All the talk about injuries, roster miscalculations and a lack of intangibles are really just different ways of explaining what’s become obvious about the Falcons.
“They just don’t look like a good football team,” NBC analyst Tony Dungy said Sunday on “Football Night in America.”
That was his conclusion after Atlanta’s listless 27-13 defeat to Arizona on Sunday. The Falcons are 2-5 and though they say they still believe they can turn the season around, there’s little evidence to suggest they can.
The Falcons are regressing at the same time their schedule toughens, starting with a trip to Carolina (4-3) Sunday. It’s to the point that coach Mike Smith had to assert that there is “absolutely no consideration” of a trade before Tuesday’s deadline, a reasonable topic now for a team that once had aspirations of playing in the Super Bowl.
“We have not been able to sustain much through the first seven games of the season,” Smith said. “I don’t think we sustained a whole lot (at Arizona) from things we did the previous week. When you give up explosive plays that lead to touchdowns or are touchdowns, turn the ball over four times and don’t protect the quarterback from getting hit, you are setting up a formula for not being successful.”
Those are the traits of a bad team and it’s not even the full list of Atlanta’s shortcomings against Arizona. The Falcons were buoyed after some bye-week tinkering by Smith’s staff contributed to the victory over hapless Tampa Bay on Oct. 20 but the improvements vanished against a more capable opponent.
The offensive line was sound in pass protection against the Buccaneers but the Cardinals got to quarterback Matt Ryan for four sacks and 11 hits, according to official game stats. A week after he was nearly flawless against the Buccaneers, Ryan threw four interceptions.
The defense reverted back to a weak pass rush and vulnerability to big plays. Arizona quarterback Carson Palmer was efficient, although he didn’t necessarily have to be great because Andre Ellington, a rookie drafted in the sixth round, gashed Atlanta for 154 yards on just 15 carries.
The one thing Atlanta could not do well against Tampa Bay — run the football — was just as bad against Arizona. The Falcons had 18 yards on 18 carries against the Buccaneers and 27 yards on 14 attempts against Arizona, 13 of those yards coming on a Ryan scramble.
The return of running back Steven Jackson after a month out with a hamstring injury didn’t help. Jackson was limited to six yards on 11 attempts and Smith said he couldn’t really evaluate Jackson’s performance because “it’s hard to see anything in terms of running the football when you are not able to move the line of scrimmage.”
Offensive line play probably has been Atlanta’s most persistent weakness. Injuries have diminished other position groups that once were strengths.
Starters who have missed significant time include Jackson, left tackle Sam Baker, fullback Bradie Ewing, linebackers Sean Weatherspoon and Kroy Biermann and wide receivers Julio Jones and Roddy White. Ewing, Biermann and Jones are out for the season, Weatherspoon will miss at least two more games and White has been hobbled since training camp.
But even using the depleted roster after injuries as a baseline, the Falcons have shown little progress. Smith declined to identify which areas of the team should be performing better despite injuries and would not venture much detail about overall shortcomings.
“I don’t want to even pinpoint one specific group,” Smith said.”We haven’t been consistent with anything we’ve done for seven games. That’s the entire football team and the coaching staff. We all have to take responsibility.”
Normally, Smith’s stance could be construed as a coach’s typical reluctance to publicly criticize specific players. In this case, though, it is difficult to identify a facet of the team has been up to par.
That’s why it’s difficult to find outsiders who believe the Falcons can salvage their season by making a second-half run to the playoffs.
“I really think it is over,” Dungy said.
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