"They did a good job getting their hands up and knocking balls down," said White, who had his third 100-yard receiving effort of the season and caught his career-best eighth touchdown. "They did a good job of that today, man.
"They got their hands on some balls that if we make completions, they're first downs. They did a good job with it…. They blitzed us today and made [quarterback] Chris [Redman] throw the ball and they knocked it down."
In the first half, the effect of the pressure was that Redman, who was making his first start since 2007 because of Matt Ryan's injured toe, could not get into any type of flow.
Redman threw only five complete passes in the half and did not complete more than one on a drive until the final one of the half.
The only upside was that he was not guilty of any turnovers. That struggle to move the ball resulted in Smith's decision to go for a touchdown on fourth-and-goal at the Eagles' 1 in the final minute of the half, which proved unsuccessful on a handoff to Jason Snelling.
"It was imperative for us to get seven [points], not a field goal so it was important," Smith said of the Eagles' stop. "…I felt like it was important the way we were moving the ball in the first half. We were not moving it effectively and I felt like we needed to capitalize when we were down there."
In the second half, the lack of sync mutated into two interceptions by Redman. Sheldon Brown returned the first one 83 yards for a touchdown -- Redman said Brown sat on the route and jumped the throw -- and another on a fourth down that came as Redman was being hit.
"They're known for their pressure," said Redman, who was 23-for-44 for 235 yards with a rating of 56.6. "We knew it was going to happen. They did, they brought some good pressure.
"It wasn't one person individually. Everyone made mistakes today. We take this loss as a team. We have to learn form our mistakes and move on."
It was not just the pass that the Falcons struggled with. The Eagles stuffed the Falcons' running attack that lacked starting running back Michael Turner (ankle) and starting offensive linemen Sam Baker (ankle/elbow) and Harvey Dahl (ankle), all of whom were inactive.
The Falcons finished with 61 rushing yards -- their second-lowest output of the season -- on 22 carries for an average of 2.8 per carry.
By the game's end, center Todd McClure (knee) and tight end Justin Peelle (head) were both sidelined by injuries. Along with wide receiver Michael Jenkins that was seven key offensive players.
"You've got to give [the Eagles] credit," said tight end Tony Gonzalez, who was targeted 13 times and caught 8 passes for 72 yards. "They came in and played well. I could sit here and make excuses, especially by the end of the game I think we had seven starters out…
"It's tough when you're playing against a good team and it's up to the guys who are backing them up to come in and to play well. It was all of us -- offense, defense, special teams, myself included. We've got to play better."
MORE FALCONS-EAGLES GAME COVERAGE:
GAMEDAY LIVE:Complete Falcons-Eagles coverage from AF.com * GAME CENTER:Stats and more from the game in NFL.com * GAME RECAP:Offense stumbles in one-sided loss to Eagles * GAME NOTES:Notes on the game kept in the Georgia Dome press box * FIRST TAKE:Exclusive player and coach interviews with Dave Archer * MULTIMEDIA:Additional player interviews and highlights from AF.com * THE BEAT BLOG:John Manasso's thoughts on the Eagles game * J. MIKE'S MISSIVES:Thoughts on the game from the AF.com managing editor * TRANSCRIPTS:Falcons players talk about the game | Eagles * INACTIVES:Inactive players and listed starting lineups for the game * IMAGES:Photos from Sunday's Eagles-Falcons game at the Dome * FORUMS:Talk about the game with other fans on FalconsLIFE
