[mattlanta]

2014 - Week 8 / Trade Deadline Wrap Up

TRADE ALERT!: Shortly before the team left for their game against the Detroit Lions in London, the Atlanta Falcons announced a blockbuster deal that will have Jadeveon Clowney coming to Atlanta in exchange for Rashede Hageman, Corey Peters, a 1st round pick in the year 2016, and a 2nd round pick in next year's draft. Sources in Houston say that the front office and coaching staff were not pleased with Clowney and had deemed him a "locker room cancer". The 1st overall pick of the 2014 draft has 23 tackles, 6 of them for a loss, and 5 of those sacks. The Falcons plan on moving Clowney to the right defensive end position in their hybrid defense, allowing league leading sack artist Umenyiora to continue playing in the same position that he has been all season. This move allows Babineaux to stay fresh and healthy towards the later parts of the season--something he has struggled with in the past. Nose tackle Louis Nix III was a 3rd round selection by the Texans and has not played in any games yet this season.

Clowney and Nix III were able to make it to the last plane going out of London, but the new acquisitions were not able to stop the Lions from making a huge 4th quarter comeback against the Falcons. Clowney was able to flash his dominance from the right defensive end position, sacking the quarterback 3 times and making one tackle for a loss. But the rest of the defense was lackluster, especially in the coverage. This loss puts the Falcons at 5-3 with one of the worst passing defenses in the league.

Detroit Lions at Atlanta Falcons
Oct 26, 2014	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Detroit Lions (5-3)	0	7	7	21	35
Atlanta Falcons (5-3)	10	14	0	7	31

Team Stats Comparison
	DET	ATL
Total Offense	417	387
Rushing Yards	106	147
Passing Yards	311	240
First Downs	20	20
Punt Return Yards	8	47
Kick Return Yards	50	65
Total Yards	475	499
Turnovers	0	0
3rd Down Converstion	2-8 (25%)	10-14 (71%)
4th Down Conversion	2-2 (100%)	0-1 (0%)
2-Point Conversion	0-0 (0%)	0-0 (0%)
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	3/0	3/0
Penalties	0-0	2-18
Posession Time	26:21	33:39

Detroit Lions PASSING C/A YDS TD INT M. Ryan 24/31 270 2 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD S. Jackson 28 131 4.6 2 M. Ryan 1 10 10.0 0 J. Rodgers 1 6 6.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD J. Rodgers 6 43 7.1 0 J. Jones 5 53 10.6 1 H. Douglas 4 102 25.5 1 R. White 3 38 12.6 0 L. Toilolo 2 20 10.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD S. Weatherspoon 9 0.0 0 0 W. Moore 6 0.0 0 0 J. Clowney 5 3.0 0 0 K. Biermann 5 0.0 0 0 B. Flowers 6 0.0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG M. Bryant 1/2 4/4 7 46

Atlanta Falcons PASSING C/A YDS TD INT M. Stafford 30/38 342 2 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD J. Bell 16 98 6.1 2 T. Riddick 2 3 1.5 0 M. Stafford 2 5 2.5 1 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD K. Durham 6 52 8.6 0 E. Ebron 6 47 7.8 0 C. Johnson 5 68 13.6 1 K. Ogletree 4 80 20.0 1 J. Bell 3 27 9.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD J. Ihedigbo 10 0.0 0 0 S. Tulloch 7 1.0 0 0 D. Levy 7 1.0 0 0 G. Quin 4 0.0 0 0 J. Jones 3 0.0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG R. Lindell 0/0 5/5 5 N/A

To wrap up the week of the trade deadline, Atlanta acquired OLB Dekoda Watson from the Jacksonville Jaguars in exchange for CB Javier Arenas. The underutilized cornerback was sent for yet another young pass rusher for this team to develop. With the aging Umenyiora and the underperforming Biermann, this move made a lot of sense for the Falcons. Watson now joins Clowney in what the Falcons are hoping will become one of the best pass rushing crews in the league for many years to come.