In the past three seasons, the Falcons earned the NFC No. 1 overall seed twice. In 2013, the Falcons have gone from first in the conference to worst in the conference with a 2-8 record.
The easy answer is to say injuries are the cause, and there were costly ones to wide receivers Julio Jones and Roddy White. Linebacker Sean Weatherspoon and running back Steven Jackson were among others who also missed time because of injuries.
But it’s not just the injuries. There are deeper, fundamental issues with this team that, in the past, were masked by an exceptional passing offense.
Football comes down to blocking and tackling, and the Falcons can't do either.
The Falcons rank near the bottom of the league in most major statistical categories: scoring defense (29th), rushing offense (31st), rushing defense (30th), turnover margin (31st) and pass defense (22nd).
Fourth-string running back Antone Smith ran for a Falcon season-best 88 yards on Sunday, and he needed only two carries.
At the time, I thought the Matt Ryan mega-contract was good for the team, but the nine-figure contract meant the Falcons had to spend cheaply with everyone else.
Cutting John Abraham (six sacks in last three games) and losing two cornerbacks in the offseason hurt significantly.
It’s clear the Falcons have a lot of issues to address in the offseason.
Reach the reporter at justin.janssen@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @jjanssen11
