For the Falcons, their bye week indeed comes at the perfect time.
In the wake of the crushing 22-21 defeat to the Detroit Lions in which they kicked away a 21-point lead, the time off is needed.
First there a was meeting scheduled for Monday night in Flowery Branch before going into the bye week.
“We’ve got to bounce back,” cornerback Desmond Trufant said. “This was very important, we needed this win. That’s the second game we’ve let go when we were up by (double digits).’’
The way the Falcons lost may sting for a while.
“I thought it was over, I thought the clock ran out, but for whatever reason they got a second shot and he hit it that time,” Trufant said. “We can’t lose like that. That is not acceptable.’’
Normally, after most games the Falcons usually stick to some of coach Mike Smith’s talking points. Some players like Harry Douglas, were still talking that “we didn’t execute” language through clinched teeth.
Others were distraught and reflected on how emotionally difficult it was lose with so many mistakes by the players and miscalculations by the coaches.
“That was tough,” said quarterback Matt Ryan, who was not happy with his interception. “Obviously, you go from where you think you have won the game to where they have another opportunity.”
He’s clearly struggling with a game that appeared won on at least three occasions.
“It probably makes it tougher than it wasn’t a penalty on us, it was a penalty on them,” Ryan said. “From a frustration standpoint, that hurts, but the rules are the rules, and that’s the way it’s set up. They didn’t go in our favor, but that was a tough one to take.”
Wide receiver Roddy White doesn’t usually stick to the talking points, either.
“It’s tough,” White said. “It’s a tough loss.”
The Falcon have eight games to play, including four against division teams. They had already started to rally around the fact that no team has stepped forward to take control of the NFC South.
“We’re in a position right now where our division really isn’t that strong, and if we can just get something going and get one win and just continue to just build off of that,” White said. “But this is going to be a hard one to take because we expected to win this game, and this is where we were going to make our stand in the division and just continue to get better as a team.”
Running back Steven Jackson has taken control of the running backs room. They must plot their course for a rebound. If the Falcons can lean more heavily on the running game, that would have up their ravaged offensive line with its pass blocking.
“I’ve already started talking to the young running backs,” Jackson said. “When you’re in a 2 6 position going into the bye you’ve got to start working on your craft. At the end of the day we’re all professionals, and you work on the details of your position.”
The Falcons are still talking about improving as a team after eight games. That is normally a hard thing chore. Teams don’t normally improve drastically in-season.
However, they can help themselves when they return if they play at their highest levels, eliminate mistakes and cut down on their penalties.
“The only way you survive, the only way you stick around in the NFL is to show that you can consistently perform week in and week out,” Jackson said.
Wide receiver Julio Jones is willing to take his share of the blame for the offense’s third down woes and for his crucial dropped pass against the Lions. If he catches the ball and falls look, like he suggested, another 35 seconds are burned off the clocked.
If the Falcons had a running back or running play —- perhaps a draw – that they liked on third down-and-10, Jones wouldn’t have had to catch the low pass from Ryan.
“We’ve just got to get guys healthy, stay positive and just keep working,” Jones said. “For us in that locker room, we’ve just got to believe in each other. We’ve got to find a way to win.”
Right guard Jon Asamoah, who was signed as a free agent this offseason, was trying to figure out how the team was going to rebound.
“We are at the point where you just got to get down to the basics,” Asamoah said. “You don’t look any farther than the next job. You give it everything that you’ve got. You’ve got to block out any negative thoughts.”
Tight end Bear Pascoe had some the most coherent thoughts on how the Falcons could attempt to rebound after the bye week.
“We have to dwell on it a little bit,” Pascoe said. “I wouldn’t say harbor it by any means. Let it burn. Come back the following week ready to work.”
Rebounding from such a devastating defeat will be tough, but at the Falcons get to start their journey against a Tampa Bay team that they routed 56-14 in Week Three of the season on Nov. 9.
