The Falcons’ stock, rated so high in the exhibition season, has dropped through the floor after five games.
After reaching the NFC Championship game, the Falcons widely were considered Super Bowl contenders. But in this era of free agency and parity, if you’re a little off on a move or two, things can go sideways quickly.
The Falcons have company in recent Super Bowl winners Pittsburgh (0-4) and the New York Giants (0-5). All three teams are trying to turn around their seasons after long stretches of success.
The Falcons have been to the playoffs in four of the past five seasons. The Steelers won the Super Bowl after the 2008 season. The Giants won Super Bowls after the 2009 and 2011 seasons.
Here’s a look at four reasons why the Falcons are 1-4:
1. Offensive line: Before getting shoved around by the Giants in the wild-card round of the playoffs in the 2011 season and scoring only two points, the Falcons knew they would need to get stronger and more athletic along the offensive line.
They hoped to find some help in the 2012 draft when they selected center Peter Konz in the second round and Lamar Holmes in the third.
Konz made 10 starts at right guard in 2012, but Holmes was hobbled by a foot injury and played only seven snaps.
The Falcons elected not to re-sign longtime center Todd McClure and released right tackle Tyson Clabo over the offseason.
Garrett Reynolds, who opened the 2011 and 2012 seasons as the starter at right guard but didn’t stay there for the whole season, was inserted back at right guard. Konz slid over to center, and Holmes inherited the right tackle spot when Mike Johnson suffered a season-ending ankle injury. Left tackle Sam Baker was signed to a free-agent deal, and left guard Justin Blalock returned.
When Holmes got off to a bumpy start in the exhibition season, the Falcons signed former Tampa Bay tackle Jeremy Trueblood, who was cut by Washington.
Through five games, the unit has not performed well. Baker has been hurt. Konz, Reynolds and Holmes have struggled. The tackles are rated 29th among the NFL’s 32 teams by profootballfocus.com. Quarterback Matt Ryan has been sacked eight times, hit 17 times and hurried 70 times.
The Falcons have averaged a barely respectable 4.0 per carry rushing.
Konz has not been able to anchor at times, and Holmes lost his starting job to Trueblood.
It’s too early to call Holmes a bust, but the Falcons may have over-drafted him. For example, he was considered a seventh-round pick by Ourlads draft service.
“I think he’s coming along fine,” offensive line coach Pat Hill said. “There is still a lot of room for growth, but I think he’s got a high ceiling. I think there’s a lot there to work with.”
Here’s what Ourlads said about Holmes, “Gives up ground too quickly as a pass protector. Inconsistent movement on snap. Sets on the count at times. Plays square but gets turned and opens the gate to a free runner. A developmental player with borderline pro physical skills and inconsistent production. … Seventh round/PFA.”
PFA means possible free agent.
2. Injuries: Wide receiver Julio Jones has been declared out for the season. He likely will become the eighth player added to the team's injured-reserve list. Also, the Falcons have used their "designated to return" tag on linebacker Sean Weatherspoon (sprained foot).
In addition to Jones (foot) and Weatherspoon (sprained foot), defensive end/linebacker Kroy Biermann (Achilles), fullback Bradie Ewing (shoulder), offensive tackle Mike Johnson (ankle), cornerback Saeed Lee (knee), tight end Adam Nissley (knee), quarterback Sean Renfree (upper body) and tight end Andrew Szczerba (undisclosed) are on injured reserve.
Also out with injuries are wide receiver Roddy White (ankle/hamstring), running back Steven Jackson (hamstring), linebacker Akeem Dent (sprained right foot) and left tackle Sam Baker (knee).
Jones, 24, who even while being double- and sometimes triple-teamed, has accounted for 35.3 percent of the team’s receiving yards and 26.9 percent of its catches.
The loss of Jackson, who amassed eight consecutive 1,000-yard seasons in St. Louis before signing with the Falcons, probably hurt the development of the line. If he could have sustained his 5.5 yards per carry, the developing line may not have been in so many obvious passing situations.
On defense, if Weatherspoon was on the field at the end of the Jets game, perhaps he would have made a sack or an interception to stop rookie Geno Smith on the game-winning drive.
While the Falcons don’t want to use the injuries as an excuse, they certainly are a factor in the record.
3. Red-zone offense: The Falcons scored touchdowns on four of five trips inside the Jets' 20-yard line to improve their dismal overall numbers.
Now, they are 11-of-24 (45.8 percent), which ranks 28th in the league.
Red-zone issues have been persistent. Jackson dropped a pass that would have given the Falcons a late lead over the Saints, and running back Jacquizz Rodgers was stuffed when the Falcons tried to score from the 1-yard line just before halftime against the Jets.
4. Defensive coverage: In two of the losses, the defense was on the field with the lead, but couldn't close out the Dolphins or the Jets.
Most troubling was that the Dolphins were led by Ryan Tannehill, a second-year quarterback, and the Jets were guided by Geno Smith, a rookie.
Tannehill completed 9 of 12 passes for 69 yards in a 13-play game-winning touchdown drive.
Smith was 4-of-4 passing for 37 yards, and the Jets rushed three times for 18 yards to get into position for the game-winning field goal as time expired.
“We didn’t get enough pressure on that last drive, I’ll give you that,” defensive end Osi Umenyiora said. “They threw some quick throws in there and they ran the football a little bit, which was surprising. At the end of the day, we just needed to make some tackles, and we weren’t able to do that.
“It was a situation where they only needed three points, so they didn’t have to drive all the way down the field. They were in position to score, which was 100 percent on everybody on defense.”
