At first they were excusable: a last-second comeback by Drew Brees, a failed comeback against the Patriots, a 4-point lead to a red-hot Dolphins team. They were easily understandable losses by a team that had made the NFC Championship game a year ago. We patiently waited for the Falcons to get back on track, to become the Falcons we've known since Matt Ryan arrived, and the Falcons that took off when Julio Jones was acquired. We're still waiting. For a team that has barely changed since last year, what happened?
A quick examination of the Falcons' season will provide an easy scapegoat: injuries. Julio Jones suffered a season-ending foot injury, Roddy White and Steven Jackson both missed significant amounts of time, Left Tackle Sam Baker has been out since early in the year, and key defensive players like Sean Weatherspoon and Asante Samuel have been rotating through a carousel of injuries. Obviously, guys like Jones and White make Matt Ryan's job easier. With both of them out, he's lost his top receivers, and as a result, defenses can put more attention towards Tony Gonzalez, the other big threat. The Falcons offense worked so beautifully last year because teams could not afford to double team Jones, White, and Gonzalez, and at least one of them was usually open. With just Gonzo left, Ryan is being forced to throw to less competent receivers, which in part can explain the countless interceptions. The defensive nobodies that are being forced to play can explain the decrease in the defense's ability to shut teams down.
But let's not forget that Ryan was considered an elite QB last year. This year, his throws are off-time, he can't convert 3rd downs, he has exhibited poor decision making, especially when faced with pressure. Perhaps most puzzling is his inability to perform in the clutch. He earned the nickname 'Matty Ice' for being so cool under pressure. He has certainly had plenty of opportunities for game-winning drives this year, but they have all seemed to fizzle out. Matty Ice has turned to Matty Lukewarm, at best. Why? Currently, it looks like a severe case of the injury bug to his receivers has brought down his production. Right now, it seems that the receivers made Ryan, and without them, he is lost.
Their rush attack has been poor as well. Steven Jackson was supposed to bring a multifaceted attack to the already highly competent Falcons. Instead, when he's played, the team feels obliged to run him, and he just hasn't produced. When the Falcons are down, they have to turn to Ryan throwing insane amounts of passes.
While the Falcons rookies have played well on D, the overall missed tackles and blown coverages, along with an incapacity to generate a pass rush have give over well for opposing teams. While the Falcons defense wasn't elite last year, they were good enough. Without a strong offense to support them, they've been nonexistent.
Overall, the Falcons' inabilities, which started with injuries but have evolved into borderline incompetence, have locked them into a continuous cycle. With defenses no longer having to focus on 3 threats, Ryan has made poor decision and thrown lots of interceptions, which puts the defense on the field too much and leads to their problems with stopping any offenses. Factor in that they don't have the added dimension of a legitimate run game, and Ryan's loss of that magical ability during crunch time, and the Falcons are utterly lost, and deserving of their 2-7 record. There's still hope, but I wouldn't expect a turnaround, at least this year, for Falcons fans. They'll just have to be content with watching that Julio Jones commercial over and over.
