offtopic » the guys. What I will say about Tyrod is

LOS ANGELES (AP)The Atlanta Falcons know they’ll have to win three consecutive road games to get a chance for Super Bowl redemption. The Falcons already nabbed the first victory by spoiling a festive night in Los Angeles http://www.raidersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-hunter-renfrow-jersey , and they seem quite confident about their chances to run the table in other people’s buildings on the way to Minneapolis. Matt Ryan passed for 218 yards and hit Julio Jones for an 8-yard touchdown with 5:48 to play, and the defending NFC champion Falcons advanced from the wild-card round with a 26-13 victory over the upstart Rams on Saturday night. Devonta Freeman rushed for an early score and Matt Bryant kicked four field goals for the Falcons (11-6), who dropped to the sixth seed in the conference after finishing one game out of first place in the NFC South. Atlanta went only 5-3 on the road in the regular season. But judging from a comprehensively solid performance against the hungry Rams (11-6), that tough division race and last season’s deep playoff run prepared Atlanta for the grind necessary to win back-to-back NFC titles. ”We don’t care where we play these games, because we know it’s about us, not the crowd or the opponent,” Atlanta safety Ricardo Allen said. The next place they’re headed is Philadelphia: The Falcons advanced to face the top-seeded Eagles on Jan. 13. ”Doesn’t matter where we’re going, we’re going,” Ryan said. ”And that’s the most exciting part.” Atlanta’s journey to the Super Bowl last season ended infamously with that blown 28-3 lead against New England. In their first playoff game since, the Falcons spoiled the Rams’ first playoff game in 13 years with a methodical performance derived from hard-earned experience. The Falcons’ defense held the NFL’s highest-scoring offense to one touchdown while muzzling Todd Gurley and harassing Jared Goff, who went 24 for 45 in his playoff debut. Jones caught nine passes for 94 yards for Atlanta, which never trailed while winning playoff games in consecutive seasons for the first time in franchise history. Against an opponent that had just six players on its roster with prior postseason appearances, the Falcons’ experience showed through. ”I think having gone through these situations, understanding what it’s like, the atmosphere, those kinds of things, knowing that it’s going to be tough, all those things kind of carry forward Zach Brown Jersey ,” Ryan said. ”But at the end of the day, experience or no experience, you’ve got to execute.” A raucous crowd of 74,300 packed the Coliseum on a crisp evening for the first NFL playoff game in the nation’s second-largest city since early 1994. Los Angeles went 21 years without pro football before the Rams returned last season, and the franchise emphatically ended a 13-year streak of non-winning seasons this fall with an inspiring run to the Rams’ first division title since 2003. Robert Woods caught nine passes for 142 yards, but rookie Cooper Kupp scored the Rams’ only touchdown late in the first half. Pro Bowl kick returner Pharoh Cooper also muffed a punt and fumbled a kickoff return early, leading to 10 points for the Falcons. LA LETDOWN The Falcons ruined a celebratory night for the Rams, who rebounded from a rough homecoming season in 2016 with an outstanding debut year under 31-year-old Sean McVay, the youngest head coach to reach the playoffs in NFL history. A celebrity-studded crowd attended the game and watched a halftime performance from Long Beach’s own Snoop Dogg, but the Rams couldn’t come through. ”You see why the Falcons are the defending NFC champs,” McVay said. ”Certainly this is a humbling game. … This is an experience that we can learn from. But I don’t think this game was too big for our guys.” The Rams are just 4-11 at the Coliseum since returning to LA last season. EATING CLOCK The Falcons dominated the game by controlling the ball for 37:35, patiently running the ball with Freeman and Tevin Coleman. The Rams’ defense simply couldn’t get off the field in the third quarter, whether due to missed tackles or clever play-calling by the Falcons. BAD FIELD The Coliseum turf was noticeably slippery for both teams, and many players changed cleats at halftime to combat the conditions. The field at the venerable stadium isn’t known for being particularly bad, but new sod and January dew apparently made it more perilous than usual. The Falcons shook it off. ”We had to be prepared for everything,” Falcons receiver Mohamed Sanu said. ”We saw it wasn’t good conditions early, so we had our minds ready for it.” GETTING GURLEY Gurley got just 43 of his 101 yards rushing in the first three quarters, and the Falcons eliminated him from the passing game almost entirely Shareef Miller Jersey , giving up only four receptions for 10 yards despite 10 targets of the NFL’s leader in yards from scrimmage. ”They did a great job,” Gurley said of the Atlanta defense. ”They have great players. They’re not the reigning NFC champs for no reason.” — BEREA, Ohio (AP) — Tyrod Taylor’s first days as a backup for the Browns have been difficult.And not just because he lost his job.Taylor, who was replaced as Cleveland’s starter by rookie Baker Mayfield earlier this week, was cleared from concussion protocol and returned to practice Thursday, but was limited by a back injury that could prevent him from being Cleveland’s No. 2 quarterback on Sunday in Oakland.Coach Hue Jackson said Taylor was limited and there’s a chance Drew Stanton will be the backup when Mayfield makes his first NFL start against the Raiders.“We will see exactly where that is,” Jackson said. “He did not do a lot, so I will make sure that if we do put him out there, that he’s ready to go. Obviously, Drew has been there since the situation with Tyrod had happened. We will see where that is. I will know more about that tomorrow.”Jackson plans to make a decision on his No. 2 quarterback Friday before the team flies to California.Taylor was in the locker room after practice, but said he couldn’t speak with reporters because he had a meeting.The 29-year-old sustained a head injury while taking a pounding during the first half of last week’s game against the New York Jets. Mayfield replaced him and guided the Browns to a 21-17 win, their first in 20 games stretching to the 2016 season.Taylor was under siege early on, taking hits on five of Cleveland’s first six offensive plays as the line appeared to have several communication breakdowns, which resulted in Jets players getting free shots on the QB.Coordinator Todd Haley said those early mistakes up front led directly to Taylor’s rough performance (4 of 14 for 19 yards), and contributed to his injuries.“I blame it 100 percent,” Haley said. “I know that we are all very excited about Baker. That being said, I just want everybody to know that I think Tyrod has done nothing but a tremendous job and has done nothing but put us in a position to win the first two games. I have been very clear when talking about things that are not always comfortable talking about that we have made too many mental errors. A coach is never proud to say that of his group.“That is what we need to do as a group because if we make some of the errors that we have made in all three games, it is not going to matter who is playing. … It was not a fair situation to put Tyrod in.”Haley was effusive in praising Taylor for serving as a model and mentor for Mayfield Devin Bush Jersey , the No. 1 overall pick and Cleveland’s presumptive franchise leader.During his first season with Cleveland, Haley has been publicly candid when discussing several issues, and cameras captured some of his frank style during scenes on HBO’s “Hard Knocks” series which chronicled Browns camp this summer.Because of his affinity for Taylor, Jackson’s decision to switch to Mayfield could have been against Haley’s wishes. But the former Pittsburgh offensive coordinator would not comment on whether he agreed with the move.“I am going to choose to not talk about any of the internal stuff,” he said. “I like all of the guys, and I believe in all of the guys. What I will say about Tyrod is he came in and has been a leader from Day 1 of this group and of this entire building.“There was not this same excitement and prettiness to it right now, and he was and is a big part of getting this thing continued and going in the right direction because I feel like we are.“How this goes around, we have to have all of those guys ready all of the time, and he will be.”NOTES: Haley acknowledged that the trick-play, 2-point conversion the Browns executed flawlessly last week was stolen from the Eagles, who ran their “Philly Special” to perfection in the Super Bowl. “I have no shame,” he said. “That is the whole league, though. I think you need to have your eyes open.” … DE Myles Garrett called the NFL’s roughing-the-passer crackdown “ridiculous” and said he won’t risk an injury to avoid a penalty. “I’m not willing to tear something to lay him on the ground like a child,” he said.