Swan Song for a Falcon

Falcons face a must-win scenario in Carolina this Sunday

Coach Mike Smith and Owner Arthur Blank wonder if it's already too late.

If the Atlanta Falcons don't win tomorrow, their season is over.

The Falcons were predicted by many to win their division. They came one game shy of the Super Bowl last year. And right now, they are sitting at 2-5.

Only three teams have fewer victories, and two of them have zero victories.

Jones will soon undergo surgery on his injured foot.

Yes we know that injuries have decimated their offense. Losing Julio Jones for the season in Week 5 was a terrible break.

But some of their injury problems spring from their own mismanagement of their issues.

Steven Jackson was sidelined with a hamstring injury in Week 2. His 2-4 week prognosis ended up taking five weeks, and in his return he managed just 13 yards on 14 touches. But their front office was well aware of his injury history, and still they decided to sign the 30-year-old free agent. In running back years, that's like 53.

Jackson has missed 4 of his first 6 games as a Falcon. 

Roddy White's injury has been mishandled from the beginning. A high ankle sprain suffered in the preseason severely limited the veteran WR. However, rather than sit him and allow recovery time, the Falcons forced White to play through it for the first five games. In those outings, White averaged a meager 25 yards-per-game, and recorded only 14 receptions, with zero touchdowns.

In that span, Atlanta went 1-4, and I'm sure they could have done that without him.

Instead, White suffered a setback against New England and then was forced out of the following game with a pulled hamstring.

Much of the focus seemed to be on the preservation of his streak of consecutive games started, which was second all-time for his position. It came to a halt at 133, and the receiver missed the first game of his 9-year career Week 7 against the Bucs. He has missed the past two match-ups dealing with the cumulative injuries, and his status for tomorrow's game is questionable.

Roddy White has had little cause for celebration this season. 

This is especially frustrating because he was my 3rd-round fantasy pick, and has contributed nothing to my team this season. His ESPN status report for Sunday begins with "Patience might indeed be a virtue, but this concept might have skipped over the 2013 Falcons."

If they had sat him through the first 5 games, then perhaps he would have been healthy by now, ready to replace Julio Jones when he went down when he was placed on IR. Instead, for the past two games they have had neither of their high-flying stars.

Their problems also run deeper than their injury woes.

Their defense has been porous all season and is ranked 21st in the league in both rushing and passing yards allowed, giving up an average of 26 points per game to opponents.

Matt Ryan has been steadfast, completing 67% of his passes and leading the 4th ranked passing attack in the NFL. But Atlanta's running game has been nonexistent, and their average of 60 yards per game is worst in the league.

Six of their seven games have been decided by one score, and they have taken some tough losses. But if they want to keep a dim hope for the playoffs alive, they cannot afford to lose many more games.

The second half of their schedule sends them to Lambeau and places them in San Francisco for a Week 16 monday night showdown. In turn, they play host to Seattle and the Saints. Three of those teams lead their divisions, and the Niners are 6-2.

Matty Ice isn't the only thing cold in Atlanta.

Even if Atalanta manages to win the other remaining games, they would have to beat at least one of the four best teams in the NFC. Right now, I don't see it. The NFC South looks like its the Saints' division to win, and an unlikely wild-card berth seems to be the best chance for Atlanta. They will face no competition from the NFC East, as many project the winner of that division to weigh in for the playoffs at 8-8. But the runner-up in the NFC West is a shoo-in, leaving Detroit (5-3) and the Bears (4-3) as the two likeliest candidates for the last remaining wild-card spot.


Let's not forget the Panthers team they face tomorrow that is also currently ahead of them in the standings. At 4-3, Carolina has won three straight games. Their defense is holding opponents to 13 points a game, and they haven't allowed a receiver to score since Week 2. Meanwhile, Atlanta is coming off a loss to Arizona in which they were held without a touchdown until late in the fourth quarter.

Atlanta needs a lot of help from the football gods. They need a lot of favorable losses and they need to take down some of the top dogs in the NFC. If they can't beat a decent team tomorrow, then how can they hope to beat out the best in the conference? Each tally in their loss column inches them closer to the point of no return.

If they lose tomorrow, their slim-chances shrink even further.