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Exit Interview: Atlanta Falcons

Injuries and ineffective defense doomed the Falcons this year. How can they get back to the highs of just a few years ago?




What Went Right

For stretches this season, Atlanta’s offense under coordinator Steve Sarkisian was almost as good as its 2016 offense under Kyle Shanahan. Julio Jones leads the league in receiving yards (1,511) and is just the fifth receiver in NFL history with three seasons to have more than 1,500 receiving yards. He also has learned how to get into the end zone, with six touchdowns in his last seven games after getting zero scores in his first seven. Fellow Alabama alum Calvin Ridley has looked like a more than capable sidekick in his first season, and the duo will be one of the best receiving combos in the NFL when both are healthy. Tight end Austin Hooper put up career highs in receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns.


What Went Wrong

A great deal even by the Falcons’ standards. In Week 1, stud linebacker Deion Jones and starting safety Keanu Neal landed on IR with a foot injury and torn ACL, respectively. The next week, starting guard Andy Levitre landed on IR with a torn tricep. In Week 3, their other starting safety, Ricardo Allen, tore his Achilles and was lost for the season. Two weeks later, running back Devonta Freeman returned from a Week 1 knee injury but left the game with a groin injury and was placed on IR.

Atlanta never truly recovered from this stretch. The team started 1-4 (three of those losses by a touchdown or less), and by the time its offense was revving, the defense had bottomed out. Defense was a strength for the Falcons in 2017, but their performance in 2018 went off a cliff. Here are their defensive figures from 2017 compared to this year (through Week 14) in various categories.

Atlanta never truly recovered from this stretch. The team started 1-4 (three of those losses by a touchdown or less), and by the time its offense was revving, the defense had bottomed out.




Perhaps more concerning is that Atlanta’s offense under Sarkisian has nosedived in the last month after starting strong. After the Falcons averaged 28.5 points over their first eight games, they have averaged 21.3 points in their last six games, but that number drops to less than 18 excluding their evisceration of the lifeless Cardinals on Sunday. The offense is not humming like it was in the fall, and there is no one silver bullet: Sometimes it’s on the play-calling, sometimes it’s Matt Ryan not playing like a $100-million-guaranteed player, sometimes it’s because the receivers can’t catch, and sometimes it’s because the offensive line can’t block.

All of this adds up to the second consecutive disappointing year for the Falcons, who are still haunted by the February 2017 Super Bowl loss that will define this era of Atlanta and mess with the fan base for years (decades?) to come. Head coach Dan Quinn is not likely to be fired, but he’s certainly not guaranteed to return. Sarkisian has even less job security. Ryan has not looked like a player who can consistently elevate his teammates or close out games but he’s not going anywhere after signing an extension this offseason. It might be time for GM Thomas Dimitroff to flush the stink of the Quinn era.

ATL Boy wrote:It kills me that Matt Ryan not only isn’t getting any MVP consideration, but didn’t even make the Pro Bowl because of how piss poor his teammates were this year.

Ryan and Jake Matthews definitely earned the first year of those massive contract extensions.