Kudos to Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, who seems to be much more simpatico with quarterback Matt Ryan in their second season together. Given the Falcons' limitations on defense, Shanahan is back to creating unique quirks in the ground game and keeping the Falcons holding the ball on long drives (and thus keeping that defense off the field).
Ryan isn't forcing balls to Julio Jones, nor is he being asked to work with as many moving pockets or bootlegs and Atlanta has things rolling. The Falcons have six scoring drives of 10 plays or more already this season (only Dallas has more) and it's only a matter of time before Jones has some massive games to further expand the scope of the offense.
More NFL news and notes
Baltimore Ravens
Ravens defensive lineman Timmy Jernigan is going to be the next member of that organization to get a huge new contract if he can continue playing at close to the level he has these first three weeks.
Cleveland Browns
I wouldn't get caught up in slamming the Browns for not signing kicker Robbie Gould. The "controversy" over going cheap at kicker and signing Cody Parkey instead is much ado about nothing. The Browns never got deep in talks with Gould and adding more players at the end of their career doesn't make much sense. They also aren't into spending much of Jimmy Haslam's money on a young and bad team now, anyway.
Gould is in position to wait for a contender to come calling him and he'll be content to find a good situation - probably in a dome or a good-weather situation. He wasn't going to be inclined to sign with Cleveland, anyway.
The real question isn't why not spend big on a kicker, but rather, why would you keep expensive left tackle Joe Thomas in this hopeless situation beyond the trade deadline? That's worth carping about, given the fact that Thomas will be retired by the time this team is contending again. If you are all about stockpiling cheap draft picks, as the Browns claim, then start marketing your best player to winning teams and do right by him.
Kansas City Chiefs
Some scouts I spoke to who have watched the Chiefs believe there is reason for concern there. The offensive line is a significant problem, and some have suggested to me the defense would be better served by getting more of its better personnel on the field by adopting a 4-3 base look rather than featuring as much 3-4. Particularly, they don't see the linebacker group as being enough of a strength. Kansas City could easily be 0-3 this season.
New York Jets
Ryan Fitzpatrick was never going to be back with the Jets next season, anyway, as I have previously reported, but that debacle on Sunday only intensified some of the friction under the surface about the way he handled his contract situation and his absence from the entire offseason. Fitzpatrick is an over-achiever who is a gym rat and tireless worker and that's the edge he needs to play at this level. Every extra rep matters and his work ethic and preparation are what have enabled him to beat the odds and have the career he has had.
Missing months of reps and work have dogged him throughout the preseason and well into the regular season now and it's undermining what was another very strong defensive performance -- especially in the second half of the game, when he tossed five picks. Trying to overcome that by forcing balls and gambling and thinking your physical assets can get you through will only continue to exacerbate the problem.
