| Falcons cornerback Asante Samuel is part of a secondary that's tackled poorly all season. (US Presswire) |
The luster around the undefeated Falcons waned a little bit after they needed yet another last-second field goal to ensure their third straight comeback victory on Sunday.
That’s not the worst thing for an undefeated team heading into a bye week. In fact, it’s the best.
For the Falcons, a blowout win over the Raiders (1-4) could’ve sent them into the bye week satisfied with their cool 6-0 record. As the NFL’s last remaining undefeated team, it would’ve been tough to fault the Falcons if that was the case.
Instead, the Oakland Raiders handed the Falcons two week’s worth of film to assess and correct their flaws.
The biggest issue facing the Falcons is their shoddy tackling. It’s been the root of their mistakes in terms of allowing big plays and has plagued every tier of the defense. The Falcons gave up 149 yards rushing yards to the Raiders, who averaged 60 yards coming into the game, last in the NFL.
“There were a bunch of missed tackles. About twice as many as we would expect in a normal game,” coach Mike Smith said. “Most times explosive plays aren’t great execution by an offense. The majority of the time it’s either a missed assignment or a missed tackle.”
Numerous plays, which should’ve been stopped in the backfield, were extended because a defender took a poor angle to the ball carrier or the defender froze.
In one instance, veteran defensive end John Abraham had read a reverse perfectly but halted coming off the right side of the line as Darrius Heyward-Bey was busting toward him parallel to the line of scrimmage. Abraham stopped and couldn’t accelerate quickly enough, allowing the receiver to beat him around the corner for a 20-yard gain. After yet another missed tackle by Dunta Robinson, this time because of poor technique, Heyward-Bey bounced around for an extra three yards.
Following the game, Robinson attributed the missed tackles to fatigue.
“Typically that’s a sign that a team needs some rest. I’ll say it again. ‘This is a great time for us to recover and refocus.’ They were coming off a bye week and we’re going into one,” he said.
Atlanta’s secondary looks like it’s trying to punish the ball carrier for reaching the second level of the defense with huge hits instead of bringing a player down at the first opportunity. Safety Thomas DeCoud, CB Asante Samuel, and Robinson have all been guilty of this at times. DeCoud had four missed tackles in Sunday’s game alone.
An ankle injury to starting LB Stephen Nicholas forced reserve Mike Peterson into more playing time, but the bye week should give Nicholas time to recover. Peterson missed a costly tackle on Oakland receiver Denarius Moore, which turned into a 25-yard touchdown just before halftime.
“At this point in the NFL regular season, it’s all about getting wins,” Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan said.
No one can argue with him there.
For more Falcons coverage, follow Mike Singer @CBSFalcons.