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| Sub-par linebackers leave a Falcons Super Bowl just out of reach (AP/John Bazemore) |
January 20, 2013: The
Atlanta Falcons lead the San Francisco 49ers 10-0 in the second quarter of the
NFC Championship game. Matt Ryan drops back to pass, looks to his left, and
places the ball right over a defender and into Julio Jones' hands in the back of
the end zone. Jones performs his best ballerina impression by tapping his feet
before falling out of bounds with the ball. Touchdown! The Falcons now have a
commanding 17-0 lead and look to finally be heading back to the Super Bowl
after a 14-year drought.
Then the collapse
happened.
San Francisco fought
their way back to take the lead early in the fourth quarter. The Falcons had
the ball in the game's final minutes with one last shot to take what seemed
certain only an hour earlier.
But it wasn't meant to
be. Ryan's second last pass of the season fell incomplete and the season ended
in playoff disappointment yet again.
With the devastating end to the 2012 season in the rear
view, the Falcons came into the new year with one goal in mind; "Super
Bowl or bust," according to wide receiver Roddy White as stated on ESPN
First Take last April.
And that's the way it should be with a team that has been,
pardon the cliche, knocking on the door. This had to be the year.
Then it all went wrong. Starting right tackle Mike Johnson
went down with a season ending injury in camp, before even a preseason snap was
taken. Then White suffered a high ankle sprain in a preseason game on Aug. 15.
The trend was already starting.
Early in the season, the Falcons lost more key players on
both sides of the ball, including defensive end Kroy Biermann, linebacker Sean
Weatherspoon, running back Steven Jackson and fullback Bradie Ewing; to name a
few. And just for good measure, Jones was also playing at less than 100
percent.
So what does that get you? A 1-4 record, an embarrassing
loss at home to the New York Jets, and what looks like a lost season.
Then on Wednesday it gets even worse, if that's possible.
Jones, who was Ryan's only consistent weapon on offense, needs surgery on an
injured foot and will miss the rest of the season, according to various
sources.
So what does this mean for the Falcons? Can they recover?
Can they grind it out and sneak into a playoff spot? They still have that
championship window. After all, they have a star quarterback in his prime, a
future Hall of Fame tight end and a much needed bye week to heal some of the
less-severe injuries.
Don't fool yourself. That isn't enough. This is a lost
season.
The injuries, though unfortunate, aren't what did this team
in. Sure, it may be difference between making or missing the playoffs, but it
wasn't a championship team to begin with. That window is closed.
The problem with this team comes with how it was built. It
is a prototypical regular season "dome team." They can air it out
with the best of them, they can put up points in bunches, and they can run
anyone out of their dome. Great! That and a dollar gets you a candy bar
(maybe?).
What happens when this team needs to buckle down and hold a
lead, like they did back in January? They fold! Every time, almost like
clockwork.
The problem is the defense, it always has been. And that is
a talent issue, which is a direct result of poor team building.
There are holes at every level on this defense. Look at the
defensive line. You have a star in the middle in Jonathan Babineaux and an
older, but still effective, Osi Umenyiora on the edge. Then what? A bunch of inconsistent
JAGs.
That alone won't spell doom, so long as the rest of the team
can pick them up and solidify the other two levels. But that doesn't happen in
Atlanta.
The next level, the linebackers, is the most glaring hole on
the defense, and it has been for years. After Weatherspoon what do you really
have? Stephen Nicholas, a fringe starter at best? Akeem Dent, a third-round
pick who lacks ideal middle linebacker speed and doesn't seem to have that
"nose for the ball?" Two undrafted rookie free agents who may be
solid players in the future, but right now are special teamers at best? The
linebacker position is a complete disaster.
This isn't a new problem. The team never replaced Curtis
Lofton when he signed with the Saints before last season. And even with Lofton,
they seemed content with Nicholas manning the outside. Ever wonder why this
team always seems to get gashed in the middle of the field? This is exactly
why.
It's more than just a fluky year, or a transition period at
the position. It's a trend; a willful ignorance and outright refusal to fix a
glaring weakness on your team. Honestly, did anyone really think Lofa Tatupu
was a viable solution after Lofton? Of course not.
What it comes down to is an unexplainable loyalty and
satisfaction with some of the average parts of this team. And perhaps one other
issue...
The Falcons have built this team in a way that leaves so
little margin of error. They sank big money into a few star players. They
weren't wrong to do so, since you need to keep the stars you get, but this team
was built from the outside and expected to win a championship in a game that is
still won in the trenches.
Their five biggest cap hits this year, according to
spotrac.com, are their franchise quarterback, a wide receiver (White), a guard
(Justin Blalock), an oft-injured corner (Asante Samuel) and an aging tight end
(Gonzalez). All are great assets, but it's not a championship group.
In the salary cap era, there needs to be a better allocation
of resources. In the next group of cap hits they have more outside players like
Jones and William Moore mixed with older free agent signings like Umenyiora and
Jackson.
In theory, this can work, but there needs to be a bigger
degree of luck involved. First off, the older guys need to stay healthy. Then
they need to hit on their draft picks and get inexpensive impact players to
fill the gaps left by the flashy, expensive players. The Falcons had no such
luck, especially this year.
What they got instead of a constant Super Bowl contender is
a "fools gold" run. Much like the New England Patriots of the 90s.
They could win in the regular season, get into the playoffs, and in some years
go on a nice mini-run. But they didn't have the horses. That's what is
happening in Atlanta.
Is the window closed? The more appropriate question is
"Was it ever open?"
It wasn't open for those Patriots teams, but we all know
what happened just a few short years after once they were able to fill their
holes and get their franchise quarterback.
Need more good news for Falcons fans? That quarterback is
there, they just need a shake-up to fill the holes.
All salary cap
information cited in this article can be found at:
http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/atlanta-falcons/
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