Falcons aim to exorcise demons
Super Bowl rematch with Patriots offers a chance at redemption
BRANCH, GA. ReFLOWERY minders of 28-3 are stubbornly prevalent for the Atlanta Falcons, from the Internet memes to the New England Patriots’ scoreboard troll job on opening night to — let’s face it — a penchant for blowing leads that has carried over from Super Bowl LI to this season.
It’s quickly becoming an unwanted theme, as the Falcons (3-2) prepare for their high-profile rematch Sunday night in Foxborough, Mass. The easy narrative, particularly this week, is to make some connection between Atlanta’s Super Bowl demons and its recent trouble finishing games. Is that fair? Of course. Is it too simple? Almost certainly.
“It’s tough to get one answer,” left tackle Jake Matthews said. “I can’t say enough (about) what we’re doing well in the first half. We’re just not finding a way (to continue) in the second half. That’s on all of us.”
But as noise grows about whether the Falcons have some sort of mental block or systemic issue holding leads — yes, the dreaded “choker” label — the natural inclination is to look toward the more easily identifiable and correctable factors in their admittedly slow start.
Explosive offensive plays?
Not enough.
Turnovers? Too many.
Touches for star receiver Julio Jones? Too few.
“I just have a sense of who our guys are and how we play, that
it’ll come,” coach Dan Quinn said.
Even taking the Super Bowl hangover psychobabble into account, this looks more like a mechanical problem than a mental one — for now.
The Falcons, after all, did undergo one of the more significant coaching changes of the offseason when offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan left to take over the San Francisco 49ers’ top job and was replaced by Steve Sarkisian, a virtual NFL novice.
While quarterback and 2016 league MVP Matt Ryan insists Sarkisian isn’t to blame for the offense’s slippage from the topscoring attack last year to 12th this season, it’s possible some natural comfort and continuity were lost in the transition.
“I think Sark’s done a great job, and honestly he’s put us in good positions through five games,” Ryan said. “I think we’ll continue to get better for sure. He’s got a better understanding now, having been here, having gone through game situations. I think he’s gotten better as the year’s gone on, but as players we need to play better.”
It’s also possible the Falcons, and Ryan in particular, are fighting a natural regression to the mean after setting all kinds of franchise records last season and scoring 30 or more points 11 times in the regular season, something only two teams in NFL history have done more often. There was nothing fluky about those numbers. The Falcons were a legitimate scoring machine, all the way up until the point where one more first down would have brought Atlanta its first Lombardi Trophy.
The issue is whether such production can be replicated in a league where the talent disparity is so thin and the film study so advanced. Teams seem more determined than ever to take away Jones, whose 73.4 receiving yards per game represents a career low. And the Falcons aren’t countering with enough big-play answers to open things up for him.
Ryan, meanwhile, already has six interceptions, just one fewer than he had all last year.
“We’re close,” Ryan said. “We’re not clicking on all cylinders yet, but we’re close.”
As they tore through the NFC last season, the Falcons certainly didn’t look like a one-off contender. They have a top-level quarterback in his prime, arguably the league’s premier wideout and perhaps the league’s top running back tandem in Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman.
And though it’s way too early to sound any alarms, the spotlight gets significantly bigger this week given the opponent.
“As far as having a bad feeling in your gut about it, I’m really past that,” right tackle Ryan Schraeder said. “It was a football game that we lost. It sucked, but I’m not going to live my whole life crying about it.”
They can’t, of course, because the expectation is to be right back in the mix in what looks like a wide-open NFC, especially after Aaron Rodgers broke his collarbone. And for all the issues the Falcons are trying to work through, Atlanta remains in solid position for a playoff return.
But 28-3 — the third-quarter lead it squandered to New England in the Super Bowl — is still real, still there in the background, still something the Falcons will get asked about until they do something to quiet the naysayers.
“We’ve talked about last year once or twice — maybe three or four times — but to keep looking back is not what we’re about,” Quinn said. “The fight that matters is the one we’re in and to see how good the 2017 team can get. That’s where our focus is. To keep rehashing keeps us out of the present moment.”
This Sunday night, though, the problems of both past and present will converge for Atlanta. Those memories will be everywhere in New England, impossible to ignore. And playing the Patriots will either be the first step to making them go away or making them seem far worse.