What a game! The Falcons' came out swinging, then they trailed off, as they've been known to do. Meanwhile, the injury bug made its presence known in emphatic fashion.
The Falcons were a little banged up heading into today's contest. Sam Baker (knee), Roddy White (ankle), Asante Samuel (thigh), Sean Weatherspoon (knee), and Julio Jones (knee) were all question marks. Luckily, all five were ready to go at kickoff - or so we thought. White played all of 2 snaps before exiting the game. He ultimately made his way back into the game, but with just 3 receptions to show for his efforts, he's clearly ineffective at this point. I'm cautiously optimistic; let's be honest though, he just won't be himself for a few more weeks. At best.
Five other Falcons starters would go down in the first half. Steven Jackson exited just after his diving touchdown (thigh). Believe it or not, the issue is a thigh "bruise." And believe it or not, the likely culprit is that gosh darned thigh pad running backs have to wear now. Stupid safety precautions!
Brady Ewing walked towards the sideline at one point, gingerly grabbing at his shoulder. As for the defense, Asante Samuel, Kroy Biermann, and Sean Weatherspoon all left with injuries. Cliff Matthews would later walk himself off the field with an injury. Given how under control the game seemed going into halftime, I'd advise against reading into their second half absences. It's entirely possible some or all of the injured could have gone but Smith deliberately held them out.
Look, there's already way too much twitter chatter about the Dolphins having a shot next week given the Falcons' injuries. I'd imagine we will have some sense of who will be back sooner rather than later, probably sooner rather than later. In the meantime, don't freak out, because if you freak out, I'm going to freak out, and I can assure you, that's an ugly sight.
Discuss!