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Falcons Hire Mike Nolan to Lead Defense

Nolan spent the last two seasons as Miami’s defensive coordinator. Prior to that, he served four years as the 49ers head coach, following in the footsteps of his father.

In all, Nolan has been an NFL coordinator for 14 years. He takes over in Atlanta for Brian VanGorder, who returned to the college ranks to take the same position at Auburn.

The Falcons will have two new coordinators next season. Dirk Koetter was hired Sunday to run the offense after Mike Mularkey left to become head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

In another move toward revamping the staff for 2012, head coach Mike Smith announced that offensive line coach Paul Boudreau has been let go. The Falcons line struggled this season, most notably in an ugly 24-2 loss to the New York Giants in the opening round of the playoffs — a game in which Atlanta twice failed to convert on fourth-down quarterback sneaks by Matt Ryan.

The hiring of Nolan figures to be met with more enthusiasm in Atlanta than Smith bringing in Koetter to run an offense that has plenty of weapons but largely failed to meet expectations. Koetter had been the offensive coordinator in Jacksonville, which finished last in total offense and in yards passing.

Nolan’s numbers are much more impressive. The Dolphins allowed the sixth-fewest points in the NFL (19.6 per game), ranked third in rushing yards (95.6) and tied for 10th with 41 sacks. The biggest question is how to mesh Nolan’s preference for the 3-4 alignment with personnel that is built around Smith favoring the 4-3.

“Mike Nolan is an established coordinator in this league,” Smith said in a statement. “Mike has a history of developing physically intimidating defensive units, and we are fortunate to have him join our staff.”

The Falcons haven’t ranked among the top 10 in yards allowed since 1998, their only season.

The 52-year-old Nolan didn’t have much success as a head coach, going 18-37 with the 49ers — a stint that was perhaps most noteworthy for his desire to wear a suit on the sideline in honor of his father, former 49ers and New Orleans Saints coach Dick Nolan. The league initially resisted, citing its apparel contracts, but eventually worked out a new arrangement.

Nolan is regarded as one of the NFL’s top defensive minds. He was only 34 when tapped by former Falcons coach Dan Reeves to take over as the Giants defensive coordinator in 1993. He’s also served as a coordinator with Washington, the New York Jets, Baltimore and Denver.

In Baltimore, Nolan served on the same staff with Smith.

Ryan, Abraham Lead Falcons to 41-14 Rout of Jags

Maybe they’ll get it right this season.

With their best effort of an up-and-down season, the Falcons clinched a fourth straight winning record with a 41-14 rout of the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday night. Matt Ryan had another big game, throwing three touchdown passes in less than three quarters of work, and John Abraham terrorized rookie quarterback Blaine Gabbert with 3½ sacks.

“I feel like we’ve hit our stride,” said Roddy White, who had 10 catches for 135 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

A year ago, the Falcons won the NFC South with a conference-leading 13 wins. But they were one-and-done in the playoffs, blown out at home by the Green Bay Packers in the division round.

The Packers went on to claim the title and haven’t lost since.

Atlanta would like to follow their lead.

“You know, Green Bay did a heck of a job last year peaking at the right time,” White said. “I feel like we haven’t hit our stride. The last two games, we’ve been hitting it.”

Atlanta led 27-0 at halftime and stretched it out to 41-0 before Jacksonville scored on a blocked punt. Going back to the previous week, when the Falcons overcame a 16-point halftime deficit at Carolina, they ripped off 65 points in a row over five quarters.

Now that’s more like it from a team that was projected as a Super Bowl contender but had not quite lived up to expectations.

Atlanta (9-5) strengthened its hold on an NFC wild card and clinched its fourth straight winning season.

Ho hum. This team has much higher goals than finishing above .500.

“I’m glad we’ve been able to accomplish that as an organization and a football team,” coach Mike Smith said. “But believe me, it’s not one of those expectations we really want to talk about. If we’re where we think we are as an organization and a football team, that’s expected each and every year.”

It wasn’t so long ago that nine victories was a big deal. The Falcons went through the first 42 years of their existence without so much as back-to-back winning seasons.

All that changed when Smith and general manager Thomas Dimitroff took over in 2008.

“I can’t speak to the people who came before, but I know since Thomas and I had the opportunity to be here, we’ve just kind of put our heads down and gone to work,” the coach said. “When you do that, good things usually happen. We are not finished, believe me. Our expectations and internal goals are much higher than having a winning football season.”

This one was over by halftime, Gabbert and the shell-shocked Jaguars (4-10) saddled with a net passing total of minus-1 yard. It got as bad as minus-29 before Jacksonville piled up some meaningless yards on its final two possessions.

Gabbert had one of his worst games in a miserable rookie season, coughing up the ball twice on hits by Abraham. Both fumbles led to Atlanta scores, with defensive tackle Corey Peters scooping up the second one and scooting 13 yards to the end zone early in the third quarter for a touchdown that ended any thought of the Jaguars getting back in the game.

“It wasn’t just me,” said Abraham, who came into the game with only five sacks on the season. “The whole team was able to get to the quarterback.”

Ryan was 19 of 26 for 224 yards and three touchdowns, with a season-high rating of 137.3. Rookie Julio Jones had the other TD on a 29-yard reception, his third score in the past two weeks.

Gabbert was 12 of 22 for 141 yards, also throwing an interception during a truly awful night full of bad decisions when he wasn’t running for his life. He was sacked five times and got most of his yards on an irrelevant final drive, which resulted in Jacksonville’s only offensive touchdown: a 16-yard pass to Chastin West with 59 seconds remaining.

“It wasn’t our best night,” Gabbert said. “We’ve just got to learn from it, take the positives out of it and just get better.”

The injury-riddled Jaguars, playing out the season with an interim coach and a new owner, were coming off their best performance, having scored 41 straight points in a 41-14 victory over Tampa Bay. But, playing for the third time in 11 days, they couldn’t build any momentum for a strong finish.

Shahid Khan must have been wondering why he paid an estimated $760 million to buy the team from original Jaguars owner Wayne Weaver in a deal that was unanimously approved by NFL owners a day earlier.

Michael Turner had a 5-yard touchdown run and Matt Bryant kicked a pair of field goals to account for Atlanta’s other scoring in the 41-point barrage.

“We didn’t execute good against a good team and you saw what happened,” Lewis said. “Nothing really more to it. Things got out of hand way too fast and we weren’t able to recover.

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N.F.L. ROUNDUP; Moss and the Patriots Win Another Division Title

Randy Moss stared at the scoreboard after his third touchdown catch and saw a fan wearing a Randy Moss mask on the screen.

The real Moss stood on the sideline with a huge grin as he made his parting-of-the-defense motion, sweeping his arms from his chest to his sides.

”That was very entertaining,” Moss said Sunday after the New England Patriots clinched the American Football Conference East title with a 35-7 victory against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Foxborough, Mass. ”I had a lot of my teammates wanting me to mess with the guy. So he put a little humor into it, and I enjoyed it.”

After his previous home game, a 20-10 victory against Carolina, several Panthers questioned his effort. So did Patriots fans during the week that followed. But on Sunday, they chanted, ”Randy, Randy, Randy.”

And Moss, who has sold the mask on his Web site, clearly appreciated it.

”My last performance here wasn’t really too hot,” he said, adding about Sunday’s game that ”everybody had fun.”

Everybody but the Jaguars (7-8), who were still among seven teams with at least a slim chance of earning one of the two A.F.C. wild-card playoff berths.

The Patriots (10-5) won the A.F.C. East for the seventh time in nine years after missing the playoffs last season.

With both teams seeking to stay alive in the A.F.C. playoff race, THE VISITING TEXANS BEAT THE DOLPHINS, 27-20, after scoring on their first five possessions and surviving Miami’s comeback attempt.

The Texans (8-7) built a 27-0 lead and won despite being outscored, 20-0, in the final 31 minutes. They kept alive their slim hopes of making the playoffs for the first time.

The defending A.F.C. East champion Dolphins (7-8) remained barely alive in the playoff race.

”It’s unacceptable for us to play like this when the season is on the line,” said Miami running back Ricky Williams, who left with a right shoulder injury in the third quarter and played only one snap after that.

Cowboys Lock Up Berth

Tony Romo threw for 286 yards and Jason Witten had a career-long 69-yard reception to set up a score as the Cowboys beat the host Redskins, 17-0, to return to the playoffs and set up a Week 17 showdown with the Eagles for the National Football Conference East title.

The victory eliminated the Giants from playoff contention. Dallas (10-5) will host Philadelphia (11-4) on Sunday, with the winner taking the division crown and the loser settling for a wild-card berth.

Dallas and Washington met for the 100th time. The Cowboys hold a commanding 59-39-2 lead in the rivalry.

David Akers kicked a 28-yard field goal with four seconds remaining, lifting THE EAGLES TO A 30-27 VICTORY OVER THE VISITING BRONCOS. Kyle Orton rallied the Broncos from a 27-10 deficit in the third quarter, but Donovan McNabb led the Eagles on a winning drive in the final minutes.

The Broncos (8-7), who started 6-0, need help from other teams to make the playoffs.

Packers Clinch Wild Card

The Green Bay defense forced four interceptions by Matt Hasselbeck as THE PACKERS BEAT THE VISITING, SEAHAWKS, 48-10, and clinched an N.F.C. playoff berth.

The victory, combined with the Giants’ loss to Carolina, put Green Bay (10-5) back in the postseason after they went 6-10 last season.

Carnell Williams rushed for 129 yards and a touchdown, and Connor Barth kicked a 47-yard field goal in overtime, lifting THE VISITING BUCCANEERS TO A 20-17 UPSET OF THE SAINTS that, for the time being, prevented New Orleans from securing home field throughout the N.F.C. playoffs.

Kurt Warner threw for 196 of his 313 yards in the second quarter, and THE HOST CARDINALS WENT ON TO BEAT THE RAMS, 31-10. The Cardinals (10-5) reached 10 regular-season wins for the first time since 1976.

Bengals Win Division

Carson Palmer’s touchdown pass to Chad Ochocinco completed a 98-yard drive in the closing minutes, sending THE BENGALS TO A 17-10 VICTORY OVER THE VISITING CHIEFS that clinched the A.F.C. North title five days after Cincinnati players buried their teammate Chris Henry.

The Bengals wore Henry’s No. 15 on their helmets.

”I’m not jumping for joy or glee, just thinking about 15 once that clock hits zero,” Ochocinco said. ”That was everybody’s mind-set, to go out and win this one for him.”

The Bengals (10-5) reached the playoffs for the second time in the past 19 years. Already Eliminated

Jerome Harrison had 148 yards rushing as THE BROWNS BEAT THE VISITING RAIDERS, 23-9, giving Cleveland (4-11) its first three-game winning streak since 2007 and its third since 1999. On the final play of the first half, Oakland’s Sebastian Janikowski kicked a 61-yard field goal, the fourth longest in league history.

Matt Ryan threw three touchdown passes, and THE HOST FALCONS WERE NEVER CHALLENGED IN THEIR 31-3 WIN OVER THE BILLS. In the second quarter, Buffalo receiver Terrell Owens became the sixth N.F.L. player with 1,000 career receptions.

Frank Gore scored on a 1-yard run and topped the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the fourth straight year, and THE HOST 49ERS BEAT THE LIONS, 20-6, and moved one win from avoiding a seventh straight losing season.

Injury Report

Miami inside linebacker CHANNING CROWDER left after the second play against Houston with a right foot injury and did not return. … St. Louis was without the league’s second-leading rusher, STEVEN JACKSON, because of a sore lower back.

PHOTO: Cowboys receivers Miles Austin (19) and Roy Williams after Williams scored in a 17-0 win over Washington to clinch a playoff spot.(PHOTOGRAPH BY MOLLY RILEY/REUTERS)