BALTIMORE – As the season nears the halfway point, the Falcons are regressing.
The offense has scored 28, 20, 13 and 7 points over their four-game losing streak to Vikings, Giants, Bears and Ravens. They can’t stop the run and continue to make penalties.
As the injuries have started to mount, the offensive line is ineffective again. And we all know they if they can’t protect Matt Ryan, then the Falcons are doomed.
Here are the Falcons’ grades for the 29-7 debacle against the Baltimore Ravens.
GAME BALLS: Defensive end Jonathan Massaquoi and center James Stone. Massaquoi had two quarterback hits, six tackles and one tackle for a loss. "He put some pressure on the quarterback," Falcons coach Mike Smith said. "He got a couple of holding calls. … I did think that Jonathan Massaquoi did some good things." The left-handed snapper took over for Peter Konz and appeared to be stout.
C – Quarterback: Matt Ryan was 29 of 44 for a season-low 228 yards and one touchdown. The Falcons were just 4 of 15 (27 percent) on third down conversion attempts. Ryan was sacked five times and hit on nine other plays. He was running for his life for much of the game. He finished with a passer rating of 86.2. It's hard to function without NFL level pass protection.
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
F – Running backs: The Falcons rushed 18 times for 68 yards, but 18 of those yards came on a draw on the last play of the game. It's hard to tell if Steven Jackson is the problem or if the offensive line can't open any holes. Antone Smith received three carries and was targeted on two pass plays. He had three rushes for 10 yards and caught two passes minus-1 yard.
C — Wide receivers/Tight ends: Roddy White and Julio Jones wanted to atone for a poor showing last week against the Bears, when they both had two dropped passes. White finished with nine catches on 15 targets for 100 yards and a 4-yard touchdown. "We've to play more consistent on offense," White said. "We've got to get off to faster starts. We're not playing efficient football." Jones had five catches on eight targets for 56 yards. "We just couldn't get a rhythm going today, but that's on us," Jones said. "We've just got to correct that." Even with the increased production from White and Jones, the offense continued to struggle on third downs. They converted on 4 of 15 (27 percent) third down situations. Over the past three games, the offense has converted on just 10 of 41 (24.3 percent). Tight end Levin Toilolo caught two of his five targets.
F — Offensive Line: They didn't open any holes in the run game and Matt Ryan was under siege. It's starting to look like the Falcons are in for another long season. Left tackle Jake Matthews is a rookie and will have to keep fighting through. Left guard Justin Blalock is playing with a back injury. Stone will be the third starting center this season. Right guard Jon Asamoah is not dominating and right tackle Gabe Carimi is over-matched against elite speed rushers.
C — Defensive line: Defensive end Jonathan Massaquoi was the lone bright spot for the line. He was active rushing the passer and stopped a couple of runs while chasing from the backside of the defense. Kroy Biermann had two tackles for losses. Tyson Jackson had two tackles and Paul Soliai had one tackle.
C — Linebackers: Baltimore's Justin Forsett rushed 23 times for 95 yards (4.1 yards per carry) against the Falcons. The Ravens rushed 36 times for 123 yards as they won the time of possession 33:13 to 26:47. "A couple of plays really hurt us," linebacker Paul Worrilow said. "We did force three turnovers and that was good, but giving up a field goal right before the half really hurt us. We should've played better there." Worrilow finished with a sack and had 10 tackles. Linebacker Joplo Bartu led the team with 15 tackles.
F — Defensive backs: Second-year cornerback Robert Alford recovered from a pass interference call to haul down two interceptions. But his pass interference call was a 36-yard penalty that helped jumpstart the rout. Later, in the game with the Ravens ahead 22-7, Torrey Smith beat Alford deep for a 39-yard touchdown that irked some of the Falcons.
F — Special teams: Nothing went right. The Ravens bottled up returner Devin Hester and kicker Matt Bryant's 57-yard field goal attempt hit the cross board. Reserve safety Dezmen Southward forced a Jacoby Jones fumble on a punt return, but the offense couldn't take advantage of the turnover. Bosher averaged 42.8 net yards on five punts. He placed one inside the 20 and had a long of 57 yards.
F — Coaches: Nothing seems to be working as the injuries continue to mount. Also, the penalties are coming at a steady rate. The offense tried to use its screen attack to slow down the Baltimore pass rush. That didn't work out too well. The coaches didn't want to employ maximum protection and just run some two or three-man routes. So, it didn't make much sense to call 44 pass plays when you knew the offensive line couldn't block the Ravens. The defense didn't let the Ravens just run over them as they played much stouter and kept the explosive plays down to a minimum. Maybe getting out the country for a few days is a good thing. Perhaps the Falcons can find some linemen over in Europe.
NEXT UP: The Falcons (2-5) play the Detroit Lions (5-2) at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday in Wembley Stadium in London.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
GAME STORY: Relentless Ravens dismantle Ryan, Falcons 29- 7
Falcons' quoteboard after loss to the Ravens
Ryan senses the season is slipping away
