Falcons vs Seahawks – Who Earned Their Wings

Each week, after the game, I will name a few Falcons players who deserve recognition for their performance. We call it earning your wings. Here we go:-

• WR Julio Jones – Last Sunday was the best performance, we have seen so far from rookie Julio Jones. He managed to total 11 catches for 127 yards, a great return in production, which is rarely seen from a rookie Wide Receiver. Another impressive stat for Julio is that he is 3rd in the entire league in terms of average YAC (yards after the catch). This type of “explosive” performance is exactly what TD and Mike Smith had in mind when they traded up for him on draft day.

Follow the jump to check who else earned their wings this past Sunday.

• CB Brent Grimes – Although the Falcons conceded 3 passing td’s to the Seahawks, Grimes was not the primary cause of any of them. Just to note, on the Sidney Rice catch for a touchdown, the Falcons were playing zone, where Grimes was playing underneath coverage, he did not get beat man to man. His man coverage in fact, was solid throughout, highlighted by an incredibly athletic pass deflection in the end zone to prevent a touchdown. Grimes deserves to paid next spring.
• TE Tony Gonzalez – So far this is looking like Tony G’s best season as a Falcon. He has been very dependable in big situations like on second and long and on third down. Very impressed by Gonzalez at the moment, seems like age does not matter to much with him.
• QB Matt Ryan – Have got to give Matt Ryan some credit, he played well in what is a difficult environment. He ran the no huddle well in a very noise stadium and kept the team balanced late on. He also did not commit any turnovers, which is good to see. He did however miss on a few throws late on, which could have put the game away.
• The Whole Offensive Line In Pass Protection – I will admit that I have been one of the biggest critics so far of the Falcons offensive line. In pass protection at least today they showed some improvement, not allowing any sacks for the first time this season.

FS James Sanders gets an honourable mention this week purely for that huge hit he put on Zach Miller to force the Thomas DeCoud interception. Nice hit James lets see more of them!