FLOWERY BRANCH – The Falcons return from their bye week break with a 1:30 p.m. practice today.
One of the fans, Ron, on the Falcons' mailbag on Friday suggested that the Falcons could still reach the playoffs by winning all four of their NFC South games and by beating Cleveland and Pittsburgh. He was conceding losses to Arizona and Green Bay. That would give them an 8-8 mark.
Michael Cunningham did a story on the shaky NFC South. CLICK HERE.
“It’s amazing how much of an opportunity that everyone has," NFL Network analyst Michael “The Playmaker” Irvin said. "That’s what the NFL wants. They want everyone to have an opportunity so that all of the fan bases are excited.”
The Saints are in first place at 4-4. Carolina is 3-4-1. The Falcons are 2-6 and Tampa Bay is 1-7.
“Atlanta is still in the hunt now, with that being said, you do see what Atlanta’s defense looks like, right?,” Irvin said.
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
The Falcons' defense could receive a boost with the return of safety William Moore, who has missed five weeks. He must miss at least three more weeks after being placed on the short-term injured reserve list. Moore will not be eligible to practice for another week and can’t play until two weeks after he begins practicing, which means he could return for the Cleveland game on November 23.
“They’ve been hit big time with the injury bug and they don’t even use it as an excuse, but it’s a reality,” said NFL Network’s Steve Mariucci. “When you lose five offensive linemen and they are not coming back. They are on injured reserve. They played James Stone at center. An undrafted rookie free agent and so it’s just tough.”
The Falcons' revamped offensive line may not be strong enough for the team to surge into contention in the second half of the season. Changes in the football operation have been widely speculated as owner Arthur Blank believes the talent is under-performing. Others, like Falcons coach Mike Smith brother-in-law/announcer Brian Billick, don't believe the Falcons have enough talent.
“Heck, Mike Smith won 56 games his first five years,” Mariucci said. “He started off like gang busters and the last couple of years, really after the NFC championship game that they lost, it’s been very difficult with injuries over there. They are fighting and they are in a division that. . . heck, who knows this division winner might be 8-8 or 7-9 even. We’ve seen that before. The Falcons have so many darn injuries, just like they did last year.”
The Falcons are coming off perhaps the worst lost in team history, where they became the first team to blow a 21-point halftime team. The 2003 team blew a 21-point first-quarter lead to Tennessee.
“Mike Smith is another coach that has got his team continuing to fight, but there are just not going to get any help back because of these (players) on injured reserve,” Mariucci said.
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