The Falcons Bad Start in Season Opener vs The Eagles

Eagles Win, 32-6

The Big Picture

It is safe to say that the Atlanta Falcons are exactly who we thought they were. I’m sure many Falcons fans were looking around for Julio Jones to make a play only to realize that Julio is no longer a saving grace. Not only did the Falcons look bad, but they also could not find the end zone at all on offense, and their defense was shredded by rookie receiver Devonta Smith. Regardless of how talented a player is, a rookie receiver coming into the city and having a breakout game in his debut is not a good look on the Atlanta Falcons.

Matt Ryan Is Not The Problem?

Okay. It is Week 1 with an entirely new offense and a bunch of new offensive weapons, but it is difficult to not blame Matt Ryan for the poor offensive performance. I mean, he is an NFL veteran, who has been the starting quarterback in Atlanta since 2010 and has had the benefit of the organization building around him. Unfortunately, Matt Ryan was not able to get any offense going and his 35 attempted passes did little to help that either. We could easily put the blame on the offensive coordinator as well, but then that wouldn’t be fair either due to Matt Ryan always being a high attempt quarterback throughout his career.

Putting up only 164 yards of offense through the air is not good. In fact, it isn't good considering you have Calvin Ridley, an all-pro receiver at your disposal. Ridley was not a major factor despite catching 7 passes. Ridley was not able to find the endzone and part of the issue was the lack of time Matt Ryan had when in the pocket. 

Bright Spots? 

The only bright spot for the Falcons on Sunday was from veteran and all-purpose receiver Cordarelle Patterson. Much like former Packer all-purpose player Ty Montgomery, Patterson can pretty much do it all. Aside from his return ability, he is a serviceable running back. On Sunday, Patterson carried the ball 7 times for 54 yards with nearly 8 yards per carry. Safe to say that Patterson seems to be the best fit at running back at this point. Veteran Back Mike Davis carried the ball 15 times for 49 yards and no scores. The running game was not a major factor, but when you have nearly the same amount of passing yards as rushing yards, it speaks to a larger issue of play calling and situational football.

Major Fixes Needed

The Falcons need an answer on defense and they need it quick. In a coordinator’s first season, they may have a major task of reinventing an entire team, however, the Falcons defense looked like they did not belong on the field on Sunday. Rookie receiver Devonta Smith shredded the

Falcons defense to the tune of 6 catches for 71 yards and a score. In the plays that Smith did get the ball, he was obviously faster, quicker, and more dominant than any player the Falcons had on defense. 

The Falcons have good players on defense, but what they do not have is a game-changer in the secondary. AJ Terrell was expected to be the guy and secure his side of the field, but he is not able to make up for the lack of ability and experience through the entire secondary. The defensive line was not able to create any issues for Jalen Hurts and this resulted in a big performance for the former Alabama Quarterback throwing 35 times for 264 yards and 3 touchdowns through the air. 

Next Week Outlook 

Next week the Falcons travel to Tampa Bay to face off against Tom Brady and the defending Super Bowl champ Buccaneers. This is undoubtedly a major divisional contest, but the only advantage the Falcons may have over Tampa Bay is the giant chip they currently have on their shoulder. If the Falcons are able to feed into the emotions of the first divisional game of the season, they may be able to spark something and possibly beat the Buccaneers, but with the current issues, it does not look likely.

Writer

-By: LeMarkus Bailey