TMZ: Falcons players spotted partying with Justin Bieber on boat in Gulf of Mexico

TMZ has posted some concerning photos some Atlanta Falcons players partying during their bye week. We’ve previously covered Matt Ryan’s questionable partying before big playoff games, and this is another worrisome report that the team may not be well prepared for Saturday’s playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks.

Earlier this week, multiple New York Giants were photographed on a party boat in Miami. Their dedication came into question and created a distraction for the Giants. New York followed it up with a lackluster effort against the Green Bay Packers.

Now multiple Falcons players have ended up on a party/shrimping boat near Mobile, Alabama.

Ryan, along with Devonta Freeman, Julio Jones, Matt Bryant, and pop star Justin Beiber, partied on a 72-foot shrimping yacht in Bayou La Batre, Alabama. While these players should have been in the weight room, they disturbed others by blasting T-Pain and laid around shirtless on the M/S Brothership.

Instead of studying his playbook, Matt Ryan was busy snapchatting that “we’re going to need a bigger boat.” There’s no word why most of the players were wearing their football pads, but it suggests they are more dedicated that the Giants players.

Asked about how the players could focus on their upcoming game while downing Four Loko on the Gulf of Mexico, Freeman had this to say.

Shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. Shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There's pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich. That- that's about it.

On his call with the media, Ryan defended their decision to let loose on the M/S Brothership during the bye week.

Life is a lot like a box of ice, you never know what you’re gonna get. (emphasis added)

When asked what this meant, Ryan asked the media if they could see him winking through the phone. Freeman interrupted the call and said the following:

There's shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes... There's pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger...

The media hung up on Freeman.

This poor behavior is not a surprise for long-time fans, who too frequently see Ryan on TMZ, like here, here, here, here, and here. Too often we have seen him and Julio more worried about bottle service, being in commercials, and shrimping in the Gulf of Mexico than football.

We can only hope this does not create a big distraction ahead of Saturday’s must-win game.