Running Through The NFL- The Coaching Career of Tobias Grimm

[Shamhat1915]

I would love to win it so we don't go winless during the preseason. Of course, the record of the preseason doesn't really matter. I just need my team to start playing consistently so I know they are prepared for the regular season. The final game is against Baltimore, so I may have trouble moving the ball against that defense. It was a tough preseason schedule

Yeah, it seems like it. Some of his moves were good, but he never did get anything good in the draft. And that was the key. He needed to draft well, but just couldn't. Oh well

Well, glad there's someone else rooting for my Lions. As long as they or the Titans have a good season, I'm happy. My two hometown teams. The 1990 game? Yeah, that's about two years before my time And about six years before I moved to Detroit xD

Anyway, I'm currently playing the final preseason game, so I will have the update soon

[Shamhat1915]

Preseason Game Four- @ Baltimore
Final Score: Baltimore Ravens-17 Atlanta Falcons-14

In a close fought game that saw Baltimore and Atlanta go to overtime, the Ravens took home a win. Rookie quarterback Matt Ryan was outstanding in the game, going 11 of 15 for 164 yards and a touchdown, stealing away the starting job in the final game. Running backs Ron Dayne and Jerious Norwood found nothing in the running game, carrying the ball for a combing 46 yards on 36 carries.

On defense, rookie linebacker David Vobora solidified himself as the opening day starter, taking the job away from verteran Ian Gold and Matt Prater showed why the team kept him instead of rookie Alexis Serna as he nailed two 45+ yard field goals.

After the game, it was announced that defensive end John Abraham would be out 3-7 weeks with a torn calf muscle. With the final round of roster cuts, the Falcons announced the release of receiver Kel Cody, tackle Quinn Ojinnaka, and linebackers Isaiah Kacyvenski and Leron Wells.

Atlanta opens the season at home against the Detroit Lions in Week One. Matt Ryan, the third overall pick, gets the start at quarterback.

[Aurabolt127]

LOL! Yeah, 1990 - sorry - goes way back - still - Marcus Allen, Bo Jackson, Barry Sanders, Howie Long, Tim Brown, Mel Gray... We'll ignore Jay Schroeder and Rodney Peete, though for one game, they actually looked like quarterbacks...

I hear you about getting consistency - and hopefully no more injuries. thought Redman looked ok last game, but Ryan's your future, not Redman, so if he's doing well - might as well let him go for it. Opening day vs Lions, huh? Playing against your team! Should be pretty great. Who'll start in place of Abraham - that's a huge bummer of an injury....

[Shamhat1915]

No need to be sorry. I know all those names. I may not have been alive, but I've seen a lot of highlights and know quite a bit about the history. I'm an avid sports enthusiast.

That was my most consistent game, which made me glad. Especially from Ryan. Looked really sharp in the first half. Sharp enough that I put him back in for the two-minute drill at the end of the game to tie it up and send it to overtime. Redman was solid, but unspectacular. A lot better than Collins though. Yeesh. He did nothing for me in any preseason game. Which is odd considering how well he did for me in my Titans franchise xD

As for who's replacing Abraham, the starter will be Buddy Jackson. He played solid all preseason and easily won the back-up role. Hell, if he didn't have to go up against Abraham, he could easily have won a starting job. His stats at the end of preseason were 8 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks, 2 deflected passes, and 10 blocks defeated. He was a beast on the defensive line.

Oh, and I actually got the start rookie motion from my owner, telling me to decide between Ryan and Redman. After that last preseason game, it was a no-brainer for me, so Ryan is definitely the starter for this season.

Hopefully Turner comes back soon. He was averaging almost 6 yards a carry in the preseason before that injury, and my running game has struggled aside from him

[Shamhat1915]

BREAKING NEWS

During practice today, defensive lineman Nick Hayden rolled over his ankle. After taking him into the locker room, the news came back that he suffered a High Ankle Sprain and is expected to miss 2-5 weeks.

This news came shortly after the injury to John Abraham, and places a large burden on the understaffed Falcons defensive line. With Hayden now down as well, Atlanta is only left with two back-ups on the defensive line in Greg Chandler and Jonathan Babineaux.

"This is not what we expected going into the season." Head coach Tobias Grimm stated in the afternoon presser. "Naturally I want all my backups available, especially on the defensive line. I like switching them in and out to keep them fresh. This Sunday's game will truly be a test of our depth and character."

In other news, running back Michael Turner has already been cleared to play in Sunday's game against the Lions.

The Lions announced that Gus Frerotte (traded from the Falcons) will be the starting quarterback due to the injury to Jon Kitna.

*On a little side note, I am on the Ozzie Jones draft path

[Aurabolt127]

Well NOW I feel old!! LMAO!!!!

Lucky break with Kitna out, though Gus isn't a complete bum. Good luck!

[Shamhat1915]

“No one, and I mean no one, comes into our house and pushes us around.”

Detroit Lions at Atlanta Falcons
Sep 7, 2008	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Detroit Lions (0-1)	0	7	0	3	10
Atlanta Falcons (1-0)	0	7	10	21	38

Team Stats Comparison
	DET	ATL
Total Offense	216	408
Rushing Yards	73	198
Passing Yards	143	210
First Downs	11	14
Punt Return Yards	9	16
Kick Return Yards	191	75
Total Yards	416	499
Turnovers	2	2
3rd Down Converstion	6-15 (40%)	4-8 (50%)
4th Down Conversion	0-1 (0%)	0-0
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	0/0	2/1
Penalties	2-11 yds	5-35 yds
Posession Time	29:43	30:15

Scoring Summary
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		DET	ATL
15:00	(DET) Brian Kelly intercepts Matt Ryan (extra point good)	7	0
09:12	(ATL) Michael Turner 1-yard run (extra point good)	7	7
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		DET	ATL
11:53	(ATL) Matt Ryan 38-yard pass to Martellus Bennett (extra point good)	7	14
03:54	(ATL) Matt Prater 29-yard field goal good	7	17
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		DET	ATL
12:19	(DET) Jason Hanson 47-yard field goal good	10	17
06:23	(ATL) Matt Ryan 11-yard pass to Roddy White (extra point good)	10	24
04:31	(ATL) Randall Gay intercepts Drew Stanton (extra point good)	10	31
00:22	(ATL) Jerious Norwood 77-yard run (extra point good)	10	38

Detroit Lions PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Drew Stanton 10/17 126 0 2 Gus Frerotte 3/6 32 0 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Warrick Dunn 24 70 2.9 0 Aaron Stecker 1 8 8.0 0 Gus Frerotte 2 -5 -2.5 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Mike Furrey 4 36 9.0 0 Warrick Dunn 3 21 7.0 0 Calvin Johnson 3 60 20.0 0 Roy Williams 2 26 13.0 0 Shaun McDonald 1 15 15.0 0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK Casey Fitzsimmons 1 0 Edwin Mulitalo 1 1 Junius Coston 0 2 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Ernie Sims 11 0 0 0 Brian Kelly 8 0 1 0 Curtis Lofton 7 0 0 0 Andre Fluellen 6 0 0 0 Rod Coleman 5 0 0 0 Dewayne White 1 1 0 0 Antonio Smith 1 1 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Jason Hanson 1/2 1/1 4 47 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Nic Harris 3 134 44.6 0 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Mike Furrey 5 142 28.4 0 Leigh Bodden 1 17 17.0 0 Aaron Stecker 1 32 32.0 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Aaron Stecker 1 9 9.0 0

Atlanta Falcons PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Matt Ryan 17/23 216 2 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Michael Turner 23 113 4.9 1 Jerious Norwood 2 85 42.5 1 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Roddy White 5 47 9.4 1 Javon Walker 5 80 16.0 0 Martellus Bennett 3 72 24.0 1 Harry Douglas 1 5 5.0 0 Keith Zinger 1 2 2.0 0 Jerious Norwood 1 1 1.0 0 Michael Turner 1 9 9.0 0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK Keith Zinger 1 0 Ben Noll 1 0 P McMahon 1 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Eugene Wilson 9 0 0 0 Trey Lewis 8 2 0 0 David Vobora 8 0 0 0 Michael Boley 6 0 0 0 Lawyer Milloy 6 0 0 0 Rodney Leslie 1 1 0 0 Greg Chandler 1 1 0 0 Chris Gamble 1 0 1 0 Randall Gay 0 0 1 0 Keith Brooking 5 1 0 0 Jamaal Anderson 4 2 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Matt Prater 1/2 5/5 8 30 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Michael Koenen 2 90 45.0 1 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Patrick Lee 2 45 22.5 0 Chris Gamble 1 30 30.0 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Patrick Lee 1 16 16.0 0

ATLANTA, GA: In a game that many expected the Lions to win easily, Atlanta took it upon themselves to make a statement and defended their house. “After a poor preseason, many were already writing us off for this season. Detroit was a 7-9 last season and expected to be good this year, so this win is huge for us.”

Rookie quarterback Matt Ryan was shaky in the first quarter, throwing a pick-six to veteran cornerback Brian Kelly, but settled down after that mistake and had a quality game. The running game was outstanding for Atlanta to the tune of almost 200 yards on the ground, dominating the Lions defense.

It was clear that the depth of Atlanta was an issue on the defensive line this game as they struggled to get pressure. The linebacking corps of Boley, Brooking and Vobora had to step up their game and kept Dunn in check. Defensive lineman Buddy Jackson left the game, and it is reported that he will miss 1-4 weeks with a bruised thigh.

For the Lions, it was clear they were out of sync without Kitna behind center. Frerotte was the starter, but he was knocked out early and forced Stanton to take over. Drew was solid, but he made two costly mistakes on drives that allowed Atlanta to take complete control of the game.

Atlanta (1-0) travels to Tampa Bay (0-1) next week, while the Lions (0-1) host the Packers (0-1) in a divisional game.

[Shamhat1915]

BREAKING NEWS

With the announcement of the injury to defensive lineman Buddy Jackson, head coach Tobias Grimm announced the following roster move:
Atlanta releases center Wade Smith, signs defensive lineman Israel Idonije.

"Idonije is just the type of player I look for on my defensive front. A strong guy with a large motor, he can provide a spark off the bench and help plug up those running holes."

Smith was able to be released with the news that center Todd McClure was rehabbing well and would be available in time for Sunday's game.

In other news, rumors have it that the Falcons are looking to trade veteran quarterback Kerry Collins, despite having just acquired him this past offseason. "We traded for Collins expecting him to start for us this year. However, he struggled heavily in this system, and is just filling a roster space. If we can get value for him, then we will take it. If not, he will ride the bench and help prepare Matt Ryan."