FLOWERY BRANCH -- On second thought, I won't be writing about Georgia today.

Thank goodness for Google Maps or I might never have found the shortest way to get from Athens (where I attended coach Mark Richt's news conference) to Flowery Branch (where I just arrived and am in search of the walking remains of the Falcons).

You may recall that on Monday I wrote a blog about the season-ending injuries to defensive end Kroy Biermann (torn Achilles) and fullback Bradie Ewing (separated shoulder). Here's a link to that blog. The crux was that as much as those injuries were to starters and cut into the Falcons' depth, the team's most important 10 players remained active. (See the blog for my top 10.)

Well, that all has changed now. The news just got worse. Linebacker Sean Weatherspoon, one of the Falcons' two most important defensive players along with end Osi Umenyiora, has a significant foot injury. He was placed on short-term injured reserve, but short term is all relative. He will miss at least eight weeks, and we're already two weeks into a 16-game/17-week season. Do the math: Weatherspoon won't be back until at least late November, if then.

It gets worse: Running back Steven Jackson, the team's biggest offseason acquisition, who left last week's game following a first-quarter touchdown against his former team, St. Louis, is still ailing with a thigh injury. The Falcons haven't announced anything yet about his status but there's already speculation he will miss two to four weeks. Given that Jackson didn't come back into a game that he so badly wanted to play in, that speculation seems well-founded.

So that's four starters down, and there are two others who are severely hobbled: wide receiver Roddy White, who has a high ankle sprain and has been signficantly limited the first two weeks, and cornerback Asante Samuel, who missed the first game with a thigh injury and returned for the Rams' game but left early. It wouldn't be surprising if Samuel missed Sunday's game at Miami.

Concerned? You should be. Biermann and Ewing were role players. Weatherspoon and Jackson are difference-makers. The Falcons aren't so much better than most of their opponents that they can afford to take a hit like this. So far, the team has not made any moves but I would imagine general manager Thomas Dimitroff and pro personnel staff members are in their second-floor offices looking at game tape of street free agents.

I'll have more later in a full column, including quotes from coach Mike Smith. Until then, what are your thoughts on the situation.

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A dozen or so ramblings
-- Blog: Loss of Biermann, Ewing are issues Falcons didn't need
-- MyAJC ($): Falcons win but they're keeping us guessing
-- Blog: Short takes from Falcons win: Injuries, O-line and Julio
-- MyAJC ($): Poor line play could force Falcons to change their meal ticket: offense
-- Blog: Weekend Predictions: Beware of Bammy, Tech, Spurrier bullying
-- MyAJC ($): Falcons lose opener, largely because they can't block
-- Blog: Three takes from Falcons' loss to Saints
-- Blog: Falcons have bigger problems than narrow losses
-- MyAJC ($): Leadership has been Matt Ryan's strength, not his undoing
-- MyAJC ($): Page 2 Special: It's easy to criticize safety rules from cheap seats
-- MyAJC ($): Georgia fans, others shouldn't obsess over opening losses
-- Blog/MyAJC: Weekend Predictions: Dogs, Falcons win
-- MyAJC ($): Loss to Clemson won't define Georgia's season
-- MyAJC ($): Ludacris, Georgia State not quite 'all in' yet