Atlanta Falcons - A Casual Fan's Season

[LongGone]

I decided to post about my first season playing FM (08 version) for the first time. I chose the Falcons, as I'm from GA and always cheer for the home team, no matter how good or bad. :)

At best, I am a casual football fan, with baseball topping my favorite list, followed by hockey. But I've always enjoyed watching the game and decided to give it a try. I originally posted some questions about FM in the General Discussions forum and Artic Blast was kind enough to take the time to give me some advice and tips.

I'm playing on Coach difficulty and playing each of my games out. The first 3 games are in the books. Rather than clutter up the board you can see the results for the first 2 games in the following threads:

http://forum.sportsmogul.com/showpost.php?p=1180763&postcount=7

http://forum.sportsmogul.com/showpost.php?p=1181141&postcount=11

Surprisingly, the Falcons were off to a 2-0 start going into week 3 against the Carolina Panthers.

As you can see from the screenshot we came out on the losing side. It was a close game until the 4th quarter, with the Panthers up 13-10. Then we just fell apart and gave the game away when we failed to convert on 4th and 1 on Carolina's 32. :mad:

Next up, week 4: Houston (1-2) At Atlanta (2-1)

[LongGone]

Week 4
Houston (1-2) At Atlanta (2-1)

The Falcons dropped their 2nd game in a row, losing a heartbreaker to the Texans 24-21. Houston's offense was unstoppable in the 1st quarter but Atlanta made a strong charge to a comeback late in the 4th quarter, scoring 2 TD's in the last 5+ minutes, but coming up short 24-21.


Upcoming Game
Week 5
Atlanta (2-2) At Tennessee (0-3)

[LongGone]

Week 5
Atlanta (2-2) At Titans(0-3)

Tennessee got their first win of the season at the expense of the Falcons. There's not much too say about this game, except that our starting QB Joey Harrington is out for 2 weeks with a dislocated shoulder. And with the Falcons facing the Giants next week, thinks aren't looking to improve anytime soon.


Upcoming Game
Week 6
NYG (4-1) @ ATL (2-3)

[LongGone]

Week 6
NYG (4-1) At ATL (2-3)

After dropping 3 games in a row the Falcons managed to come back in a huge way with a surprising 25-10 win over the Giants to even up their record at 3-3 on the season. Atlanta showcased a strong rushing game, with Warrick Dunn racking up 127 yards and 2 TD's on the day.


Upcoming Game
Week 7
Atlanta (3-3) @ New Orleans (1-4)

[Arctic Blast]

Man, your defense is knocking people around. Even if most of your losses, I wouldn't say the D is to blame.

[LongGone]

Man, your defense is knocking people around. Even if most of your losses, I wouldn't say the D is to blame.

I agree. My defense has been pretty good and kept me in the game. It's the offense that's the weakness, but being 3-3 at this point I'm pretty happy with the results. :)

[asianinvasion]

Where is Matt Ryan?

[Arctic Blast]

He's using 2008 rosters, so MAtt Ryan's still busy being Big Man on Campus. :D

[asianinvasion]

My bad, didn't see that.

[LongGone]

Yeah, I should've mentioned that I was using the default rosters that come with 08. As soon as I finish this season I'm going to use the new rosters that were posted and hopefully I'll have FM 09 soon as well.

[LongGone]

Week 7
Atlanta (3-3) @ New Orleans (1-4)

This is easily the worst game of the season for the Falcons, suffering a 41-13 loss at the hands of the Saints. The stats speak for themselves, just an ugly game any way you look at it. Hopefully the Falcons can regroup during this off week and make a strong come back from this devasting loss.


Upcoming Game
Bye Week

[LongGone]

Week 9
San Francisco (0-7) @ Atlanta (3-4)

The Falcons lose another close one with the 49'ers getting their first win of the season with a 16-13 overtime victory.


Upcoming Game
Week 10
Atlanta (3-5) @ Carolina (6-2)

[LongGone]

Week 10
Atlanta (3-5) @ Carolina (6-2)

Atlanta was simply shutdown by Carolina, managing only 86 total yards in a 27-7 loss.


Upcoming Game
Week 11
Tampa Bay (6-3) @ Atlanta(3-6)

[LongGone]

Week 11
Tampa Bay (6-3) @ Atlanta (3-6)

Atlanta puts an end to their 3 game losing streak with a great 19-10 win over Tampa Bay. Warrick Dunn stepped up his game for the Falcons, rushing 139 yards with 1 TD.


Upcoming Game
Week 12
Indianapolis (4-6) @ Atlanta(4-6)

[LongGone]

Week 12
Indianapolis (4-6) @ Atlanta (4-6)

Atlanta looked to be outmatched heading into this game against the Colts, but the Falcons kept it close, with the score tied at 17-17 heading into the fourth quarter. But Atlanta's defense couldn't stop the Colts running game as Indianapolis put 10 on the board in the 4th to hand Atlanta a tough 27-17 loss.

Highs
TE Alge Crumpler had 3 receptions, including a 67 yard TD pass, for a total of 99 yards.

Lows
QB Joey Harrington had to leave the game in the 4th quarter and will be out for 3 weeks with a dislocated shoulder.


Upcoming Game
Week 13
Atlanta (4-7) @ St. Louis (4-7)

[LongGone]

Week 13
Atlanta(4-7) @ St. Louis (4-7)

A field goal late in the 4th quarter was the difference as St. Louis edges Atlanta 23-20.

Highs
RB Warrick Dunn racked up 175 total yards and 1 TD.

Lows
QB D.J. Shockley was sacked 7 times by the Rams defense.


Upcoming Game
Week 14
New Orleans (5-7) @ Atlanta (4-8)

[RedsoxRockies]

7 sacks, ouch

[LongGone]

7 sacks, ouch

Yeah, that was a rough game. I'm actually surprised that the score was as close as it was considering the number of sacks.

[LongGone]

Week 14
New Orleans(5-7) @ Atlanta(4-8)

The hits keep on coming as Atlanta drops to 4-8 with a 21-3 loss to New Orleans.

Highs
WR Joe Horn 7 rec, 104 yards.

Lows
QB D.J. Shockley was sacked 6 times, threw 2 int.


Upcoming Game
Week 15
Atlanta (4-9) @ Tampa Bay (7-6)

[LongGone]

Week 15
Atlanta (4-9) @ Tampa Bay (7-6)

Atlanta loses their 4th straight game as Tampa Bay comes up with a 19-3 win.

Highs
If there were any, I didn't see them. :)

Lows
QB D.J. Shockley threw 2 int.


Upcoming Game
Week 15
Atlanta (4-10) @ Arizona (11-3)

[LongGone]

Week 16
Atlanta (4-10) @ Arizona (11-3)

With QB Joey Harrington back after being out for 3 weeks, Atlanta puts 21 points on the board in the 1st quarter to upset Arizona with a 34-22 win.

Highs
CB DeAngelo Hall returns interception for a 1st quarter TD.
WR Joe Horn 7 rec, 90 yards.
Warrick Dunn 49 yards, 1 TD.
DE Jamaal Anderson 3 sacks on the day.

Lows
QB Joey Harrington 1 interception, sacked 2 times.


Upcoming Game - Final Game Of The Season
Week 17
Seattle (9-6) @ Atlanta(5-10)

[LongGone]

Week 17
Seattle (9-6) @ Atlanta (5-10)

QB Joey Harrington completes 17 of 22 passes for 170 yards to lead Atlanta to a big 27-9 win over Seattle in the final game of the season.

Highs
Atlanta's defensive line racks up 4 sacks on the day.
LB Michael Boley had 2 of those sacks and 6 tackles.

Lows
An all round solid game, so not much to fuss about. :)


Final Thoughts
Atlanta 6-10

I had a lot of fun playing this season out. All things considered I think I did pretty well finishing with a 6-10 record (Atlanta finished the 07 season IRL with a 4-12 record). And even though I'm a casual fan with limited football knowledge I found that FM kept my interest and provided just enough depth and immersion without me feeling overwhelmed. I actually felt like I knew what I was doing during the game. :)

I definitely see FM 2009 in the future (as soon as I can afford), but until then I will be playing 08. Now that I've gotten my feet wet, I think I'll use current/updated rosters and actually try to have a winning season by making some trades, signings, etc. I'm looking forward to it. Hope everyone enjoyed reading about this season replay from a casual fans view.

[RedsoxRockies]

So your not continuing?

[LongGone]

So your not continuing?

Oh yeah, I'll be continuing and starting a new dynasty thread. This time I'll be trying to build a winning team. I was hoping there were updated rosters for FM 08 but it doesn't seem to be the case. So, I'll be using the default rosters once again and maybe start the season off with a fantasy draft or maybe use all fictional players. Either way, stay tuned! :)