Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan feels the season is slipping away.
“Right now we are behind the eight ball, and all kinds of things can happen,” Ryan said after the 29-7 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday. “We have the right people in the locker room, the right leaders and the right coaches to turn this around.”
Several of Ryan’s family members made the short drive over from Philadelphia to see the game.
They had to be outraged with the pummeling that Ryan took behind his revamped offensive line. The tackles didn’t hold up against Baltimore edge rushers Terrell Suggs and Elvis Dumervil and the interior of the line had trouble passing off players when the Ravens ran stunts.
“That’s why they are a really good defense,” Ryan said. “They put a lot of pressure on us. They do a great job playing well within their schemes.”
For the Falcons, who have dropped four games in a row since pummeling Tampa Bay 56-14 on Sept. 18, they now have a narrow focus.
Ryan went through his first losing season in 2013, when the Falcons finished 4-12. They were hoping to turn things around in 2014, but a rash of injuries along the offensive line and a young an inexperienced defense is sabotaging their early-season efforts.
“We need to worry about this coming week,” Ryan said. “We need to prepare better, practice better and play better. We know what to do, but we haven’t done it.”
The Falcons seem to think the can simply get back on the winnning track.
“Everybody knows we need to play better across the board,” Ryan said. “Everybody on the offense, the linemen, the tight ends, wide receivers, running backs and quarterbacks need to get better together.”
Fourth down calls: On consecutive series in the third quarter, the Falcons went for it on fourth down in the third quarter and were stopped both times.
Down 20-0, the Falcons went for it on a fourth-and-7 from Baltimore’s 32 and Ryan was sacked by Dumervil.
After getting an interception from cornerback Robert Alford, the Falcons went for it on a fourth-and-1 from Baltimore’s 33.
“From where we were on the field, we had good plays called,” Ryan said. “(Head coach Mike Smith) made the right calls. But it just didn’t work out. Those are plays we’ve got to make.”
Stone was ready: Rookie center Jeff Stone, who was inctive for the first four games of the season, took over for Peter Konz after he left with a serious knee injury.
Stone, who made the team as an undrafted rookie from Tennessee, finished the game.
Before Sunday, he’d played a total of three snaps from scrimmage against the New York Giants at guard. He played 15 plays on special teams.
“Yeah, this is a next man up thing,” Stone said. “I just tried to step in there, help lead the offense and get everybody on the same page.”
Stone was played next to two veterans in Justin Blalock and Jon Asamoah.
“Jon and Justin are very supportive,” Stone said. “They were right there in my ear the whole time.”
White and Jones: Falcons wide receivers Roddy White and Julio Jones wanted to atone for a poor showing last week against the Bears, when they both had two dropped passes.
White finished with nine catches on 15 targets for 100 yards and a 4-yard touchdown. The score was a franchise-record 58th touchdown for White.
“We’ve got to play more consistent on offense,” White said. “We’ve got to get off to faster starts. We’re not playing efficient football.”
Jones had five catches on eight targets for 56 yards.
“We just couldn’t get a rhythm going to day, but that’s on us,” Jones said. “We’ve just got to correct that.”
Even with the increased production from White and Jones, the offense continued to struggle on third downs. They converted on 4 of 15 (27 percent) third down situations. Over the past three games, the offense has converted on just 10 of 41 (24.3 percent).
“We’ve just got to keep working,” Jones said. “We’ve got to keep believing. It doesn’t matter what anyone else says.”
Massaquoi sightings: Falcons defensive end Jonathan Massaquoi had a strong game.
He had two quarterback hits, six tackles and one tackle for a loss.
“He put some pressure on the quarterback,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said. “He got a couple of holding calls. I felt like we left some sacks out there. There was some pressure. I did think that Jonathan Massaquoi did some good things.”
Run defense: Baltimore's Justin Forsett rushed 23 times for 95 yards (4.1 yards per carry) against the Falcons.
The Ravens rushed 36 times for 123 yards as they won time of possession 33:13 to 26:47.
“A couple of plays really hurt us,” linebacker Paul Worrilow said. “We did force three turnovers and that was good, but giving up a field goal right before the half really hurt us. We should’ve played better there.”
Worrilow finished with a sack and had 10 tackles. Linebacker Joplo Bartu lead the team with 15 tackles.
Seeing yellow: The Falcons continued to struggle with penalties.
The Ravens’ first scoring drive was aided by two penalties, including a 36-yard pass interference call on second-year cornerback Robert Alford.
The Falcons had seven penalties for 76 yards against the Ravens.
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