:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69850490/1339915454.0.jpg)
The Falcons were shellacked in a sloppy, penalty-riddled affair to open the season against the Eagles. It was an inauspicious debut for Arthur Smith and Co., and one that will immediately start the conversation about the same familiar problems plaguing this football team.
We’ve got the recap and more in today’s Falcoholinks.
Falcons - Eagles recap
The Eagles rolled into Atlanta on Sunday and beat the brakes off of the Falcons. Our writers predicted a win in the opener, one which was clearly misplaced as the Falcons looked terrible, frankly. Has anybody checked on Matt Ryan? Is he okay?
One of our key matchups in this one was Atlanta’s O-line holding up against Philadelphia’s vaunted D-line. They committed a ton of pre-snap penalties and essentially sacrificed Matt Ryan by-proxy in the fourth quarter, so the unit failed this initial test miserably. It might be time to wrap up the Jalen Mayfield experiment.
Cordarrelle Patterson was pretty good, though? Small victories don’t equate to actual ones, unfortunately.
Brandon Copeland cut
A surprise cut prior to Sunday’s tilt against Philly, as Atlanta cut linebacker Brandon Copeland and signed linebacker James Vaughters to the active roster.
We’re not sure the reason for the cut, but there’s a decent shot that Copeland returns to the team.
K Elliott Fry added to practice squad
The Falcons added another player to its practice squad over the weekend, signing kicker Elliott Fry. Fry was briefly with Atlanta last season and made an appearance in one game, tallying a field goal and two extra points.
Final record predictions
So what do our gang of writers think will be the Atlanta Falcons’ final record? Under a new regime with a reimagined offense, the majority seems in line with a .500 or slightly above season.
Under a brand new regime, it’s tough to make sense of reasonable expectations for this revamped squad, but it’s important to keep in mind that success for the 2021 Atlanta Falcons cannot be defined by Super-Bowl-or-bust.
Loading comments...