Running back Devonta Freeman knows what’s wrong with the Falcons.
“It’s that energy,” Freeman said. “It’s all about that energy. We have to get our energy back up. We have to finish the season strong. Who knows what the future may hold?”
The Falcons certainly looked like a team zapped of its energy when they faced the Carolina Panthers on Sunday and were steamrolled, 38-0. The Falcons (6-7) are set to face a re-energized Jacksonville (5-8) at 1 p.m. Sunday at EverBank Field.
The Falcons went all-in the week before in an attempt win the Tampa Bay game. They had a players-only meeting and vowed to turn things around. But the Bucs beat them with some late-game heroics by rookie quarterback Jameis Winston.
The Falcons’ locker room was dead leading up to the Carolina game.
They never recovered from the Tampa Bay game and that was evident by their lethargic play against the Panthers.
The Falcons have now dropped six consecutive games and need several football miracles to reach the playoffs.
“You always have to look at yourself,” Freeman said. “This is going to determine you right now. Your back is against the wall, everybody is booing you. …Now, it’s all about eliminating all of the clutter and playing football, making it a fun game still.”
Falcons coach Dan Quinn was also sifting through the wreckage while trying to find some remnants of the team that started the season 5-0.
“It was a line of scrimmage game,” Quinn said. “Our big guys on both sides (knew) that we were going to have to be at our best. They won that matchup.”
Quinn also felt that the defense gave up too many long-gainers.
While the energy level was low, the players felt like they were prepared.
“We had a really good game plan,” left tackle Jake Matthews said. “We had a good idea about what we wanted to do, but we didn’t get it done. That’s really all there is to it.”
Once the Falcons fell behind 21-0 in the first quarter, the Panthers relentlessly blitzed the offensive line. The Panthers finished with five sacks and 11 quarterback hits.
“We did a lot of things wrong, as a unit, there is a lot of stuff that we have to focus in on,” Matthews said. “You guys can see it, we’re not getting it done. It starts up front with us for sure.”
The Falcons know they have lost something since the 5-0 start, but aren’t sure what it is or how to recapture that magic.
“We have to find a way to get it back and we haven’t the last few weeks,” Matthews said. “That’s on us as an offensive line and offense, to get this changed. It’s frustrating.”
Quinn was busy trying to get the losing streak stopped.
He had meetings with cornerback Robert Alford, who turned in a horrid game. He quit a long touchdown pass, dropped an interception and didn’t attack Carolina running back Jonathan Stewart on an outside run play.
Quinn met with Alford, who will not face any team discipline.
“He’s the same guy that won the ball game for us against the Washington Redskins,” Quinn said. “I have all the faith and belief in him. The fact that he didn’t play like he was capable of on that play and a couple others, there was a conversation that we absolutely had.”
Alford was not available during the open locker room session on Monday. He reportedly stopped on the play because he thought Ginn had gone out of bounds.
Quinn also had to patch things up between defensive line coach Bryan Cox and defensive tackle Ra’Shede Hageman, who got into a shoving match on the sideline in the first quarter.
“At no point is that going to be part of our football,” Quinn said. “I talked to both of them about it.”
