Not the ideal start for the Atlanta Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons will want to burn the game film after losing 28-12 to the Minnesota Vikings.

This is not the start that the Atlanta Falcons envisioned for 2019. There was a lot of excitement and anticipation the birds were going to fly high in Minnesota and set the tone for what would be exciting 17 weeks of football.

That is not what happens at all. From the first play, the Falcons looked outmatched and were completely and thoroughly out coached in every way imaginable. After two turnovers and a punt blocked, the Falcons looked inept in every phase of the game. Matt Ryan was hit another dozen times on Sunday, something that Thomas Dimitroff was hoping would change when he addressed the offensive line in both free agency and the draft.

Blocking, decision making, and effort all seemed to be issues for the Falcons on Sunday. The good news is all of these areas can be corrected quickly.

Not all was bad for the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. There were a couple a Falcons that had great games and will only get better as we get further into 2019. Austin Hooper looks like he took the next step into becoming one of the league’s best tight ends. He was Matt Ryan’s favorite target this afternoon and is among the best weapons that the Falcons have.

Grady Jarrett is the best player on the Falcons defense. A lot of people have complained that Grady is not Aaron Donald and got more money than he deserved, if Sunday is any indication on how he will play in 2019, the Falcons ended up with a team-friendly contract for a player that is about to launch into the upper stratosphere of defensive talent.

Dan Quinn needs to save his post-game media pep talks about how they will coach better and the players will play better and spend his energy getting this team back on the path to success or 2019 will be much worse than 2018.