You're close. In fact, we started from the 11, 15, 15, 20, 32, 20, 7, 10, 25.

Wow, I just realized two of those possessions (the fourth and eighth) were entirely meaningless. The fourth possession was nothing more than a kneedown, and the eighth possession consisted solely of the prayer bomb to Jennings.

So in reality, Atlanta had 8 possessions to Green Bay's 6.

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^^This. I've never, EVER seen a stiff-arm called a facemask...

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Its another 3 point loss in the books. We were never ahead in the game and it came down to one thing, special teams play.

Special teams play hurt, the entire game.

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That was a classic stiff-arm.
I could see a flag if he had gotten his hand under the guys facemask but it wasn't even close to that.

What hurts is that this game was winnable and IMO we did enough to win the game without a ground threat.

1) Not taking a timeout if the booth was unsure of the Gonzo 4th down catch. That was a huge play in this game.

2) Special teams coverage.. ouch.

3) Not getting enough pressure on Ryan.

But after that.. we played a hell of a game and took them to the ropes in their house, but that game right there cost us a huge possible advantage in the playoffs.. forcing that dome team into the snow.

Clean up some of the penalties and one costly fumble.. this game is radically different.

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Completely forgot about the Gonzo 4th down "catch" and surely his name could be added to the "what hurts" list. It was almost like he was untouchable in a big situation. WIDE open in the endzone.

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If you put a WR out there - frankly, I don't trust B-Jack as a WR to send him in motion - you know the Falcons are gonna respond by putting a CB on him and I think it is unfair to ask any of our WRs to get in a position to make a play by operating with field limitations in front of them. It's easier to do when you have two CBS not used to playing pure man or pressing like Chris Cook or Asher Allen of the Vikings. The Falcons are a different story, I think.

Now we could've lined up Quarless - and sent him to the corner on a fade route, but the problem is that I don't know if we'd have enough time to let Aaron deliver the pass. On the replay of that play, Falcons defender #92 was wide open off the snap coming from Rodgers' left side, and hesitated a moment to figure out if he should rush Aaron or play the run. I think if you throw out of the goal line formation, you're still taking a chance that has no greater rate of success than trying to punch it in.

This, the more I think about it, is the situation we miss Finley the most. 6-6, WR like speed, good hands, athletic. You can lob up a pass, and there is a good chance Finley will be able to make a play on the ball - if not come down with it. You can't take Finley out by pressing him off his route, and it's difficult to make a play on the ball when it is thrown up there for a 6-6 target. Quarless, for all his physical talents, isn't that reliable or seasoned yet to fill that void, either.

Maybe I'm so infuriated with Ted for giving us chicken shit in the RB depth department that I am thinking the way I am. But frankly, I can't complain about the call to run it in considering the set of circumstances we found ourselves in down at the 1.

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Both McCarthy and Capers said that the first time they had any reason to doubt the catch was after the snap of the next play because there is a delay with getting the television feed in the opposing coaches booth.

McGinn also pointed out that while Collins was signaling a questionable catch to McCarthy, Woodson and Zombo - who he says both had a view of the catch - turned around and went to line up again without any signal that they found the catch suspect.

Frankly, I think more attention needs to be paid to the lax tackling. Woodson is a sure tackler. Zombo, for what he may not be (athletic, fast), is a solid player. 3rd-16 play in the first half, they allow a FB to get 16 yards. Two missed tackles by the two above mentioned players. That's inexcusable.

For some missed takles, credit Turner as dude is one hell of a back; many times our players tried taking his legs out from under him to get him down, but the way he lifted and moved his legs constantly led to missed tackles. I can't recall seeing a RB barely move his foot out of the way of a tackle as many times as I saw Turner do it.

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Considering the situation - goal line defense on the field - it's difficult to criticize the O-line for not getting any push. The three times the Falcons failed to punch it in from the 1 in the forth quarter, for example, also saw their line not get any push. You have players clogging all the lanes, and generally it is not a 1-on-1 match-up for O-linemen. Frankly - and I swear by now I'm sounding like an obsessed Ted Thompson hater by harping on the same single point, so my apologies in advance - a RB with more speed and some greater punch to him helps a lot when trying to get that 1 yard when the opposing team is selling out to stop that minimal gain.

In fact, had Nick Collins not bit inside on the 4th down Turner 1-yard TD run, I doubt Turner gets a score. The O-line of the Falcons got no push, the Packers stacked the lanes, but Collins went inside and got taken out of the play (pancaked by the FB) which also caused AJ Hawk to lose a chance to make an attempt to tackle Turner.

Sometimes, you get a push by catching the other players off guard or wanting it more than them. But that is a rare exception, and I don't think it should stand as a rule in very short-yardage / goal line situations.

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So there is no reason to wonder when the team is lining up quickly to run another play? Seriously.. it was a gaff IMO, especially that close to the half with timeouts to spare. My opinion on a big play as such, with the opposing teams reaction.. you at minimum take a timeout to take a closer look at the play, especially if you haven't gotten a look. And how much of a delay is there when the TV audience could see it? You mean we aren't using their footage as well in the booth?

IMO, that was every bit as pivotal as the fumble in the red zone.. why not take some time on it.

Another thing it could have done is slow the momentum down at that point.

But on the tackling point.. that has been suspect for some time now.. their are a handful of solid tacklers on the team.. the rest.. well it probably resembles the arc of decline in good tackling in the league as a whole.

It is all about the big hit.. when you run into a load like Turner or even Snelling.. you are going to bounce off. Nothing like a tackle where you keep your footing and drive the man..

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