1. Losing 33-10 to Seattle last week was bad – but at least the Seahawks are good. Tampa Bay was one of two teams the Falcons had beaten. Now the formerly moribund Bucs have risen above the plummeting Birds, who at 2-8 are tied for the worst record in the NFC. Coach Mike Smith termed his team's performance as "unacceptable" but offered no solutions. To be fair, there probably aren't any, at least not for the 2013 Falcons. They're lousy. They didn't get to be 2-8 by accident. What's amazing is that this awful assemblage isn't quite 10 months removed from having played for the NFC title.
2. No one person or unit lost this game. Almost every Falcon contributed to the Tampa Bay deluge. Matt Ryan threw two interceptions, the first of which was returned for a touchdown. Thomas DeCoud misplayed another long completion. Roddy White lost a fumble. The offensive line had to be reconfigured after yielding consecutive sacks to Gerald McCoy on the first series. The defense was terrible, yielding 163 yards rushing to Bobby Rainey, who began the season as the Bucs' fourth-string tailback. Matt Bosher had a punt blocked. Dirk Koetter had an awful day calling plays. Mike Nolan had a worse day calling defenses. Other than that, a good time was had by all.
3. Arthur Blank made it clear he doesn’t fault Smith or Thomas Dimitroff for what is not destined to be the first non-winning season of their tenure. In a conversation with reporters in the tunnel afterward, the owner said: “We love our head coach. We love our general manager … They’re going to take a very critical and honest look and make their analysis, and from there we can develop a game plan.” Translation: There figure to be sweeping changes with the Falcons over the winter, but Smith and Dimitroff will be charged with making those changes, as opposed to being the changes themselves. And what makes Blank certain that the architects of this 2-8 season are up to the task of rebuilding? “They’ve earned it over the past five years. They’re proven leaders, proven by success.”
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