The Falcoholic
Great teams tend to be able to weather attrition and adversity. The Kansas City Chiefs can lose their #1 receiver for the equivalent of a full season owing to injury and suspension, lose their left tackle for multiple weeks, and still put together a winning effort owing to depth and strengths that compensate for those losses. The Philadelphia Eagles can absorb down weeks from any one of a half-dozen stars and still be competitive. The Chargers can lose both starting tackles and still take care of business, the Rams can power through the loss of Puka Nacua, and the Buccaneers can suffer waves of injury and still grit through tough wins. There are losses so deep no team can overcome them—often at quarterback—but in general contenders contend through rough waters.
The Falcons are not, at the moment, contenders, to say nothing of a great team. Early on, they weathered significant injuries to the likes of Kaleb McGary, Storm Norton, A.J. Terrell, and Billy Bowman Jr. successfully owing to strong fill-in performances from Elijah Wilkinson and Dee Alford. The more time that goes on, the more those players are (understandably) struggling to maintain a high level of play, though Alford can at least give you that in any given week. Injuries and unforeseen troubles that have cropped up at wide receiver and inside linebacker, meanwhile, have revealed Atlanta’s lack of both depth and adaptability in a way that has derailed a once-promising season.
Let’s take a look at what I mean by that by looking closer at the injuries and personnel failures the team has had to contend with, and then a bit of a dive into the way the coaching staff has been exacerbating personnel problems.
Last year was very clearly the outlier for Dee Alford, who was targeted 102 times and allowed 76 receptions for over 700 yards and eight touchdowns. Freed from Jimmy Lake’s defense, Alford is back to being a perfectly serviceable nickel cornerback who plays like a high-end starter for stretches. Coming into Week 9, he had allowed just 88 yards on 21 targets and 11 receptions, with a couple of bad angles, missed tackles, and penalties serving as the only blemishes on a very strong year. He allowed 88 yards on three catches against the Patriots, which will be concerning if it proves to be more than a blip.
Still, Alford is the team’s obvious depth success story after the Falcons ultimately didn’t allow his rough 2024 to scare them away from bringing him back. The fact that he’s served as the team’s top reserve both outside and inside gives him genuine value.
The other area in which the Falcons have unquestionably weathered the storm effectively is along their defensive line and in their edge group, where injuries to Ta’Quon Graham, Zach Harrison, Bralen Trice, and (in Week 9) Leonard Floyd have tested their depth.
There have been some shakier efforts, but the work the Falcons front office has put...
