Dirty Birds Dispatch: The Falcons have an identity
The Falcons returned to work this week after their early-season bye.
They are set to face AFC bully Buffalo on “Monday Night Football” at 7:15 p.m. at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The Bills went to the AFC title game last season and have been to the playoffs the past six years. The Falcons are trying to end their drought of seven consecutive losing seasons.
A win would put the NFL on notice that the Falcons are legit.
WHAT’S THAT? AN IDENTITY?
Through four games, the Falcons have discovered some things that work for them and some things that do not.
What are the Falcons “bread and butter” plays? What are their signature moves? What can they execute even when the opposition knows what’s coming?
“I think we’re a running football team that’s able to go out there and run it on just about anybody,” head coach Raheem Morris said. “When you want to run it.”
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Running backs Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier lead the attack out of the pistol formation.
“I think those guys are doing a great job,” Morris said. “I think our up front (offensive line gives us) the ability to run the football.”
🤔 Amassing a bunch of yards is just fine. But …
“We’ve got to find ways to score more touchdowns and do different things like that on offense,” Morris said.
🤔 Defensively, the Falcons must prove they can stop the run (ranked 23rd) and rush the passer.
“On defense, we’re playing fast,” Morris said. “We’re playing physical. We’re a good tackling football team.”
🤔 There’s work to do on special teams as well.
“I think we’ve got some guys that go out there and just want to play,” Morris said. “They’ve got high character. They’re ready to go out there and make a play for us at any moment.”
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KEEPING IT CONSISTENT
Falcons left guard Matthew Bergeron believes he knows how the team can have a break though.
“We must find a way to be consistent,” he said. “That’s the main thing. We (must) find a way to be consistent and be able to play at that level every weekend. Obviously, there’s going to be some stuff to clean up, of course, but if we can bring that energy and play at that level, I think we’ll be able to compete with (the best teams).”
We are about to find out on Monday night.
The Falcons could have worked out some of their issues in the exhibition season, but they elected to try to mitigate injuries instead.
- “It’s within the offense,” Bergeron said about consistency. “We (must) find a way to be consistent, whether it’s throughout the running game (and) the passing game. We’re working towards that. That’s what we are practicing every week.
- “That’s why the intensity at practice has been so high, because we knew that at Carolina, that wasn’t us. That wasn’t our identity on offense. We’re trying to find a way to build off what we did against the Commanders and get better.”
Allgeier is happy about where the things are headed under second year quarterback Michael Penix Jr.
“Just building his confidence,” Allgeier said. “Just being able to stick it wherever he can. … It was just really good overall football by Mike, receivers, the (offensive) line, the running backs and especially Bijan, as well.”
COMING TOGETHER ON DEFENSE
Safety Jessie Bates sees things coming together on the defense.
“The first two weeks we showed that we can be a really good team in this league,” Bates said. “(The third) week wasn’t a testament to that at all. I thought we did a really good job of responding (against Washington) as a whole group. There are still things that we can clean up, but we are on the right road for sure.”
The Falcons could get cornerback A.J. Terrell back against the Bills and that could help with the continuity of the unit.
“That’s how it goes,” Bates said. “We always talk about our rush and coverage going together. I think we had some sacks early, which is really good to see. Then the guys on the back end, we started to get interceptions. I thought the first two weeks we showed that we can be a really good team in this league. (Against Carolina) we didn’t play and (against Washington) was a great way to respond, for sure.”
WHERE TO WATCH (AND LISTEN)
This will be the Falcons and Bills’ 14th meeting. The Falcons lead the series 7-6.
The Bills won the last meeting 29-15 on Jan. 2, 2022. The Falcons led 15-14 at halftime, but got steamrolled in the second half. More on that momentarily.
📺 On TV: ESPN
- Play-by-play: Chris Fowler
- Analysts: Louis Riddick and Dan Orlovsky
- Sideline: Katie George and Peter Schrager
📻 On local radio: 92.9 The Game
- Play-by-play: Wes Durham
- Analyst: Dave Archer
📡 On national radio: Westwood One
- Play by play: Kevin Kugler
- Analyst: Derek Rackley
THE LAST TIME AROUND …
An excerpt of our coverage from the Falcons’ 2022 loss to Buffalo:
Orchard Park, N.Y. — Now, the Falcons have a taste of what it’s like to play a meaningful late-season football game.
They’ll have to correct some things before they learn how to win one of these matchups.
With their faint playoffs hopes on the line, the Falcons waged a fierce battle against the Bills before succumbing 29-15 before a boisterous crowd of 64,948 on Sunday at Highmark Stadium.
The Falcons’ defense had three interceptions, but gave up more than 200 yards rushing and four rushing touchdowns. The offense, which lost prized rookie tight end Kyle Pitts halfway through the game with a hamstring injury, sputtered throughout the day behind some shaky pass blocking.
“We came up short there at the end, but our guys battled,’ Falcons coach Arthur Smith said. ‘We ended the half well and we had our chances. Credit to Buffalo. They grinded out some drives when they had to have them late. We came up short.”
MAILBAG TIME
📬 Reader Bill Wilson: Tommy Nobis being overlooked all these years (for the Pro Football Hall of Fame) tenders the whole process a total joke.
My response: Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
📬 Reader Phil Lunney: I think that Bijan’s first touchdown in the first game was enabled by Kyle Pitts who was the key for his last cut. I don’t recall a mention by the commentators after the play. Keep up the good work.
My response: Thanks for the email Phil. He did pick up a good block from Pitts on that play.
📬 Reader Joe Renta: Good afternoon Mr. Ledbetter. I am thankful Mr. Pitts was able to show up for this his contract season. Amazing how he was a no show for several years and now is showing up! Go figure.
My response: Yes, funny how that contract year works.
PLAYER’S CORNER
Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts is off to a good start to the season.
🗣️ On his knee and general health: “My knee is perfectly fine. I wouldn’t say that’s bothered me since I had the injury, but that was just a little bump in the road.”
🗣️ On his conversations with Michael Penix Jr. after the loss to the Panthers: “I told him it sucks and that it’s going happen. In the NFL, you’re not going perfect. It was unfortunate the way it happened. But, shake it off and we’re going to come back new this week.
🗣️ On coming back from the bye: “Just keep the energy high and get ready prime time.”
🗣️ On having an early bye: “I think we had this my rookie year, like when we came back from London, it was like a Week 5 bye, because it was around my birthday. It’s about the same time. So, yeah, you got to go 13 straight weeks. So, it’s just fair amount of finding ways to keep your body at a premium.”
Thanks for reading to the very bottom of the Dirty Bird Dispatch. Questions? Suggestions? Contact us at dledbetter@ajc.com. Follow @DorlandoAJC on X, too.
See you next week.
About the Author
Honored by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his "long and distinguished reporting in the field of pro football," D. Orlando Ledbetter, Esq. has covered the NFL 28 seasons. A graduate of Howard University, he's a winner of Georgia Sportswriter of the Year and three Associated Press Sports Editor awards.
