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We’re a couple of days away from gameday. Perversely, while my confidence in this team has just about bottomed out, I’m looking forward to each game because I want to see what the Falcons will do and I want to get through this season as quickly as possible.
Bring on the Rams, then, with a little help from our links. And maybe some booze.
Austin Hooper is on fire
Austin Hooper has gotten better every single year he’s been in the year. Hoop is now turning in the kind of career year that is going to get him paid, and that’s after he was a Pro Bowl-caliber tight end in 2018.
Allen Strk breaks down Hooper’s stellar season, his career progression, and where he may be headed from there. When I say “headed from here,” I mean metaphorically, because he’s never leaving Atlanta do you hear me?!
Falcons vs. Rams: It’s matchup time
Now that we’ve gotten the bright, shiny note out of the way, it’s time to start talking about the game ahead. The Falcons are full of surprises and have beat the Rams the last two times out, so do they have a shot against Los Angeles this time?
As much as we might like to think so—and I mean, it’s always possible, I suppose—the matchup doesn’t look great. Kevin Knight broke it down by the numbers, as he is wont to do, while David Walker looked at the Falcons defense against what can be a very good Rams offense. In both cases, it ain’t pretty.
Is change coming on the bye? Fans think so
In the last week or so—and I’m losing my grip on time, because it seems much longer ago—it was reported that Arthur Blank would consider a change at the bye if things don’t improve. With things still not improving, a plurality of Falcons fans think Dan Quinn is going to be fired during the Week 9 bye.
With fan confidence pretty much bottomed out and the team standing at 1-5 with two tough matchups coming up, it’s not an unreasonable assumption by the fanbase.
What else can you say?
It feels appropriate to cap this off, even though we of course will have plenty to say about this Falcons team, with Cory Woodroof’s piece on why there’s very little left to say about this team. Even for native optimists, this season’s pile-up of ineptitude has become very hard to watch.