Steve Sarkisian Needs To Be Fired
There’s no question about it, Falcons fans should be mad about how their offense performed in Philadelphia on Thursday night. Simply, there’s no excuse for failing to score one point in the red-zone two completely different times. There were a ton of “swing-plays” in the game against Philly, but ultimately, it was the Falcons inability to score anything on those two trips to the red-zone that lost them their first game of 2018.
Much like you, I could sit here all day and talk about the specific plays Atlanta ran against the Eagles that were terrible. There were too many screen passes, too many plays run through Julio Jones, and not enough emphasis on getting the Eagles defense off-balance using the misdirection game. To have this much talent on the Falcons, and to not be able to score more than 12 points, is an absolute, total failure – point blank.
However, we have to trust Dan Quinn’s leadership on if Steve Sarkisian is the right man for the job. Quinn has done a fantastic job bringing in talented coaches so far, giving us zero reason to not trust him in that department. That said, if the Falcons are still having these same issues by the start of October, the tone of this message will certainly change.
Matt Ryan’s Best Days Are Behind Him
After watching last night’s game, once again, I totally understand if you feel this way. This was one of the worst offensive performances we’ve seen in some time from the Falcons veteran quarterback, ultimately leading to another excruciating defeat at Lincoln Financial Field. Matt Ryan did end up throwing for 251 yards against a tough Eagles secondary, but he also finished with a quarterback rating of 57.4 with one terrible interception. Needless to say, Thursday night was not one of Ryan’s finest moments in the red and black.
Still, I think we need to slow down on losing hope in Matt Ryan. We have to remember, Philadelphia has one of the best defensive-fronts in the entire NFL. They not only sacked Ryan four different times, but they dominated the trenches – something the Falcons offensive line couldn’t afford to let happen. I’m not saying there should’t be any blame on the back of Matt Ryan, as we all know there should be, but I wouldn’t lose hope in his ability to have a memorable 2018 season.
The Falcons Are Headed For a Rough 2018 Season
Look, it stinks to lose the first game of the season, especially by falling the same way Atlanta lost in the 2017 NFC Playoffs. We wait all offseason to see a better, more fine-tuned version of the team the season before, only to see them struggle in the same ways over and over again. There’s no getting around it this time, Dan Quinn’s squad didn’t do enough to beat the defending Super Bowl champions.
At the end of the day, I still believe the Falcons are going to have a great season. Atlanta’s defense made play after play to keep them in the ballgame against Philly, and they’ll do the exact same thing for the last 15 games of the year. If the Dirty Birds can somehow get their offense clicking before it’s too late, they’ll be one of the best five teams in all of the NFL – hands down. So hang in there, Falcons fans. This team won’t go away quietly.