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Atlanta Falcons Week 7 report card: Steve Sarkisian, Falcons offense on hot seat

By The Sports Xchange
Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian talks to reporters during a press conference. File photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI
Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian talks to reporters during a press conference. File photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan nearly had his streak of passing for 200 yards or more snapped against the New England Patriots.

Ryan was at 161 with 13:46 left in the fourth quarter. With some late connections against soft zones, Ryan was able to finish with 233 yards passing.

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Ryan has passed for 200 yards or more in 61 straight games. He has also thrown a touchdown pass in 24 straight games, which is the longest active streak in the NFL.

Before his late touchdown pass to Julio Jones, they went 90 minutes, 21 seconds without scoring. They got a cheap touchdown late on a spectacular catch by Jones with 4:06 left in the game.

The Falcons had last scored with 5:29 left in the second quarter against Miami, while giving up 43 points (20 to Miami, 23 to New England) going through their scoring drought.

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Offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian, the former head coach at USC and Washington, hasn't been in the NFL since 2004 when he was Oakland's quarterbacks coach.

Some contend that the Jet sweep he called on fourth-and-goal from the 1 probably worked in the Pac-12 against Arizona or perhaps even Oregon.

It didn't work against the Patriots, who scored on a similar play to Brandin Cooks when tight end Rob Gronkowski was the lead blocker. But it was fourth-and-goal.

But the Falcons, with Sarkisian at the controls and just two new starters, look like a shell of the offense that led the NFL in scoring and landed Ryan the most valuable player award.

"It is frustrating," center Alex Mack said. "The key is to continue working hard. It's a long season. A lot of games are left."

The Falcons don't have the appearance of a playoff team while sitting at 3-3 in the NFC South. They need to get better in a hurry with games coming up against the Jets (away), Panthers (away) and Cowboys (home).

The Falcons were 1-4 in the red zone against the Patriots.

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"There were plays out there and we didn't make them," Mack said. "Whether if it's third down, red zone all of those little things add up. When you are playing a game against a good team like the Patriots are, you have to make them."

The Falcons believe they know how to fix their offense.

"We just need to do better in the red zone," Mack said. "I think we have more production on first and second down, get better on third down and better in the red zone. Once, we're there we should make plays."

The Falcons averaged 33.8 points per game last season.

"Last year, people stepped up and made plays, Mack said. "That's all that it takes."

The fact that the Falcons struggle against the Patriots defense is alarming. New York Jets journeyman quarterback Josh McCown passed for 354 yards against the Patriots last week.

Left tackle Jake Matthews was asked, "What's wrong with the offense?"

"If you look at our numbers, we are moving the ball," Matthews said. "We are having trouble finishing in the red zone and on third down."

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Jones was asked what's wrong with the offense.

"Every week it's kind of different," Jones said. "Last week, we didn't take shots down the field. This week it was third down and the red area. We just weren't on the same page and weren't connected."

How of much of it is on the first-time NFL offensive coordinator?

"I think it's on all of us," running back Devonta Freeman said. "Nobody can point fingers at nobody."

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Defensive end Adrian Clayborn said Monday that when he was called for roughing the passer in Sunday night's loss at New England to wipe out an interception by Robert Alford, officials told him it was because he hit quarterback Tom Brady high.

Two plays after the penalty, Brady threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Brandin Cooks and New England led 7-0 early in the second quarter. The Patriots went on to a 23-7 win in a rematch of Super Bowl LI.

"(The official) said it was high, but I don't know," Clayborn said. "I felt like it was shoulder-to-shoulder, but they've got to do their job and make the call. It is what it is."

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If there was any good news to come out of New England Sunday night, it was that the Falcons (3-3) came out of their game against the Patriots relatively healthy. Rookie linebacker Duke Riley apparently was the only player to sustain an injury that might affect his availability for Sunday's road game against the Jets (3-4). He was to get an MRI on his knee Monday.

Riley was seen leaving the team facility Monday afternoon with an electrical stimulation kit, although he wasn't wearing it at the time.

"We'll get more information today, he was going to get an MRI," head coach Dan Quinn said. "It went as a sprain, but I haven't met with the medical to get a full indication yet."

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Linebacker Deion Jones had a slight limp Monday for unknown reasons, but coach Dan Quinn said he doesn't believe there are any other Falcons players whose status might be in jeopardy against New York.

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The Falcons have major problems with their leaky run defense.

The Falcons rebuilt the interior of their defense when they elected not to re-sign veterans Tyson Jackson and Jonathan Babineaux. They signed Jack Crawford and Dontari Poe in free agency to essentially replace Jackson and Babineaux.

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Crawford suffered a torn biceps and is out of the season. The Falcons also parted ways with defensive tackle Ra'Shede Hageman, once his domestic violence case was settled.

Poe was signed to a one-year, $8 million deal. The former Pro Bowler was expected to help improve the run defense.

"We have a lot to improve on since we didn't win the game," Poe said. "We have a lot to improve on. That's part of it."

The Patriots had mostly relied on the passing of Tom Brady this season.

Dion Lewis rushed 13 times for 76 yards, Rex Burkhead rushed six times for 31 yards, Mike Gillislee rushed eight times for 31 yards, James White rushed four times for 19 yards and Brady had five rushes for five yards.

The Falcons gave up a season-high 162 yards rushing.

"They can run and pass and that just so happens to be what they did," Poe said.

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One theory is that the Falcons didn't get to work on the timing of their deep passing game over the offseason because Julio Jones (toe) and speedy wide receiver Taylor Gabriel (lower leg) were out injured.

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The Falcons continued to miss on their deep passes in the 23-7 loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday.

Ryan was 0 of 4 when throwing deep passes of 20 or more yards down the field against New England. He now is 4 of 23 on deep throws this year and has a 74.4 passer rating on those throws, which ranks 24th out of 33 quarterbacks, according to profootballfocus.com

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The offense recorded 343 total yards of offense and 6.1 yards per play against New England. The team also recorded 120 rushing yards, the fifth straight game the team has rushed for 100 yards or more.

NOTES: QB Matt Ryan completed 23-of-33 passes for 233 yards and one touchdown, and had a 99.7 passer rating. ... WR Julio Jones caught nine passes for 99 yards and his first touchdown of the season. On his second catch of the game, Jones broke the 8,000-yard mark, becoming the second fastest player in NFL history to reach 8,000 receiving yards. His touchdown moved him into sole possession of fourth place on the franchise's career receiving touchdown list (41). ... LB De'Vondre Campbell recorded a sack-forced fumble in the first quarter. That's the second sack of the season for Campbell and his first forced fumble of the year. ... OLB Vic Beasley Jr. also recorded his third sack of the season. He now has 22.5 sacks, which is the most in a player's first three seasons in franchise history. ... LB Deion Jones finished the game with 11 total tackles.

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REPORT CARD VS. PATRIOTS

--PASSING OFFENSE: F - Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan's string of consecutive games passing for at least 200 yards was at stake. He had 161 yards on 14 of 24 passes with 13:46 left to play. The return of Mohamed Sanu was helpful, but the passing game is not clicking. Ryan only targeted the running backs against the shaky New England linebackers twice. Tight end Austin Hooper, who dropped a key pass against the Dolphins, was not a part of the game plan. Levine Toilolo started and Hooper did not receive any passes until late in the fourth quarter. Running back Tevin Coleman, who did have a bad dropped pass against the Patriots, is being phased out of the passing game as the Falcons are probing to find ways to jump-start the offense. Last season, Coleman led all running backs with 2.54 yards per route run and averaged 13.3 routes run per game, according to profootballfocus.com. Through four games this year, Coleman averaged the same 13.3 routes run per game, but increased his efficiency to 3.00 yards per route run. In the past two games, however, he has run just 16 total routes, and seen only two targets for four yards.

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--RUSHING OFFENSE: B - The Falcons tried get the running game going early, but were stymied. Devonta Freeman had five carries for 16 yards and Coleman had three carries for five yards in the first half. Freeman rushed 12 times for 72 yards and Coleman rushed six times for 16 yards. The running backs averaged 4.8 yards per carry and have been more involved in the game plan. When the run game is shut down, Ryan is not effective with his play-action fakes. The Falcons refused to run power offense again. They called a jet sweep to wide receiver Taylor Gabriel on fourth-and-goal in the third quarter, down 20-0. Head coach Dan Quinn admitted that the team needed a better call in that situation.

--PASS DEFENSE: D - The Falcons did a credible job on Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski (three catches for 51 yards), but quarterback Tom Brady moved the ball around to wide receivers Chris Hogan, Brandin Crooks and Danny Amendola. Much like he did in Super Bowl LI, Brady used running back James White as the check-down back.

--RUSH DEFENSE: F - The Patriots, using a committee approach, ran the ball at will against the Falcons. The Patriots had 36 carries for 162 yards. The total was the highest the Falcons have given up this season. The previous high of 138 yards was given up to Miami last week. The Falcons have given up more than 100 yards rushing in the each of the past three games. The run defense was gashed again. Dion Lewis and Rex Burkhead, who was sought by the Falcons in free agency, did most of the damage. The Patriots were able to find success running through the middle of the Falcons defense, which was without linebacker Duke Riley for most of the game. He suffered a knee injury in the first half and did not return.

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--SPECIAL TEAMS: F - The Falcons' second possession ended with Matt Bryant's 37-yard field-goal attempt being blocked by reserve defensive end Cassius Marsh. The right side of the line was collapsed. Bryant later hit the left upright on a missed 36-yard field goal. Matt Bosher had 4.73 seconds of hangtime on his first punt of the game, a high and unreturnable 35-yarder. Andre Roberts has been a disappointment as a returner.

--COACHING: F - In the much-hyped Super Bowl LI rematch, the Falcons were not ready to play. They were out-coached in all phases of the game. The Patriots took it to defensive coordinator Marquand Manuel, offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian and special teams coordinator Keith Armstrong. The Falcons' run defense is getting pushed around with defenders getting blocked out of the gaps they are supposed to control. The once-potent offense has clearly taken a step back. Last week, it was a botched snap by the special teams. This week they collapse.

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