GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: NFL: ATLANTA (0-0) at MINNESOTA (0-0)

NFL: ATLANTA (0-0) at MINNESOTA (0-0)

<h3>Falcons begin life without Vick</h3>



Atlanta (7-9) at Minnesota (6-10) Sunday 1:00 pm EDT

MINNEAPOLIS (Ticker) - When Bobby Petrino was named the newcoach of the Atlanta Falcons, he thought he would be workingwith electrifying quarterback Michael Vick.


Instead, Joey Harrington will be under center Sunday when theFalcons face the Minnesota Vikings in the season opener for bothteams.


After going 41-9 in four years as coach at Louisville, Petrinowas lured to the NFL by Falcons owner Arthur Blank, who inkedhim to a five-year, $24 million contract.


Known as an offensive-minded coach, Petrino was planning tobuild his offense around Vick.


But Vick has been indefinitely suspended by NFL commissionerRoger Goodell after pleading guilty to federal dogfightingcharges. Vick, who likely will wind up in jail when he issentenced on December 10, may never play in the NFL again.

Without Vick, the Falcons now must rely on Harrington, who hasbeen a bust since he entered the league as the third overallpick of the Detroit Lions in 2002.


Harrington is just 23-43 in his career as a starter, havingthrown 72 touchdowns and 77 interceptions. He spent last seasonin Miami, passing for 12 TDs and 15 interceptions in 11 games.

Thanks to the legs of Vick, the Falcons ranked first in theleague in rushing offense last season, averaging 183.7 yards pergame. Vick became the first quarterback in league history torush for 1,000 yards.


Atlanta's running game now squarely falls on veteran WarrickDunn, who underwent offseason back surgery, and speedsterJerious Norwood.


The Vikings are entering their second season under coach BradChildress, who guided the franchise to a 6-10 mark in 2006.Minnesota got off to a 4-2 start last season before losing eightof its final 10 contests.


There also are issues at quarterback for the Vikings, who startuntested Tarvaris Jackson. The 2006 second-round pick lost hisonly two starts as a rookie, throwing for two touchdowns andfour interceptions.


To take pressure off Jackson, the Vikings will rely on theirrunning game that will feature the 1-2 punch of Chester Taylorand first-round pick Adrian Peterson.


One strong point for the Vikings last season was a run defensethat ranked first in the league by allowing 61.6 yards per game.

 

NFL: ATLANTA at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">NFL
ATLANTA 0
MINNESOTA 0 14:50 LEFT, 1ST QTR

MIN BALL ON MIN 25 YD LINE
1ST AND 10</div>

 

NFL: ATLANTA at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">NFL
ATLANTA 0
MINNESOTA 0 10:42 LEFT, 1ST QTR

ATL BALL ON ATL 11 YD LINE
1ST AND 10</div>

 

NFL: ATLANTA at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">NFL TD MIN
KEVIN WILLIAMS 54 YD INTERCEPTION RETURN
(RYAN LONGWELL KICK)

ATLANTA 0
MINNESOTA 7 7:43 LEFT, 1ST QTR</div>

 

NFL: ATLANTA at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">NFL
ATLANTA 0
MINNESOTA 7 7:38 LEFT, 1ST QTR

ATL BALL ON ATL 12 YD LINE
1ST AND 10</div>

 

NFL: ATLANTA at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">NFL
ATLANTA 0
MINNESOTA 7 4:32 LEFT, 1ST QTR

MIN BALL ON MIN 22 YD LINE
1ST AND 10</div>

 

NFL: ATLANTA at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">NFL ATLANTA AT MINNESOTA
NOTE: VIKINGS RB CHESTER TAYLOR LEAVES THE GAME WITH AN
APPARENT CHEST INJURY.</div>

 

NFL: ATLANTA at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">NFL
ATLANTA 0
MINNESOTA 7 0:27 LEFT, 1ST QTR

ATL BALL ON ATL 10 YD LINE
1ST AND 10</div>

 

NFL: ATLANTA at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">NFL END, 1ST QTR 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
ATLANTA 0 0
MINNESOTA 7 7 END, 1ST QTR

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST QUARTER: MIN - TD, KEVIN WILLIAMS 54 YD INTERCEPTION
RETURN (RYAN LONGWELL KICK), 7:17.
MINNESOTA 7-0</div>

 

NFL: ATLANTA at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">NFL
ATLANTA 0
MINNESOTA 7 14:31 LEFT, 2ND QTR

MIN BALL ON MIN 43 YD LINE
1ST AND 10</div>

 

NFL: ATLANTA at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">NFL
ATLANTA 0
MINNESOTA 7 12:35 LEFT, 2ND QTR

ATL BALL ON ATL 3 YD LINE
1ST AND 10</div>

 

NFL: ATLANTA at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">NFL ATLANTA 0
MINNESOTA 7 8:43 LEFT, 2ND QTR</div>

 

NFL: ATLANTA at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">NFL

ATLANTA 0
MINNESOTA 7 3:58 LEFT, 2ND QTR</div>

 

NFL: ATLANTA at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">NFL ATLANTA 0
MINNESOTA 7 3:58 LEFT, 2ND QTR</div>

 

NFL: ATLANTA at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">NFL ATLANTA 0
MINNESOTA 7 1:56 LEFT, 2ND QTR</div>

 

NFL: ATLANTA at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">NFL
ATLANTA 0
MINNESOTA 7 0:58 LEFT, 2ND QTR

ATL BALL ON ATL 19 YD LINE
1ST AND 10</div>

 

NFL: ATLANTA at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">NFL HALFTIME 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
ATLANTA 0 0 0
MINNESOTA 7 0 7 HALFTIME

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST QUARTER: MIN - TD, KEVIN WILLIAMS 54 YD INTERCEPTION
RETURN (RYAN LONGWELL KICK), 7:17.
MINNESOTA 7-0
2ND QUARTER: NONE</div>

 

NFL: ATLANTA at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">NFL HALFTIME 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
ATLANTA 0 0 0
MINNESOTA 7 0 7 HALFTIME

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST QUARTER:

7:17 MIN - TD, K Williams 54 Yd Interception Return (R Longwell Kick).
Minnesota 7-0.

2ND QUARTER:

NONE

Atlanta - Minnesota End 2nd Qtr Statistics

TEAM STATISTICS Atlanta Minnesota

FIRST DOWNS 8 6
Rushing 4 3
Passing 3 3
Penalty 1 0
THIRD DOWN EFFICIENCY 1-5-20% 4-8-50%
TOTAL NET YARDS 137 101
Total offensive plays 31 23
Average gain per play 4.4 4.4
NET YARDS RUSHING 64 61
Rushing attempts 16 13
Average gain per rush 4.0 4.7
NET YARDS PASSING 73 40
Times sacked: Number-Yards 2-9 0-0
Gross passing yards 82 40
PASS ATTEMPTS-COMPLETIONS-HAD INTERCEPTED 13-9-1 10-6-0
Avg gain per pass play 4.9 4.0
PUNTS: Number and Average 2-52.0 4-39.5
PENALTIES: Number-Yards 3-20 2-25
FUMBLES: Number-Lost 1-0 1-0
TOUCHDOWNS 0 1
Rushing 0 0
Passing 0 0
Interceptions 0 1
Other (blocked kicks, etc.) 0 0
EXTRA POINTS: Made-Attempts 0-0 1-1
Kicking: Made-Attempts 0-0 1-1
Passing: Made-Attempts 0-0 0-0
Rushing: Made-Attempts 0-0 0-0
FIELD GOALS: Made-Attempts 0-1 0-0
SAFETIES 0 0
TIME OF POSSESSION 17:11 12:49


INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Atlanta Minnesota

RUSHING ATT YDS AVG LG TD RUSHING ATT YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------

PASSING CM-AT-YDS IN TD LG PASSING CM-AT-YDS IN TD LG
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------

Sacked-Yards Lost: None Sacked-Yards Lost: None

RECEIVING NO YDS AVG LG TD RECEIVING NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------

KICKING XP/XPA FG/FGA KICKING XP/XPA FG/FGA
---------------------------------- ----------------------------------
M PRATER 0/0 0/1 R LONGWELL 1/1 0/0
Dist.: (44)</div>

 

NFL: ATLANTA at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">NFL
ATLANTA 0
MINNESOTA 7 14:55 LEFT, 3RD QTR

ATL BALL ON ATL 32 YD LINE
1ST AND 10</div>

 

NFL: ATLANTA at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">NFL
ATLANTA 0
MINNESOTA 7 13:12 LEFT, 3RD QTR

MIN BALL ON MIN 13 YD LINE
1ST AND 10</div>