Are the Falcons beginning to implode?

By Darrell Laurant  |   Tuesday, October 09, 2007  |  Comments( 0 )

Atlanta Falcons
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It hasn't been this ugly in Atlanta since Sherman came through. And we don't mean Mike Sherman.

The Falcons' defense is calling out the offense. Veteran tight end Alge Crumpler, one of the team leaders, is calling out the coaching staff. There's a quarterback controversy. And, as RB Warrick Dunn noted glumly, the team "just keeps going downhill."

Oh, yes -- and veteran offensive lineman Wayne Gandy just went down with a torn ACL.

Certainly, no one could blame the defense for last Sunday's 20-13 loss to Tennessee. The Falcons created five turnovers, all but one of which the offense squandered. Cornerback DeAngelo Hall scored on a 56-yard fumble return. Atlanta put serious pressure on Vince Young, who turned in possibly his worst game of the season.

It didn't matter. The crowning blow came when a clutch, slithering run by Dunn placed the football on the Tennessee 1-yard line inside the two-minute mark. The Falcon coaches then called a pitch to Dunn that lost yardage. Backup QB Byron Leftwich threw an interception. And finally, Kyle Vanden Bosch sacked Leftwich on fourth down to put the Falcons out of their misery.

Or, maybe, prolong it.

"I've never been in a game where we had so many opportunities and still couldn't score," Crumpler said. "Once we cross the 50, we're the worst offense in the National Football League."

Crumpler went on to say that he thought the team was already marginalizing its veterans and building for the future, bagging the season after five games (Atlanta is 1-4).

The Falcons, who have been struggling ever since star QB Michael Vick went to the dogs, also missed a golden opportunity early in the fourth period when Leftwich missed a wide-open Laurent Robinson in the corner of the end zone.

"It felt good to be out there with the first team," Leftwich said later.

Starter Joey Harrington, meanwhile, wasn't smiling after being pulled.

"It's not something you enjoy," he said.

Harrington got the hook after Tennessee DB Vincent Fuller picked him off and ran 76 yards for what proved to be the winning touchdown.

"We just didn't get the job done on offense," Petrino said.

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