four carries in the first half. At the outset of the second half Brown kicked things off with back to back 15 yard carries before being saddled with a four yard loss that really wasn’t his fault. He immediately gave way to RB Ricky Williams and didn’t get another carry until the fourth quarter. His last four carries went for eight, four, one, and five yards. Brown showed great shoulder lean and the ability to break tackles. Both of his receptions came early in the game. Brown dropped his last target in the third quarter, but he would have been crushed had he caught the pass. The Falcons sniffed out the screen play and it was for the better that the pass wasn’t completed.

RB Ricky Williams, Rush: 10 - 52 - 1

Williams entered the game on the second Dolphins possession at the beginning of the second quarter. Williams took his second carry up the middle breaking one arm tackle and showing good explosion on his way to a 23 yard touchdown. Williams split series with Brown throughout the game, but Brown started both halves.

WR Chris Chambers, Rush: 2 - -13 - 0, Rec: 3 - 40 - 0 (8 targets)

The Dolphins tried to get Chambers involved in their offense early with some plays specifically designed for him, but didn’t have any success with them. Chambers lost 12 yards on a double reverse when the backside defensive end did a nice job of getting up field to destroy the play. They also tried to run a quick hitter to Chambers in the flat, but there was a penalty on the play. Chambers got the Miami offense going early in the second quarter with two catches for 33 yards that led to the Ricky Williams touchdown. Chambers caught one short seven yard pass late, and was the intended target on Miami’s final play when QB Gus Frerotte was intercepted.

WR Marty Booker, Rec: 2 - 15 - 0 (4 targets)

Booker was targeted once early in the game, and wasn’t heard from again until the second half. He pulled in both of his short receptions during the third quarter. The first catch was the first Miami play from scrimmage in the third quarter.

TE Randy McMichael, Rec: 3 - 21 - 0 (3 targets)

McMichael’s first target came near the end of the second quarter in the end zone. McMichael had to leap to try and catch the 20 yard seam route, but the ball went off his hands. His first catch came moments later on third down on a quick out pattern at the ten yard line. His only other target was a 12 yard catch in the fourth quarter.

PK Olindo Mare 1 - 1 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 4 points

Mare hit his only field goal attempt from 27 yards.

MIA Rush Defense

The Dolphins stacked the line of scrimmage daring QB Michael Vick to beat them with his arm. Their commitment to shutting down RB Warrick Dunn was clear. Dunn’s first ten carries went for 1, 1, 0, 1, 11, 2, 0, 3, and –1 yards. When Vick was flushed from the pocket he was able to run effectively picking up solid yardage and several first downs.

MIA Pass Defense

The Miami run defense did a good job of setting up obvious passing downs early in the game, and followed that up with several jailbreak blitzes. However, they weren’t able to get to QB Michael Vick in time and got burned allowing Atlanta to pick up first downs. They were able to get to Vick three times in the game, but they weren’t able to make plays that got the Falcons offense off the field. Atlanta held a 36-23 minute advantage in time of possession. The Miami secondary didn’t come close to intercepting any passes, but CB Sam Madison made a touchdown saving play late in the game in front of TE Alge Crumpler.