Tag: Atlanta Falcons

Falcons TE Austin Hooper to have MRI on knee, expected to miss time

The Falcons may have lost two of their starters during the game, but still managed to pull off an upset win over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.

The Falcons may have lost two of their starters during the game, but still managed to pull off an upset win over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.

Tight end Austin Hooper hurt his knee and running back Devonta Freeman went down with a foot injury. Both players will have MRIs on Monday to determine the severity of their injuries, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Atlanta hasn’t gotten a ton out of Freeman this season, while the running game as a whole has struggled to find room behind the team’s new-look offensive line.

Backup Ito Smith was just placed on the injured reserve last weekend, so keep your eyes on Brian Hill and Kenjon Barner to get some extra work.

Hooper, on the other hand, was having a breakout year. Through nine games, he was on a career-best pace with 56 catches, 608 yards and 6 touchdowns. Even if the injury causes him to miss time, he is probably on his way to a earning a hefty new contract with the Falcons or someone else in the very near future.

Hopefully, Atlanta won’t be without its star tight end for very long as he’s been one of the few bright spots this season.

[lawrence-related id=41553]

[vertical-gallery id=41462]

NFC South Week 10 review: Falcons flip the script, stun Saints

Here’s our review of what happened around the division this week.

The Saints have been the team to beat in the NFC South for the last two and a half seasons. On Sunday though they suffered a huge collapse at home against the Falcons. So, maybe they aren’t quite as indestructible as everyone had thought.

Here’s our review of what happened around the division this week.

Saints (7-2) lost to Falcons (2-7), 26-9

Nobody saw this one coming. New Orleans had a six-game win streak going coming into Week 10 and Atlanta appeared to be dead in the water. The Falcons defense flipped the script, holding the Saints to just nine points in a stunning upset. They were dominated in the trenches – a normally flawless offensive line allowed Drew Brees to get sacked six times and Latavius Murray and Alvin Kamara combined for just 36 yards on the ground. The division leaders also saw Marshon Lattimore suffer a hamstring injury. The Saints will try to rebound at Tampa Bay next week.

Panthers (5-4) lost to Packers (8-2), 24-16

The Saints’ surprise loss gave Carolina a golden opportunity to close ground in the NFC South race. The Panthers squandered it, though. Two turnovers by Kyle Allen certainly didn’t help, but it was more excruciating run defense that truly lost this matchup. With defensive tackle Kawann Short on IR and unavailable, Ron Rivera needs to consider taking drastic measures to turn things around, including abandoning his new 3-4 scheme.

Buccaneers (3-6) beat Cardinals (3-6-1), 30, 27

Kyler Murray and Jameis Winston put on a show Sunday, combining for 682 total passing yards. Winston’s threw two more interceptions, though and wasn’t nearly as efficient as the No. 1 overall pick. Nevertheless, the Bucs came out on top, boosted by a second consecutive big game from Ronald Jones II. He totaled 106 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown. Beating Arizona and their awful defense at home is nothing special, though. Call us when they get a secondary.

Falcons (2-7) find a spark vs. Saints (7-2), 26-9

Dan Quinn finally made a real change this week: he switched up his coaching staff and abandoned defensive play-calling duties in favor of linebackers coach Jeff Ulbrich. The impact was immediate. Atlanta’s defense played better than it has in a long time, especially their front seven. Grady Jarrett remains the centerpiece, but Vic Beasley finally stepped up and produced. Together, they totaled four sacks and seven quarterback hits. The Falcons’ victory came at a cost, though. Devonta Freeman and Austin Hooper both suffered injuries and could be out a while. They’ll visit the Panthers next.

[lawrence-related id=613818]

[vertical-gallery id=613865]

Sean Payton doesn’t excuse Falcons loss with lopsided officiating

New Orleans Saints HC Sean Payton didn’t blame officiating in his team’s 26-9 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, pointing to their own mistakes.

[jwplayer TgRw3Jrx]

Few viewers expected the New Orleans Saints to get trounced by the Atlanta Falcons — coming out of the bye week, inside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, in a year where the Saints have been nearly undefeated and the Falcons have gone nearly winless. But that’s not what happened, when Atlanta’s defense swarmed Drew Brees and the Saints offense, leaving town with a 26-9 win on their shoulders.

Some fans would point to the game’s officiating as a culprit in the upset. Whenever the Saints defense seemed to win on a crucial down, it seemed like someone was flagged for an illegal use of hands penalty; giving up five yards and an automatic first down. Saints defenders were penalized for that on four different occasions on Sunday, twice on third downs which would have forced an Atlanta punt. In total, New Orleans drew a dozen penalty flags and ceded 90 yards. The Falcons were flagged seven times, giving up 48 yards. That’s about as lopsided as it gets in the NFL.

But Saints coach Sean Payton doesn’t buy that as an easy explanation for his team’s loss. He rebuffed that notion during his postgame press conference, saying, “No, I thought the officiating was pretty good in this game. That had nothing to do with this game.”

Rather, Payton wants his team to look at their own mistakes and miscues. Excessive penalties are often a sign of poor execution and botched on-field decisions, and he looked back on the game as a big learning opportunity for just about everyone.

“Yes, absolutely, there’s a lot of corrections (to be made),” Payton continued, hammering his point home. “A lot of corrections. Look, it’s a good group here and they understand that tomorrow will be tough to watch it. It’ll go down. But shame on us if we can’t get those corrections made. That won’t be a problem. It’s much easier to come in and watch tape after you win, but that’s one of the things about this game that creates a little bit of toughness and grit.”

This Saints team has enjoyed plenty of success in recent years, having been built around a largely-intact core of players going back to the 2017 season opener; they’ve won 33 of their last 45 games together, and know what must be done to rebound from a poor outing like this one.

Still, knowing what to do and putting it into practice are two different things. And the Saints have a critical four-game stretch ahead of them, featuring three more NFC South divisional games (peaking with a prime-time rematch in Atlanta on Thanksgiving) and then a home game in the Superdome against the San Francisco 49ers. If Payton and the Saints can right the ship and handle their business, they could be in position to lock up the division title and maybe a top-two playoff seed by the end of it. But that’s easier said than done in a league where any team can win on any given Sunday.

[vertical-gallery id=22101]