5 things we learned about the Falcons on Wednesday

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FLOWERY BRANCH — Here are the five things we learned Tuesday about the Falcons (6-7), who play at Jacksonville (5-8) at 1 p.m. Sunday at EverBank Field. The Falcons have dropped six straight and seven of the past eight games.

Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff and assistant general manager Scott Pioli were spotted together on the sidelines evaluating players during the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2014, in Atlanta. It's not clear if Pioli, who has a larger role in the draft, will be made available to the local media leading up to the draft. (Curtis Compton/CCompton@ajc.com)

1. DIMITROFF'S PLIGHT: Falcons coach Dan Quinn address the partnership he had to form with general manager Thomas Dimitroff and some of his powers were taken away.

2. HAGEMAN ON SCUFFLE: Falcons defensive tackle Ra'Shede Hageman seem to resent head coach Dan Quinn characterizing his relationship with defensive line coach Bryan Cox as a "father-son" situation. Hageman is ready to move on after his meltdown against Carolina which ended up in a shoving match with Cox.

3. HANKERSON NOT IN FUTURE PLANS: Wide receiver Leonard Hankerson, who was the No. 2 receiver on the team, passed a physical and was released by the team on Tuesday. Quinn said Hankerson was released because he was no longer in the team's future plans. Hankerson was claimed off waivers by the New England Patriots.

4. CHESTER, WORRILOW DNP: Right guard Chris Chester (shoulder injury) and middle linebacker Paul Worrilow (knee) did not practice on Wednesday. Worrilow is the team's leading tackler and also the defensive signal-caller.