Atlanta Falcons: 3 Takeaways from Week One

Flag on the play

The Falcons showed an all to familiar level of discipline against the Bears and this should quite rightly give fans cause for concern. It didn’t take long for the yellow to start flying as linebacker Kemal Ishmael made a blatant block in the back on the opening kickoff, negating a 60 yard return by receiver Andre Roberts. An equally baffling penalty came when special teams regular cornerback C. J Goodwin decided that the best way to cover a punt is to run the length of the field out-of-bounds.

Frustration was clearly evident on the defense as well. Following the aforementioned 46 yard run by Cohen,  edge rusher Vic Beasley draws a flag for defensive holding as Cohen runs past him. This costly flag gave the Bears a first down which they capitalized on by scoring a touchdown.

Tempers flared again when linebacker Deion Jones was flagged for unceremoniously slamming Cohen out-of-bounds when he was already bottled up for a minimal gain.

Cornerback Robert Alford was up to his old tricks with two holding penalties. One on a punt which resulted in the offense taking over at the five-yard line. The second giving the Bears a first down on a touchdown scoring drive in the fourth quarter. It’s quite simple, if the Falcons can cut down the penalties it will be markedly easier to stop the opposition scoring.