The case that the Falcons are unfixable in 2017

Jeff Schultz in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution yesterday made the case that this might simply be who the Falcons are. With every costly drop, interception, trip, penalty, and poorly conceived play, they make that case a little more strongly. Considering we’ve only truly seen the Falcons play one dominant game, against the Packers all the way back in Week 2, this argument is getting pretty compelling.

The crux of the matter is this: Dan Quinn’s Falcons have been talking about fixing the same problems basically since the beginning of the 2017 season.

I asked Quinn if it’s concerning that eight games into the season his team is still making too many mistakes?

“It is,” he said. “We’ve been under the same roof with this team in 2017 for eight games. We continued to address the areas we need to improve and we’ll keep doing and we’ll work to find out what this team can be.”

Quinn couldn’t very well say he’s not concerned at this point, which I think speaks volumes about where this team is at. He also didn’t say anything of substance, which is not unusual for any football team, but particularly this one. The team continues to say they’ll work on these issues and fix what ails them, and it’s so easy and so tempting to believe they’re one week away from cracking the code. But if Schultz’s piece is right, at the mistakes are just a part and parcel of this current Falcons team, then they’re pretty well cooked until they get to the offseason, adjust the roster, and get another full summer to work on their issues. I can only hope that’s too dire a take.

A little later this morning, Cory Woodroof will take you through his thoughts on the state of this team and their future, and you’ll want to read that as well. Suffice to say that time is running out for the Falcons to turn their lofty, sensible rhetoric into on-the-field results, and every week it gets more difficult to believe they will.