The Atlanta Falcons have lost two games in a row and are now below .500 at 3-4. It was a pathetic performance for the home team fans, and many are wondering how the team will respond.
Here are the Week
8 snap reactions.
JD Bertrand is not starter or substitution quality linebacker
Earlier this week, Jeff Ulbrich said that he believes Bertrand is a starter in this league, but the tape hasn’t said that at any point in the linebacker’s NFL career. The toadstool look-a-like plays with his feet stuck in cement; he’s undersized and washed out of most run plays. He takes longer than any other player on the field to process what’s in front of him, which leads to big plays for the offense.
It’s hard to rationalize why Ulbrich continued to let the linebacker take the field in this game, but a change has to be made after two disastrous appearances in a row.
Kirktober is canceled
The quarterback looked old and immobile. Many were sure the veteran would prove that Michael Penix Jr. was holding back the passing game, but if anything, we’ve learned the opposite. Penix, while not very mobile, offers more sack avoidance than Cousins and can make do with the limited route options outside the numbers.
Cousins didn’t look better than the version of him we saw last year after the shoulder injury. This performance should be the final nail in the “Cousins-trade” coffin, because no one is going to pay his price tag for the level of play they saw today.
Injuries are hitting the defense hard
For the second week in a row, Billy Bowman and Jalon Walker were out, and Zach Harrison joined them. The Falcons defense, mainly the run defense, has not looked the same without them. Harrison is one of the best pressure generators on the team, and it’s no surprise that Tua Tagovailoa has one of his best games of the season with him missing. Devine Deablo’s loss might be the most impactful of them all.
This is when your depth is tested; everyone deals with injuries. The defense has to lean on its other investments, but it’s been unable to do so.
Zac Robinson has lost the plot
This offense has not changed, regardless of who the quarterback is. Just like it didn’t change after the initial switch to Penix, that is the most damning observation about Robinson as a coach. If plays aren’t tailored to the guy under center, then who are they for?
ZRob’s behavior is almost self-indulgent at this point. We’re seeing a refusal to adjust the scheme, and players are being asked to overcome obvious deficiencies for the sake of one man’s ego. Today confirmed what many knew: the main thing holding back the offense is the coach in charge. Unfortunately, there aren’t any other reliable options on this staff to take over if a firing were to happen. This team put all their eggs in the ZRob basket, and they will likely stick with him until this season is over.
Good teams don’t get blown out (twice). The Falcons tried to shake off that 0-30 blowout by the Carolina Panthers like it was just an outlier or a bad day, only it wasn’t; it was a warning. A warning that this team is still volatile, a warning that they will still make mental mistakes that cost them a game, and a warning that the people responsible for it all haven’t coached that out of their team. They are who we thought they were.
