Teddy Bridgewater had an impressive debut against the Falcons. (Ann Heisenfelt)
On paper, the Atlanta Falcons defense looked to be in for another huge day following the blowout win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Minnesota Vikings were starting a rookie quarterback and were without Adrian Peterson and tight end Kyle Rudolph. Heading into the game, Minnesota had one of the league’s worst offenses.
Kroy Biermann and Jake Matthews got into a scuffle almost immediately after training camp began. (AP Photo)
Last night’s premiere of Hard Knocks with the Atlanta Falcons was a doozy. After just one episode, I’m now convinced bringing the cameras to training camp was a good decision.
The show on its own is brilliant as it’s always nice to get a behind-the-scenes look at an NFL team’s training camp. Of course, Hard Knocks’ brilliance was amplified by the fact it’s featuring the Falcons.
Julio Jones could be poised for another huge game. (Daniel Shirey)
The Atlanta Falcons are banged up.
Two players are lost for the season: defensive end Kroy Biermann with a torn Achilles and fullback Bradie Ewing with a separated shoulder. Linebacker Sean Weatherspoon will be out eight weeks with a Lisfranc injury.
He has experience at all three linebacker spots, but Chaney will likely play on the outside with the Falcons. (Elizabeth Robertson)
The Atlanta Falcons were forced to fill three roster spots after injuries ended the seasons of two players (Kroy Biermann and Bradie Ewing) and forced Sean Weatherspoon to be placed on injured reserve-designated to return.
To offset the blows to the linebacking corps, the Falcons signed former Philadelphia Eagles Jamar Chaney and Omar Gaither.
Chaney, a seventh-round pick in 2010, spent three years with the Eagles before being cut after the third game this past preseason. He started a 23 of 44 games, amassing 158 tackles, one sack, three interceptions, and one forced fumble.
Gaither was a fifth-round pick in 2006, and he spent five years with the Eagles. He played with the Carolina Panthers in 2011, and last played for the Oakland Raiders in 2012. He was cut by the Raiders in For his career, Gaither has 334 total tackles, six sacks, two interceptions, and two forced fumbles.
The Falcons also called up fullback Patrick DiMarco from the practice squad to fill the roster spot vacated by Ewing.
Sean Weatherspoon missing significant time is a huge blow to the Falcons defense. (Daniel Shirey)
The Atlanta Falcons have placed linebacker Sean Weatherspoon in injured reserved-designated to return. He’ll be out for at least eight weeks.
Weatherspoon left Sunday’s victory over the St. Louis Rams with an apparent foot sprain and failed to return.
Unfortunately, the injury turned out to be much worse:
And more bad news: Running back Steven Jackson could miss up to four weeks. He left Sunday’s game versus the Rams with a thigh bruise, and like Weatherspoon, he failed to return.
The injuries are piling up for the Falcons. Defensive end Kroy Biermann and fullback Bradie Ewing were both placed on injured reserve yesterday. Atlanta now has three open roster spots to fill.
With Jackson missing some time, expect Matt Ryan to air it out even more. With Roddy White limited with a high ankle sprain, it’ll be up to Julio Jones to carry the load and if his 11-reception, 182-yard performance against the Rams was any indication, he is certainly capable of doing so.
Julio Jones proved to be too much for the St. Louis Rams. (John Bazemore)
With several Atlanta Falcons being forced to leave the game with injuries, it was up to Julio Jones and Matt Ryan to lead the team to victory over the St. Louis Rams.
Jones matched a career-high in yards with 182 – a total he matched in last season’s NFC Championship game – on 11 receptions, including an 81-yard touchdown; Ryan threw for 374 yards and two touchdowns on 31/41 passing.
The Atlanta Falcons have announced defensive end Kroy Biermann and fullback Bradie Ewing are out for the season.
Biermann tore his Achilles, and Ewing has a separated shoulder in yesterday’s win over the St. Louis Rams.
Although he’s listed as defensive end on the roster, Biermann played multiple roles. He was defensive coordinator Mike Nolan’s do-it-all player, playing linebacker and even dropping back as a safety in certain packages.
Biermann’s versatility will be sorely missed by the Falcons. He had seven tackles on the season.
For Ewing, it’s the second consecutive year he’s been placed on injured reserve. The fullback missed all of his rookie season last year after getting injured in preseason. On the season, he notched two receptions for 29 yards.
Matt Ryan was pressured and sacked often. (Jim Brown)
The Atlanta Falcons’ starters looked nothing like they should’ve looked in Saturday’s 27-16 loss against the Tennessee Titans.
If there’s a preseason game to put stock in, it’s the third preseason game because it serves as a dress rehearsal for the regular season. The starters play the first half (and a little into the second half), and it’s the first game coaches actually gameplan for.
The Falcons are expected to be a Super Bowl contender, but Saturday’s game provided nothing but evidence to the contrary.
There are plenty of jobs up for grabs as training camp begins. (Kevin C. Cox)
The Atlanta Falcons open training camp today, and the road to the Super Bowl XLVIII begins.
There is one off-the-field issue the Falcons must address soon: the contract situation of Matt Ryan. The franchise quarterback is entering the last year of his rookie deal.
Defensive coordinator Mike Nolan would have to get really creative if the Falcons were to lose Osi Umenyiora for the season. (Steve Mitchell)
ESPN’s NFC South Blog recently published an article highlighting the can’t-lose players for the teams in the division. As expected, quarterbacks are excluded from the discussion.
According to the author, Matt Williamson, the Atlanta Falcons’ can’t-lose player is Steven Jackson.
I can definitely see the reasoning for selecting Steven Jackson; the Falcons’ struggles to run the ball last season are well-documented. Michael Turner’s decline was sharp and sudden. As Williamson points out, Jackson is an upgrade over Turner in every regard; he still has tread left, and he’s perfectly capable of catching the ball – something Turner couldn’t do. The addition of Jackson provides the Atlanta offense with another dimension, and makes the passing game much deadlier.
However, with that said, the Falcons still boasted one of the league’s best offenses thanks to their dynamic passing attack.
Jackson is a solid choice, and while I understand the selection, it’s not a choice I particularly agree with. Instead, I have to look to the other side of the ball and select Osi Umenyiora.
Last season, the Falcons had 29 sacks as a team – that total was good for 28th in the league. With John Abraham gone, the Falcons are looking to Umenyiora to fill his shoes.
If Umenyiora were to get injured, the Falcons would have no semblance of a pass rush unless Kroy Biermann, Cliff Matthews, Jonathan Massaquoi, and rookies Malliciah Goodman and Stansly Maponga can all step up in a huge way.
