For Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos, the Atlanta Falcons will be without eight players, including a number of important defenders.
The injury report on Friday listed backup nickel Antonio Hamilton Sr. (pectoral), nickel back Dee Alford (hamstring), and cornerback Mike Hughes (neck) as out.
Troy Andersen, an inside linebacker, has already missed five games due to a knee injury, and he will miss another one. JD Bertrand, a rookie linebacker, will miss his third consecutive game due to a concussion.
James Smith-Williams (tibia) and Ta’Quon Graham (pectoral) are also sidelined. Smith-Williams has started five of the ten games this season, and both players have played in every one.
The tight end Charlie Woerner will also miss the game due to a concussion.
But there was some good news for the Falcons. Center Drew Dalman will make a comeback after missing the previous seven games due to an ankle ailment, and wide receiver Darnell Mooney (Achilles tendon) was taken off the injured report.
Kirk Cousins, the quarterback, was also cleared to play after training without any problems on Thursday and Friday despite having a sore shoulder and elbow.
The head coach of the Atlanta Falcons provides little comfort following the Denver fiasco.
Raheem Morris, the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, was unsurprisingly serious during this week’s postgame press conference. Any other tone or reaction following the Falcons’ utter thrashing would have been foolish on the part of the head coach. The press conference once again demonstrated the lack of zeal from a club that hasn’t been able to live up to its own expectations.
This team’s one consistent feature is that when things are going well for them, a letdown is about to happen, whether it was during Week 1 or when the Falcons faced Seattle. For a team that can’t get out of their own way, the losses to Denver and New Orleans were both far too predictable. This team’s ability to defeat the Eagles and compete with the Chiefs while being run off the field by the Broncos and Seahawks is simply inexplicable.
In search of answers, the Falcons have been sent into their bye week.
The tone of the interviews with Raheem Morris and Kirk Cousins was reminiscent of Dan Quinn and Matt Ryan’s era. When it appears that the Falcons need a fire lit under them, two stern and quiet leaders are unable to carry out even the most basic playbook tasks on each side of the ball.
Raheem Morris and the Atlanta Falcons will definitely have a busy two weeks. If they had defeated the New Orleans Saints a week ago, when their adversary was giving them every opportunity to seize control of the season, this situation might have been easily averted. This seems to have all it takes to ruin a season that had been fantastic.
After the bye, the Falcons will face the Chargers and Vikings. Both teams have difficult obstacles to overcome inside their own division as they compete for postseason positions. Since Atlanta is probably the underdog, both teams will give it their best effort. Atlanta has one week to come up with stronger answers and assurances that weren’t provided on the field on Sunday or in the news conferences that followed the game.
