The Falcoholic
The Atlanta Falcons have lost five games in a row and are on pace to have one of their worst seasons in the last decade after getting swept by the Carolina Panthers. This is an unacceptable result for a staff whose expectations have been playoffs since they were hired. Here’s the Week 11 snap reactions.
Bryce Young had another career day against the Falcons, who are singlehandedly keeping him employed. Natrone Brooks was thrown into action today. The UDFA had a promising preseason, but he was outmatched against the bigger and more physical Panthers receiver group. To his credit, he did make a couple of tough pass breakups, but his overall poor performance will have fans remembering him for all the wrong reasons.
Mike Hughes’ secure tackling was missed today, as the team struggled to wrap up in the second and third levels. Injuries have been an issue for the defense this year, and today they struggled to overcome them.
Michael Penix went down after what was one of his most efficient starts of his young career. Kirk Cousins looks old; he’s still skipping passes, throwing into triple coverage, and appears only to want to target Drake London if it puts his life in danger (he left the game with an injury after a brutal hit between two defenders). It was a tale of two halves, and Penix’s absence was the biggest difference between the two.
The complementary passing game disappeared, and the Panthers were able to focus on loading the box and stopping the run. It is unfortunate we did not get to see if Penix could build on his great start, but it was good to see the quarterback play with confidence out of the gate after a rough week. Let’s hope he’s healthy to go next week.
Penalties and mental errors hurt the Falcons throughout the game. This team is sloppy, and that reflects on their coaching staff. This was an issue when Raheem Morris was here under Dan Quinn, and it has been a feature of the team the last two years. It’s hard to “find a way” when it’s almost a guarantee you’ll shoot yourself in the foot on 15% of drives. Hard to “find a way” when you don’t have the edge in time management or situational awareness. Hard to “find a way” when you’re led by someone who’s never found the way.
The Falcons are not running the table; the Falcons can’t even find the table. They’re still looking for the parking meter outside the casino. Arthur Blank should face facts and clear house at the end of this season. Morris wasn’t hired for a rebuild; the expectations were playoffs from year one, and he’s going to miss that mark in back-to-back seasons. Will Blank fall victim to a list of excuses, or will he have the conviction to cut ties at the end of...
