Michael Moore
To the surprise of numerous Atlanta Falcons Fans, the Dirty Birds have started their season 1-2. Their 23-17 loss was a toss up, as they lost in the final seconds, and their 31-24 win against the Saint Louis Rams did not seem impressive either according to some of the fans.This Sunday’s 27-23 loss versus the Miami Dolphins was especially a heart breaking loss, mainly because the Falcons seemed to do a whole lot more things right than they did in their last two games. The amount of yards the Falcons required from their running game was more than triple the amount they had in Saint Louis game, and the offense had control of the ball for 15 more minutes than the Dolphins defense.So what’s the problem with this team now?
Well, for starters they need to capitalize in the redzone more, especially in the second half. The title of this blog may have to be “Dirty Birds Have Unclean Finish”, because the collective average amount of points they have in the first 3 games in the first half is 15.7, and the average amount of points in the second half in the past 3 games has been 8 points. This problem has not been new to Atlanta fans. The same problem occurred throughout the entire playoff season in the 2012 season, and they ultimately met their demise to the San Francisco 49ers as they gave up the 20 point lead they had in the first half. Of course, part of the responsibility also relies on the Defense, who is currently 5th overall in rushing defense but 25th overall in passing defense with a young secondary. Basically, these next two games may be the most important games for the Falcon’s playoff hopes as they try to survive to make it to their bye week in week 6. Young players on the team must step up and make plays in order to overcome the injuries this team has been plagued with which includes their new running back, Steven Jackson and their defensive pieces in Kroy Beirman and Sean Weatherspoon. If the Falcons can get through the New England Patriots and the New York Jets, they may have a chance to turn their season around.
