With an eagle’s eye toward bouncing back from a difficult loss to Miami, everyone from the long snapper to the future Hall of Fame tight end caught the wrath of coach Mike Smith last week.
Several players said that the head coaches’ attention to detail is what has helped the team bounce back from defeats such as last week’s 27-23 shocker to the Dolphins. The Falcons are set to notch their 15 consecutive victory after a loss, under Smith, when they face coach Bill Belichick, quarterback Tom Brady and the New England Patriots at 8:30 p.m. Sunday at the Georgia Dome.
The Falcons have not lost back-to-back games since Games 12 and 13 of the 2009 season. Quarterback Matt Ryan was out with a turf-toe injury and Chris Redman lost games to Philadelphia and New Orleans.
The Falcons haven’t lost consecutive games with Ryan as the starter since Games 6 and 7 of 2009, when they were routed by Dallas (37-21) and beaten by New Orleans.
“I like how we’ve responded in the past,” tight end Tony Gonzalez said. “For us, it’s all about stopping that streak. You don’t even want to do (lose) more than once.”
The Patriots are 3-0, while the Falcons are 1-2 and two games behind the New Orleans Saints in the NFC South.
“It’s going to be a good test for us to come out there and play our best,” Gonzalez said.
Josh Harris, the team’s long snapper, had some explaining to do after getting called for offensive holding last week. Harris committed one of three special-teams penalties in the game.
Gonzalez also was singled out in the team meeting for a holding penalty.
“Of course, that was brought up,” Gonzalez said. “Everything that you guys can imagine. Everybody (got it) because nobody is immune from being corrected. … The biggest thing is to learn from those mistakes. That’s the type of team that we’ve been. Hopefully, we’ll respond to that this week.”
Gonzalez took his scolding like a 17-year vet, even though he thought it was a phantom penalty.
“If they are going to call holding on it, I won’t throw him down next time,” Gonzalez said.
That’s the level of scrutiny that the players say has fueled this unlikely 14-game streak.
“He’s holding all of us accountable,” Gonzalez said.
The Falcons were a popular offseason pick to win the Super Bowl. However, a rash of injuries and two losses and suddenly the Falcons are in early-season scramble mode.
But they hope that film study and frank discussions about mistakes will turn things around quickly.
“We just come in and talk,” right guard Garrett Reynolds said. “There are going to be positives and negatives in every game. We watch and see how we are doing the positive things, and with the negatives, you dissect yourself.”
The offensive line has received a lot of the attention during the slow start, but they weren’t on the field when the Dolphins marched 75 yards over 13 plays for the winning score. The line blocked well in the run game as they rushed for a season-high 146 yards in Miami.
While the pass protection must improve, the linemen contend that progress has been made. Also, left tackle Sam Baker (ankle, knee injury) could return against New England.
“There was a lot of positive things on film,” Reynolds said. “There’s just some things that we have to keep doing better as a whole group. We’ve made strides already, and we have to continue to do that.”
While the Falcons didn’t give up any sacks to Miami, they still let Ryan get hit too often.
“We just have to stay the course and keep working as a unit,” Reynolds said.
After the loss to New Orleans to open the season, the Falcons had a rallying cry. “Stop the streak at one,” several players chirped. They defeated St. Louis before heading to Miami.
There was no rallying cry this week, as things were a bit somber.
“It’s something that we’ve talked about, never wanting to have a losing streak,” left guard Justin Blalock said. “I think a lot of it speaks to the men that you have in the building. They are very prideful.”
Gonzalez, who came out of a planned retirement for this season, is ready to get on a different streak.
“We could easily be 3-0, but that’s not the case,” Gonzalez said. “The reality is that we are 1-2. We have to learn from our experiences and refocus. I think that’s what we’ve done. It’s been a pretty good week of practice. We’ve been really focused. That’s what it’s going to take to beat a team like New England.”
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