1. The no-spin zone: Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo still is in good standing after missing a 47-yard field-goal attempt Sunday against the Lions.
However, the Falcons worked out a variety of special teams players and three kickers this week on Monday. Kickers Tristan Vizcaino, Elliott Fry and Matthew Wright worked out along with long snappers Tucker Addington, Jack Coco and Jake McQuaide and punters Blake Gillikin, Ty Long and Pat O’Donnell.
“No, that was a scheduled – we do early every week – it was moved up a day just because we’re going to London on Thursday,” Falcons coach Arthur Smith said. “We do that. That’s how you get your ready list going. He made a big kick last week against Green Bay. Certainly, but you evaluate everything all the time. We’ve got a lot of faith in Koo.”
Fry played one game for the Falcons back in 2020.
Koo missed an extra-point attempt in the win over Green Bay the Sunday before the Lions game.
“I have a lot of faith in him,” Smith said. “Tough-minded player at a position that’s easy to have mental things happen to you with a very specific job, but he’s got a tough mindset.”
Koo discussed his missed kick against the Lions.
“I caught the turf a little behind (the ball),” Koo said. “I just have to go back to a cleaner contact and hit a better ball.”
Koo said the Falcons evaluate all of his kicks, makes and misses.
“Just going back to the process, foundation and preparation that I put the work into,” Koo said. “I’m going to make kicks. I’m going to miss kicks. Go back to the work that I’m putting in, and then I’m going back to those basics.”
The specialists watch film to analyze their mistakes.
“Make or miss, every week, we watch the film together,” Koo said. “We look at how we can do things better. How we can do things … always trying to improve, whether it was a made kick or a missed kick. I could have hit a really bad ball, but it went in. So, it’s like I’m going to be satisfied with that, let’s look at how we can improve on the makes and misses.”
2A. Falcons Twitter: The fans were not too happy right after the loss to the Lions on Twitter/X. We had 123 responses and counting.
2. Morale of the team: The Falcons were stunned by the 20-6 loss to the Lions.
Their morale was starting to rebound Monday.
“It’s a one-week season,” Koo said. “It’s like that every year, every week. Hit the reset button and go back to work.”
The Falcons believe they can rebound.
“Just learn from it,” linebacker Lorenzo Carter said. “We made some mistakes. Some things we have to clean up. It’s definitely not like the sky is falling. Everybody is looking forward to continuing to come back in, get another game under our belt. Get that (bad) taste out of mouths.”
3. Packing for London: The Falcons plan to fly to London on Thursday after practice. They’ll hold a practice in London on Friday.
“It’s a quick trip,” Koo said. “We get there Friday morning. That’s a quick turnaround. Making sure you’re trying to do your best to get adjusted to the time a little bit. You won’t completely adjust. Just making sure that you’re ready to go by Sunday.”
4. Series history: This will be the ninth meeting between the teams. The Falcons lead the series 5-3 and have won the past four matchups. They won the most recent meeting 21-14 on Nov. 28, 2021.
5. Calvin Ridley update: One of the Jaguars’ biggest pickups was former Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley. He has 13 catches for 173 yards and a touchdown. He’s coming off a tough game. He dropped two passes and was called for two false starts in the loss to the Texans.
“I grabbed him coming off the field, and I reiterated to him to take a deep breath, stay locked in, stay engaged,” Pederson said. “I told him he was a big part of our system, the offense, and he’s going to have a lot of success. I just wanted to reiterate that confidence in him. Calvin wants to do so well, so good, so much. He wants to prove, but he doesn’t have to. He’s a good player, and he doesn’t have to do all that. Just be Calvin.”
6. Injury report: With Troy Andersen sustaining a shoulder/pectoral muscle injury and going on injured reserve, the Falcons will turn to Nate Landman at inside linebacker.
Landman made his first NFL start against the Packers and finished with four tackles.
“I’m always ready to go,” Landman said. “I was ready to go last week. Ready to go each week. Prepare each week as a starter. The coaches do a great job of getting us ready.”
He will team up inside with Kaden Elliss, who leads the Falcons with 25 tackles.
“Kaden is a great leader,” Landman said. “We kind of run the show out there. It’s great to be able to bounce things off of him and have confidence. We really can just lean on each to get the job done.”
The Falcons announced Tuesday afternoon that they placed Andersen on injured reserve.
“This isn’t the way I wanted to be on the field, losing Troy,” Landman said. “But next-man-up mentality. Everyone on this roster is a starter. Everybody is just waiting for their opportunity. Now, it’s my opportunity to go make the most of this situation that we’re in.”
7. Where to watch, listen and livestream Falcons vs. Jaguars: What you should know about Sunday’s game between the Falcons (2-1) and the Jacksonville Jaguars (1-2), which is set for 9:30 a.m. Sunday at Wembley Stadium in London, England.
TV: WSB Channel 2 Action News. ESPN-Plus (Play-by-Play: Chris Fowler Color Analysis: Dan Orlovsky; Louis Riddick Sideline: Laura Rutledgeand). Disney-Plus (Play-by-Play: Drew Carter Color Analysis: Booger McFarland Sideline: Pepper Persley)
Local radio: 92.9 The Game. Play-by-play: Wes Durham. Analyst: Dave Archer. Executive producer: Beau Morgan. Engineer: Miller Pope. Pregame/postgame show – Hosts: Chris Goforth and Mike Johnson, with Dylan Matthews and Orin Romain as studio producers.
Satellite radio: SiriusXM NFL Radio. Falcons channel 109 or 383 or the App. Jaguars channel 104 or 225 or on the App. (Games also are available on the SiriusXM App. Fans can find their team’s channel under the “NFL Play-by-Play” tab or by searching their team’s name.)
Livestream: Streaming inside the Atlanta market: Fans in the Atlanta market can stream the game on the Atlanta Falcons app. NFL app (subscription required). Out of the country: GamePass International.
8. Playtime chart: Andersen, who missed the previous game against the Packers while in the concussion protocol, played 63 of the 70 defensive snaps (90%) before sustaining his injury. He had eight tackles on defense and one on special teams.
Also, cornerback Jeff Okudah made his debut with the Falcons. He played 11 defensive snaps (16%) against his former team.
“Yes, we weren’t going to ask him to play 65 snaps coming off the (ankle/foot) injury and not playing football in over a month,” Smith said. “So, that was the thought behind it. Was encouraged by some things. We’ll see what the plan is this week, but it was good to get him back out there.”
Tackle Tyler Vrabel, who was the backup swing tackle, made his NFL debut.
Vrabel, the son of Titans coach Mike Vrabel, played three snaps on special teams.
At running back, Bijan Robinson played 54 offensive snaps (81%) and Tyler Allgeier played 20 offensive snaps (30%). Cordarrelle Patterson continues to practice, but he’s been held him out of the first three games. He has a nagging thigh injury.
9. Depth chart: Here’s a look at the Falcons’ official depth chart for the Jaguars’ game:
OFFENSE
WR Mack Hollins, KhaDarel Hodge
TE Kyle Pitts, MyCole Pruitt, John FitzPatrick
LT Jake Matthews, Isaiah Prince
LG Matthew Bergeron, Jovaughn Gwyn
C Drew Dalman, Ryan Neuzil
RG Chris Lindstrom, Kyle Hinton
RT Kaleb McGary, Isaiah Prince
TE Jonnu Smith
WR Drake London, Scotty Miller, Josh Ali
FB Keith Smith
RB Bijan Robinson, Tyler Allgeier
J Cordarrelle Patterson
QB Desmond Ridder, Taylor Heinicke, Logan Woodside
DEFENSE
DL Grady Jarrett, Albert Huggins
DL David Onyemata, Ta’Quon Graham
DL Calais Campbell, Zach Harrison, Joe Gaziano
OLB Bud Dupree, Lorenzo Carter
ILB Kaden Elliss,
ILB Nate Landman, Tae Davis, Troy Andersen (Likely headed to IR)
OLB Arnold Ebiketie, DeAngelo Malone
CB A.J. Terrell, Mike Hughes
S Jessie Bates, Jaylinn Hawkins
S Richie Grant, DeMarcco Hellams
NB Dee Alford, Clark Phillips III
CB Jeff Okudah, Tre Flowers
SPECIAL TEAMS
K Younghoe Koo
P Bradley Pinion
LS Liam McCullough
H Bradley Pinion
PR Dee Alford, Mike Hughes, *Scotty Miller
KOR Cordarrelle Patterson, Mike Hughes
* Added as third punt returner since he went in for Alford versus the Panthers.
