The Falcons had an opportunity to take first place in the NFC South. They had a chance to prove that they can beat a team that has won at least one game this season. Matt Ryan struggled in his first road NFL game against Tampa Bay, throwing two interceptions in the first half; he didn’t throw any picks in the game against the Carolina Panthers, but the offense was only able to muster nine points in the Falcons’ 24-9 loss.
Was it all Ryan’s fault? Of course not. The offensive line had all kinds of trouble blocking Julius Peppers and company as they sacked Ryan twice and held Michael Turner in check with 18 carries for 56 yards. Backup running back Jerious Norwood had 50 yards rushing but only carried the ball three times. The offense was atrocious on third down, only converting two in 13 attempts, as the Falcons constantly found themselves in third-and-long situations. That’s one of the reasons why Ryan threw the ball 41 times and only completed 21 of those passes.
HELP A ROOKIE OUT …
One positive the team can take away from the loss to the Panthers is that Ryan did not turn the ball over. The only time he came close to turning it over is when Richard Marshall picked off a Ryan pass early in the first quarter and returned it for a touchdown, but the play was called back because of a roughing-the-passer penalty. Even though Ryan didn’t throw any touchdown passes, he looked more poised and relaxed than in the game against Tampa and will only continue to improve.
The Falcons have a solid corps of receivers with Roddy White, Michael Jenkins, Harry Douglas and Brian Finneran, but the group needs to avoid dropped passes going forward. Each of the four had at least one drop in the loss. With two strong defenses in Green Bay and Chicago on the schedule before the bye week, if the Falcons want to make some noise in the NFC, the offensive line and receivers have to do a better job of helping Ryan out. He cannot throw the ball 41 times if the team expects to win. And if Ryan ends up having to air it out more than he would like, the receivers have to remain focused and catch anything within their range. If the Falcons can learn to do these things, they should be able to get some wins on the road this season.
Jones can be reached at bjones@scoreatl.com.
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