Atlanta Falcons vs. Minnesota Vikings: Full Report Card Grades for Atlanta
The Atlanta Falcons went up to Minnesota and firmly had their butts kicked. The only reason why the game was even close heading into the fourth quarter was because of big plays by Devin Hester and Antone Smith. The run defense was terrible, and the pass defense wasn't much better.
The game Atlanta played today was easily its worst of the season. The fact that the Falcons only lost by 13 points says a lot about how they held the game close due to a great set of halftime adjustments. Atlanta needs to fix its issues because 2013 is looking like a potential repeat if it plays like it did today.
Quarterbacks
1 of 10
This was an A up until the Falcons lost their third offensive lineman of the day. It only dips because Matt Ryan threw two interceptions after the Falcons had to play Levine Toilolo at right tackle to close the game. One of those interceptions was a last-play-of-the-game prayer as well.
Had the Falcons offensive line not lost three starters, it would have been a completely different game. Drives would have been sustained in the fourth quarter much better than they were had there been five legitimate offensive linemen in there to protect Ryan.
On the bright side, Ryan still threw for three touchdowns and nearly 300 yards in the effort. He also had the offense humming on third downs, completing 10 of the 15 on the day. Ryan may not have played his best game, but he's also not anywhere close to why the Falcons lost.
Grade: B
Running Backs and Fullbacks
2 of 10
Steven Jackson wasn't awful, but he's still not the guy that he once was as a runner. He took the bulk of the carries and provided solid, consistent gains throughout the game. Devonta Freeman made the most of his four touches, and so did Antone Smith. Jacquizz Rodgers had a solid game as well.
Atlanta has some big-play abilities it can get out of its running backs. The Falcons rotated them effectively, but at this point, it feels like Jackson is holding the group back. Rodgers makes more out of less when he's on the field, and so does Freeman.
Smith finally getting touches is nice to see as well. Honestly, the Falcons need to start Smith moving forward. He's quick enough to gain yardage behind an offensive line that's not great at run blocking. And as a pass-blocker, he can chip and then roll out to the flats to scare defenses.
Grade: C
Wide Receivers and Tight Ends
3 of 10
Levine Toilolo and Roddy White dropped a handful of balls throughout the game. Julio Jones was bracketed all day and still got his catches. The real X-factor at receiver was Devin Hester, making something out of a nothing play on a quick flat route.
Hester has proven that as a backup receiver and lead returner in Atlanta, he he's more valuable than he was as a starting receiver or pure returner in Chicago. Dirk Koetter has the guy he's needed on offense the past few seasons and combined it with an improved offensive line to give Matt Ryan better schemes.
The tight ends were nonexistent though. And once they were forced to combine to play right tackle, the Falcons was in a lot of trouble. They had the loss of the intermediate option with no tight ends able to go over the middle of the field even as a distraction, and the players were out of position pass blocking.
Grade: C
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Offensive Linemen
4 of 10
During the first three quarters of the game, the Falcons offensive line looked like it was ready to take on anyone. Everyone looked good even after Justin Blalock and Lamar Holmes went out for the game. Then disaster struck: Joe Hawley went down.
The key communicator and leader of the Falcons' most improved unit looks like he suffered a serious knee injury. He was carted off the field and with him, so were the Falcons' offensive hopes for the rest of the game.
With just seven offensive linemen active, the Falcons were forced to play with their tight ends at right tackle. Matt Ryan took five hits throughout the game with one sack. However, the one sack was an overload blitz up the middle attacking Peter Konz on a third down with Levine Toilolo at right tackle. Tough to be mad at that.
Grade: C/Incomplete
Defensive Linemen and Edge Players
5 of 10
Atlanta didn't get much pressure on Teddy Bridgewater this game. And when you can't pressure a guy like Teddy Bridgewater, you can't stop him from throwing all over your defense. Allowing well over 200 yards rushing and just over 300 yards passing is embarrassing.
Hitting Bridgewater just once is a reason why. The Falcons are playing the wrong grouping up front in the wrong alignment. They don't understand that the personnel they have is being misused, or they are too stubborn to fix it.
The Falcons could have a good pass rush if they would just play the right defensive linemen in the right techniques. Kroy Biermann had an awful game as a starter too, and that doesn't help the cause. Atlanta really needs to fix its line or this year will be a long one.
Grade: D
Linebackers
6 of 10
Joplo Bartu was invisible all game. It looked like he has finally been benched for Prince Shembo. Shembo looked very solid inside as a run defender on some plays but would get washed out on others by Jerome Felton. In coverage, he's still a work in progress too.
Paul Worrilow didn't have his best game either. But he still was able to flow to the ball effectively. The Falcons had a lot of trouble getting around Jerome Felton inside. And Worrilow needs to improve in coverage as well. Neither player was able to get any real pass rush either.
Not a great game, but not why the Falcons got dominated up front either. The linebackers could improve, but Mike Nolan needs to put them in a position to succeed first. As of now, he's not doing that with his terrible alignments up front.
Grade: C
Secondary
7 of 10
Teddy Bridgewater was able to pass over the middle for long gains all day to his slot and outside wide receivers. Playing in a soft zone with no pass rush didn't help the secondary, but losing William Moore was the biggest thing that hurt it.
Playing Kemal Ishmael didn't hurt as much as the slot receivers abusing Dwight Lowery and Robert McClain most of the day. Jarius Wright went off for the best game of his career, mainly going against the Falcons' nickel and dime corners and safeties.
The fact that the Falcons were down all day and playing primarily nickel and dime showed just how little the rookie quarterback respected the Falcons secondary. Atlanta needs to get better at stopping short and intermediate routes by slot receivers and tight ends.
Grade: D
Special Teams
8 of 10
This was one of the few bright spots for the Falcons all game. Matt Bosher punted for a 50-yard average on the day and forced multiple kicks to stay in the end zone for a touchback. He did have the first two come back for yardage but learned quickly to just boot it deep.
Matt Bryant was also perfect on his kicks, going 4-of-4 on extra points. The Falcons never let him attempt a field goal, though. He wasn't able to get the ideal results because of that. Devin Hester also had a good day returning, as he was able to give Atlanta 78 return yards on the day.
Grade: B
Coaching
9 of 10
Outside of halftime adjustments, this was a horribly coached game by Mike Smith and Mike Nolan on defense. Despite being able to effectively run an offense when the line was playing well, the defense was the worst it has been since Smith took over the team.
Never have I seen such misguided play on defense. Playing three defensive tackles and Kroy Biermann as the four linemen and acting like they are the right players for the pass rush is just a joke. Atlanta needs to fix the defense and fast, or this will be an extremely bad season.
Grade: D
Final Grades
10 of 10
| Positional Unit | Overall Grade |
| Quarterbacks | B |
| Running Backs and Fullbacks | C |
| Wide Receivers and Tight Ends | C |
| Offensive Linemen | C/Inc. |
| Defensive Linemen and Edge Players | D |
| Linebackers | C |
| Secondary | D |
| Special Teams | B |
| Coaching | D |
| Overall Grade | D |
A loss like this is tough to swallow. The Falcons had momentum and the game in hand up until the Joe Hawley injury. Losing a leader like that is tough. Losing someone who is a big reason for the improvement of what looks to be one of the better units in football is even tougher.
The loss added injury to insult after Justin Blalock and Lamar Holmes also went down, forcing the Falcons to play tight ends at right tackle. The defense not being able to stop a rookie quarterback hurt even more. The Falcons need to turn it around quick, or 2013 is staring them in the face again.
All stats used are from Pro Football Focus' Premium Stats (subscription required), ESPN.com, CFBStats or NFL.com. All combine and pro day info is courtesy of NFLDraftScout.com. All contract information is courtesy of Spotrac and Rotoworld.
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