The Atlanta Falcons loss to Tampa is on the players, not the coaches

All year, Atlanta Falcons fans have groused about their talented team under-achieving, usually accompanied by cries of “Fire Quinn!” or “Koetter must go!” or similar. Those comments are earned.

This week was different for the Atlanta Falcons.

Sunday’s performance against Tampa Bay shows that the Atlanta Falcons players, despite their physical talent, remain a squad lacking in urgency, desire, or a sense of professionalism. As a whole, they seemed content to show up, get smacked around, and collect their paychecks.

The offensive line was particularly inept, seemingly oblivious to Matt Ryan being under constant attack. Jake Matthews seemed to think his quality performances from the last two weeks earned him a Sunday off. Kaleb McGary played like the rookie he is, and even Alex Mack seemed bewildered at times.

The backfield blocking was equally poor, and only Matt Ryan’s guile kept him from being sacked more than the six times he hit the ground with the ball in his hands.

The defensive line was no less effective, playing down to the level of Tampa Bay’s below-average offensive line. The vanilla four-man rush was back in tepid effect, and even the few blitz packages (I counted two) failed to generate a real threat to Jameis Winston, who picked up passing yards like unattended crab legs at Publix.

Other than Matt Ryan, Julio Jones, and Russel Gage, the skill players looked like amateurs. Brian Hill and Qadree Ollison were a combined 34 yards in 17 attempts. Despite Calvin Ridley‘s one long sweep run and his touchdown, he played like the team bobo, dropping passes, missing blocks,  and getting out-muscled for an interception.

My fan days go back to the Atlanta Falcons first decade, and this game, coming as it did on the heels of two brilliant outings, against an opponent, on paper and in cleats less talented, is one of the more desultory and embarrassing I can remember.

All of which, indirectly, can be attributed to the coaching staff, Quinn in particular. Being a meathead, he prefers his players/buddies to be meatheads like himself. This game shows the classic Quinn trait of buying into one’s rhetoric with no regard for objective vision. It appears he thought it was time to show he wasn’t the hood ornament he clearly is and will be for the remainder of the season, and he decided to re-announce his presence with authority.

Dirk Koetter still shows a maddening propensity for high risk/low reward plays, with little regard to the flow of the game or the defense’s effectiveness. The lack of discipline and drive could be the trickle-down residue from a coaching staff deservedly known for a lack of player accountability.

But this was a winnable game of opportunities blown, and the responsibility for that rests in the hands of the players.