The Falcoholic
Ten games in and it’s over. The Atlanta Falcons justifiably fired Dan Quinn to embrace a rebuild they still haven’t finished, resulting in a team that Arthur Smith couldn’t pilot to a winning season and Raheem Morris can’t win with, either. This isn’t rock bottom because there is no such thing in the long dark abyss that is Atlanta Falcons football, but you’re not alone if you’re feeling mighty low after Sunday.
The Falcons came in intending to stop the run and did so, but then allowed almost 450 passing yards to Bryce Young in one of the most embarrassing efforts from this pass defense that I can remember, which is really saying something. They hit all their kicks and did solid work on special teams, but special teams did not prove decisive to the outcome. They turned 21 first half points into six points in the second half, with Michael Penix Jr. exiting with an injury and Kirk Cousins failing to do much while the ground game disappeared. They had every opportunity to win this game, as injured and shaky as they were, and instead frittered it away yet again.
That’s five straight losses, a 3-7 record, and the team currently on a collision course with a top ten pick that will be going to the Los Angeles Rams. There’s a foundation here that I like quite a bit and there will be flexibility a year from now to remake this roster a bit, but all of that feels quite remote and small at the moment. The Falcons misjudged their moment yet again and now must face the prospect of remaking their front office, coaching staff, and roster for the third time since 2020. It can’t feel good for them; it feels terrible for us.
The Falcons need to be clear-eyed about it, though. Young has been a mediocre passer all year and just looked legendary, the Falcons were in the wrong place at the wrong time over and over again in coverage, and they wasted a strong day in run defense along the way. Missing both Mike Hughes and Dee Alford certainly hurt the cause, but it wasn’t the sole cause. Kirk Cousins got a huge contract after a major injury last year and put together maybe three good games in a Falcons jersey; he’ll be cut in the offseason having been thoroughly forgettable in fill-in efforts while earning a huge contract. Michael Penix Jr. and Drake London got hurt and Bijan Robinson was barely a factor after the first half, Darnell Mooney and Kyle Pitts dropped catchable balls, and the Falcons picked up multiple bonehead penalties along their offensive line. Roster-building, coaching, and execution all let the Falcons down yet again. It has been, all too often, this team losing in all three phases and losing in ways that can be traced back to the general manager, the head coach, the coordinators, and the players on the field to varying degrees, but almost always you recognize the...
