Byron Leftwich-IN vs Tampa Bay

[bigboydan]

I'm not a Harrington fan at all guys, but how can you take him out of that starting job after he won the last 2 games for the Falcons.

Coach Bobby Petrino made it clear Wednesday that Leftwich will reclaim the starting spot - a stand that caught Harrington off guard.

[pavyracer]

I'm not a Harrington fan at all guys, but how can you take him out of that starting job after he won the last 2 games for the Falcons.

Falcons don't want to miss on the draft now that St. Louis is winning so they put him in to make sure they lose.

[Poker Pirate]

falcons arent thinking draft, they are thinking if we loose the division this year, we get to win it next year.

anyway like TB even more now, i think, though atl may have a chance depending on how many snaps it takes leftwhich to get hurt again.

[SBR Lou]

I'm not a Harrington fan at all guys, but how can you take him out of that starting job after he won the last 2 games for the Falcons.

That's true, but maybe Petrino is rolling the dice. I mean what are the odds of Harrington having three good games in a row?

[BravoWhiskey]

I'm a Falcons fan, so I follow the team much closer than most on here. Going to Leftwich (if healthy) is the right move for this team. I know the Falcons are on a modest 2 game winning streak, but it came against the likes of San Francisco and Carolina. In both games, the Defense set the tone early and stoned both offenses. The Falcons have been winning due to defense, which is playing at a very high level right now. Bobby Petrino's offensive design is one of a downhill running attack and attacking the field vertically. Harrington is ill suited to make the throws Petrino wants him to make. I usually will avoid betting on the teams I root for unless I have a VERY strong inclination one way or the other - which I do on this game. The Falcons defense is playing very well, and Tampa Bay will struggle mightily on offense Sunday - mark it down. Their running game went from a "Cadillac" to a "Pinto". DeAngelo Hall and Chris Houston are playing out of their minds right now, so Jeff Garcia will have a hard time getting anything done through the air with his WR's - who are pedestrian to begin with. Rod Coleman has returned to the lineup and made his presence felt against the Panthers with 2 sacks. John Abraham is his usual beastly self, and linebacker Michael Boley is the best linebacker in the NFL that nobody knows about. Tampa's defense is stout as well, so I anticipate a low scoring game. I really think the Falcons are a better team than their record shows, and I also think Tampa Bay is not as good as their record indicates. I believe the Falcons win this game outright, I'm going to play the ML on this one.

[Patrick McIrish]

..... so Jeff Garcia will have a hard time getting anything done through the air with his WR's - who are pedestrian to begin with.

First time I have heard Joey Galloway referred to as a pedestrian type of reciever, the guy even at age 35 (he'll be 36 next week) is probably one of the fastest men in football. It's unreal watching him run right by 24 year old corners every week but he does it. Beyond him I would agree they have no real speed but Galloway has flat out burners for legs. Other than that I don't really disagree with your opinion of the game though.

[pavyracer]

I'm a Falcons fan, so I follow the team much closer than most on here. Going to Leftwich (if healthy) is the right move for this team. I know the Falcons are on a modest 2 game winning streak, but it came against the likes of San Francisco and Carolina. In both games, the Defense set the tone early and stoned both offenses. The Falcons have been winning due to defense, which is playing at a very high level right now. Bobby Petrino's offensive design is one of a downhill running attack and attacking the field vertically. Harrington is ill suited to make the throws Petrino wants him to make. I usually will avoid betting on the teams I root for unless I have a VERY strong inclination one way or the other - which I do on this game. The Falcons defense is playing very well, and Tampa Bay will struggle mightily on offense Sunday - mark it down. Their running game went from a "Cadillac" to a "Pinto". DeAngelo Hall and Chris Houston are playing out of their minds right now, so Jeff Garcia will have a hard time getting anything done through the air with his WR's - who are pedestrian to begin with. Rod Coleman has returned to the lineup and made his presence felt against the Panthers with 2 sacks. John Abraham is his usual beastly self, and linebacker Michael Boley is the best linebacker in the NFL that nobody knows about. Tampa's defense is stout as well, so I anticipate a low scoring game. I really think the Falcons are a better team than their record shows, and I also think Tampa Bay is not as good as their record indicates. I believe the Falcons win this game outright, I'm going to play the ML on this one.

Being in Atlanta I watch the Falcons frequently. I am only 5 minutes away from Falcons training facility. May I ask the poster in which game did Leftwich looked good? Atlanta reveivers are notorious for dropping passes which takes time to get used to because of timing issues with QB. Vick was throwing bullets which were very hard to catch for the Falcons young receivers whereas Harrington is throwing smooth passes that are catchable. I hope for the Falcons sake that Leftwich gets hurt early so that they have a chance in this game. Every game Leftwich played so far was horrible.

[BravoWhiskey]

Being in Atlanta I watch the Falcons frequently. I am only 5 minutes away from Falcons training facility. May I ask the poster in which game did Leftwich looked good? Atlanta reveivers are notorious for dropping passes which takes time to get used to because of timing issues with QB. Vick was throwing bullets which were very hard to catch for the Falcons young receivers whereas Harrington is throwing smooth passes that are catchable. I hope for the Falcons sake that Leftwich gets hurt early so that they have a chance in this game. Every game Leftwich played so far was horrible.

Leftwich has only played in 2 games and attempted a grand total of 31 passes this season, so your assertion that "every game Leftwich played so far was horrible" is not accurate. He saw his first action against Tennessee, about a week after he was signed off the street. He only played in about 2 series in that game if memory serves me correctly, and was understandably rusty. Joey Harrington was under a lot of pressure in that game, and couldn't so much as complete dump passes late in the game. When Leftwich came into the game the issue had pretty much already been decided. Still, Leftwich had the Falcons at the 1 yard line late in the 4th quarter with a chance to tie or win the game. Only a superhuman play by Albert Haynesworth prevented the Falcons from tying it up. The only other game he has played in was the New Orleans game, in which he started. In the first half of that game the Falcons had their best half of the season as far as the passing game is concerned. Leftwich was injured toward the end of the first half, but in his time completed 15/23 for 145 yards and a TD. The Falcons went into the locker room with a 13-7 lead, but could only muster 3 second half points under the direction of Joey Harrington, resulting in a 22-16 loss. Ray Charles could see that Leftwich opens up the vertical passing game moreso than Harrington. If you are running a WCO, Harrington would be ok due to the fact that he is relatively effective completing short to intermediate timing passes. Harrington is not a threat to stretch the defense, so teams load up the box and smother the running game. When you have an offensive line in transition, and a 5'-9" 185# starting tailback, that doesn't bode well for your ability to run the football. I don't think you can take a little over one half of football, and equate Leftwich to being "horrible", that's certainly not what I observed. The offense has more life with Leftwich under center. Hopefully he is healthy enough to go this week, he gives the Falcons the best chance to win.

[pavyracer]

Leftwich has only played in 2 games and attempted a grand total of 31 passes this season, so your assertion that "every game Leftwich played so far was horrible" is not accurate. He saw his first action against Tennessee, about a week after he was signed off the street. He only played in about 2 series in that game if memory serves me correctly, and was understandably rusty. Joey Harrington was under a lot of pressure in that game, and couldn't so much as complete dump passes late in the game. When Leftwich came into the game the issue had pretty much already been decided. Still, Leftwich had the Falcons at the 1 yard line late in the 4th quarter with a chance to tie or win the game. Only a superhuman play by Albert Haynesworth prevented the Falcons from tying it up. The only other game he has played in was the New Orleans game, in which he started. In the first half of that game the Falcons had their best half of the season as far as the passing game is concerned. Leftwich was injured toward the end of the first half, but in his time completed 15/23 for 145 yards and a TD. The Falcons went into the locker room with a 13-7 lead, but could only muster 3 second half points under the direction of Joey Harrington, resulting in a 22-16 loss. Ray Charles could see that Leftwich opens up the vertical passing game moreso than Harrington. If you are running a WCO, Harrington would be ok due to the fact that he is relatively effective completing short to intermediate timing passes. Harrington is not a threat to stretch the defense, so teams load up the box and smother the running game. When you have an offensive line in transition, and a 5'-9" 185# starting tailback, that doesn't bode well for your ability to run the football. I don't think you can take a little over one half of football, and equate Leftwich to being "horrible", that's certainly not what I observed. The offense has more life with Leftwich under center. Hopefully he is healthy enough to go this week, he gives the Falcons the best chance to win.

I wish I had the video of the Leftwich Tennessee game. I think there is thread somewhere in this forum for that game. He was overshooting the receivers by 10 ft and yes only a superman could catch these balls. The inexperienced offensive line of the Falcons will be Leftwich's doom because he can't run away from a headless chicken chasing him.

[BravoWhiskey]

I agree, Leftwich was definitely off in that game. Again, he was signed off the street about a week earlier and hadn't thrown a pass in live action since the end of last season (he had no pre-season) When he got the start against New Orleans, he looked very sharp. He made some throws in that game that not many QB's could make. He has a gun, and can definitely get the ball downfield. The problem for him has always been staying on the field. He looks like a good fit in Bobby Petrino's offense.

[pavyracer]

I agree, Leftwich was definitely off in that game. Again, he was signed off the street about a week earlier and hadn't thrown a pass in live action since the end of last season (he had no pre-season) When he got the start against New Orleans, he looked very sharp. He made some throws in that game that not many QB's could make. He has a gun, and can definitely get the ball downfield. The problem for him has always been staying on the field. He looks like a good fit in Bobby Petrino's offense.

Why don't they use Leftwich as an offensive lineman and put Harrington to throw the ball? They need help in OL and Leftwich's passes are uncatchable.