Sep 30
Falcons’ first win reminds us, they DO have receivers
3 $Updated: bjstubits$ –>
ATLANTA — They were once just high-priced accessories to the main show, rarely hitting the spotlight, not because of their abilities but because of the conservative system and a quarterback who failed to make them a part of the offense.
receivers and , two first-round picks who had the word “bust” placed next to both of their names by many skeptics as they languished in a run-oriented offense, are now showing that maybe it wasn’t their fault after all.
Maybe it was a combination of things. Maybe it was inability to get to the second and third reads. Maybe it was former coach Jim Mora’s insistence on running the football.
Whatever it was, it isn’t anymore.
New Falcons coach Bob Petrino, an offensive wizard who loves the passing game, makes sure his receivers get involved. They did so Sunday in the Falcons’ 26-16 victory over the Houston Texans at the Georgia Dome, Petrino’s first as an NFL head coach.
Jenkins caught two touchdown passes and White hauled in three passes for 64 yards, including a 34-yard reception that led to a touchdown. In the past two games alone, White and Jenkins have combined to catch 22 passes for 331 yards and three touchdowns.
I told you Vick never looked at his receivers. It helps that Petrino’s system likes them.
“It’s the best thing that ever happened to me,” White said in the locker room after Sunday’s game. “It’s turned around my career. The last couple of years not getting the ball was tough. Now I get it five or six times a game and they throw it to me 10 times a game.”
With Vick long gone as he faces his legal problems, the talk leading up to the Texans game was the return of former Falcons backup , who now starts for the Texans. He would be the Falcons quarterback, if Vick’s problems had come to light four months earlier.
Schaub would have been fine in Petrino’s system. He was fine Sunday, throwing for 317 yards and a touchdown. His passer rating of 101.8 was nice.
It wasn’t the best of the day. That went to Atlanta’s , who had a passer rating of 121.7 as he completed 23 of 29 passes for 223 yards and two touchdowns.
Mike who?
That isn’t to say Vick is forgotten — at least not by the fans. There were plenty of No. 7 jerseys still to be seen walking into the game, just not nearly as many as there once were. In a cruel twist, the Falcons have even given away Vick’s locker, with backup quarterback now occupying it.
09/30/07 08:52:46 PM