After 4th Straight Loss, Atlanta Falcons' Season in Danger Once Again

A surprise Week 1 victory over the New Orleans Saints and a 2-1 start to the season buoyed the Atlanta Falcons, who were coming off a four-win 2013 season.

However, dropping their last four consecutive games, including a 29-7 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in which the Falcons scored their fewest points of the season, has put the Atlanta on a trajectory to the same disappointing finish as last season.

Many wrote off Atlanta's poor 2013 showing to injuries, especially those to top weapons Roddy White (ankle, hamstring) and Julio Jones, who was placed on injured reserve with a broken foot. Losing Steven Jackson for six weeks to a hamstring injury compounded the issues on offense, while Matt Ryan lost an essential piece when left tackle Sam Baker was also placed on injured reserve.

Without an outside passing game to speak of and with the worst rushing attack in the league last season, it wasn't surprising a team many expected to make a deep playoff push after a 13-3 2012 season that ended with a loss in the conference championship to the San Francisco 49ers didn't even make the postseason. 

This season, however, the Falcons have a healthy White, Jones and Jackson and added a new weapon in the offseason in Devin Hester, who exploded on the scene for Atlanta early in the season when he scored the first rushing touchdown of his career in addition to scores on receiving and returning.  

And those weapons are producing. Heading into Week 7, Atlanta was third in the league in total yards per game with 410.0 and fifth in points per game, averaging 27.3. Both of those rankings are big improvements over where the Falcons finished the season offensively in 2013, when they were No. 14 in yards per game (343.1) and No. 20 in points per game (22.1). 

So why are the Falcons, loaded with talent and performing well on paper, sitting at 2-5 after seven weeks?

Ryan's play is an easy place to start, but he can't take the fall alone when he's playing behind a decimated offensive line.

Attempts	Completions	Completion %	Sacks	% Plays Under Pressure	Sack %
278	178	64.0	15	35.2%	11.2%

Ryan is only completing 64.0 percent of his passes, his lowest mark since 2011. He has also already thrown seven interceptions in seven games after coming off a season-high 17 interceptions in 2013. And though he has end-zone threats White and Jones back, he is still only on pace for 27 touchdowns, just one more than last season. 

The offensive line, however, is making life extremely difficult for Ryan. In Week 4 against the Minnesota Vikings, falcons left guard Justin Blalock injured his back, right tackle Lamar Holmes hurt his foot and went on injured reserve and center Joe Hawley suffered a season-ending knee injury. It was so dire that tight end Levine Toilolo had to come in and play right tackle. 

Atlanta already lost left tackle Sam Baker for the season and had to move rookie Jake Matthews from the right side to the left, but he's struggling with an ankle injury. And in another crushing blow, Peter Konz, who stepped in for the inured Hawley at center, left the game with a knee injury on Sunday and was replaced by undrafted rookie James Stone. 

The inexperience and lack of chemistry on the line has given Ryan a huge obstacle to overcome this season. Prior to the ugliness of Week 7 against Baltimore, in which Ryan was sacked five times, Atlanta's offensive line received a Pro Football Focus (subscription required) pass-blocking efficiency rating of 77.8, which was 25th in the league. 

It's not going up after that showing. 

The line struggled with injuries in 2013 as well, and Ryan was sacked a career-high 44 times. With 15 sacks over seven games so far this season, he looks to spend a lot of time on the ground through the rest of 2014 as well. 

At least in 2013 when Ryan got into trouble, he had Harry Douglas as a reliable checkdown option. Ryan is being pressured on 35.2 percent of plays in 2014, per Pro Football Focus, ninth-most in the league. And without a clean pocket on such a high percentage of his attempts, completing those outside-the-numbers passes to White and Jones is difficult.

To be efficient, the Falcons offense needs for Ryan to have options for short-yardage gains on screens and quick slants. Douglas, who ran 60.9 percent of his routes out of the slot last season, per Pro Football Focus, is an essential part of that aspect of the passing game.

After he missed his fourth straight game on Sunday against Baltimore, his absence has become notable when Ryan looks for an opportunity to get rid of the ball quickly while under pressure. 

When he's not spending time at right tackle, starting tight end Toilolo hasn't yet been able to mitigate the loss of Tony Gonzalez for this offense. He hasn't had more than 25 yards in any game this season. And the loss of a tight end threat in the middle of the field is another issue that puts more undue pressure on Ryan to complete passes to White and Jones on the outside, which he is struggling to do under pressure.

Yes, this Falcons team is loaded with talent, but without its players healthy enough to be on the field at the same time, Atlanta hasn't been able to reap the benefit of its roster this season. The Falcons need a passing attack that utilizes the perimeter game as well as the middle of the field.

Total Rushing Yards	Rush Yards/Game	Rushing TDs	League Rank
687	98.1	6	20th

Meanwhile, the rushing attack that ranked dead last in 2013 hasn't improved much with Jackson and Jacquizz Rodgers. Atlanta is averaging 103.2 rushing yards per game, which is 20th in the league. Without a rushing game that opponents will need to game-plan for, Ryan will find his opportunities further limited in the passing game.  

Atlanta's woes certainly aren't limited to the offense. The Falcons are 31st in yards allowed per game, with 419.0. They're giving up 28.3 points per game on average. The unit did start to show signs of improvement against Baltimore, however, including holding the Ravens to consecutive drives with two punts and an interception twice in the game. 

It wasn't enough to change the outcome. 

To make matters worse, the Falcons now have to travel to London to face the Detroit Lions before a set of away division games against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Carolina Panthers. Things don't lighten up near the end of the season, when the Falcons have to play two surging conference opponents, the Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers. 

Though the Falcons looked promising at the start of the season, given the slew of injuries and lack of efficiency it's hard to imagine a finish much better than their 2013 mark by the end of this year.