Here's my quick hit thoughts for the NFC South week 6:
- Who knew that the Atlanta Falcons biggest advantage in their game against the Chicago Bears would be nullified by kickoff? The Falcons can normally depend on a loud home crowd that makes communication difficult for their opponents. Quarterback Matt Ryan pointed out earlier in the week that the best part about returning home after back-to-back road games was the ease of communication. So much for that. The Bears fans turned out by the thousands and were audible on the TV broadcast. Ryan even had to burn a timeout due to crowd noise. The Bears finished with 478 yards of total offense as the home crowd was unable to make their offensive communication difficult.
- I'm amazed by the amount of players who still don't know that their are ties in the NFL. When they occur the looks on multiple faces is pure confusion. For the Carolina Panthers, getting a tie after surrendering 37 points feels like a nice consolation prize. The 89 yard TD run by Bengals RB Giovanni Bernard was the kind of play that reminds Falcons fans as to why FS Thomas DeCoud is no longer here. Open field tackling, bad penalities, special teams breakdowns, all of it was on display for the Panthers. But a tie is a tie. And in this NFC South, it works just like a "W".
- What the hell Tampa? How do you give up 38 points in the first half to the Baltimore Ravens? I like Baltimore this year, but no one gives up 38 points in a half right?! I thought you couldn't play a poorer first half than what occurred in Atlanta when the Buccaneers gave up 34 points. I was wrong, clearly wrong. In a league that's designed for parity and to have games come down to one score, you're ruining the grand design.
- Good for New Orleans. The bye week moved them into sole possession of 2nd place in the NFC South. What. A. Division.