If you thought the Falcons were going to come out in the second half with a conservative gameplan, well you thought wrong. On the Falcons first play from scrimmage, Matt Ryan launched a 45-yard bomb to Julio Jones on a play that just made me say "wow." With that play, No. 11 has now surpassed 100 yard receiving for the second straight week. Nice to see that draft day trade paying dividends early as the Falcons had hoped.
But a first down pass to Roddy White was challenged and correctly reversed, and Ryan couldn't find an open receiver on third down. So, the Falcons brought out the field goal unit and Matt Bryant's field goal try, this one from 50 yards out, split the uprights perfectly. That put the Falcons up 27-7, extended the lead to twenty. Six for six.
On defense, however, it looks as if the Falcons have moved to their "prevent" defense. Not. A. Fan. After Justin Forsett pushed the ball to midfield for a first down, Tarvaris Jackson again found Doug Baldwin wide open in the slot for a 20 yard gain. Later on third-and-six, a poor attempted tackle of Mike Williams ended up as a 19-yard completion deep into Falcons territory.
The defense, usually good in the red zone, this time allowed a touchdown. Mike Peterson showed why he's not the ideal starter at outside linebacker anymore, misreading the play and allowing Jackson to find Williams for a six-yard score that cut the Falcons lead by seven points. Just like last year, the Falcons allowed a big halftime lead to diminish in the third quarter. I guess this really is last year's team. Falcons lead 27-14.
For discussion, turn to Falcons blog The Falcoholic and Seahawks blog Field Gulls, plus SB Nation Seattle.