The Falcons weren’t in much of a mood to talk Monday.
Still, head coach Dan Quinn said he held a team meeting - ‘our own state of the union’ - after dropping to 3-3 with a 23-7 loss to the Patriots Sunday night. Quinn also disclosed that the team will modify practices later this week to zero in on problems on third downs and in the red zone.
Quinn also said of the Falcons’ failed fourth quarter, fourth-and-goal jet sweep with wide receiver Taylor Gabriel, “As you look back to it, we’ve definitely got to have a better play for that.”
The questioned play resulted in a loss of yardage.
After losing for the third straight time, the Falcons (3-3) are putting on the brakes, at least for a day, for introspection and self-assessment.
“Tough night last night,” Quinn said. “We got in late. I’m not sure many of us slept, and the first thing we wanted to do when we got in today was get everybody together and have our own state of the union, state of the team, so to speak.
“We met just a little while ago, and talked about where we’re at in all three phases. It’s not where we expected to be, not where we wanted it to be, but that’s where we are and how do we go about improving?”
Several players suggested that the word “frustrated” doesn’t aptly describe the way they feel, but linebacker Deion Jones admitted to being surprised at recent results.
Linebacker De’Vondre Campbell said his takeaway from Monday’s meeting was that, “We can’t harden our hearts to the situation.”
The situation wasn’t good in Foxborough, Mass.
The Falcons were 0-for-5 on third downs in the first half and left a potential 13 points on the field in the red zone with a blocked field goal, a missed field goal and failures to score on third- and fourth-and-goal from inside the 1-yard line.
“When we went back and looked for areas where we can improve, red zone and third down were two that jumped out to us to say that for us to be at our best those two situations can certainly improve,” Quinn said. “Last night, we were 2-of-9 on third downs and they were 7-of-13.
“We didn’t convert on a goal-to-go, missed a field goal and had one blocked. ... We will be adding periods into our practices in those areas at third down and red zone because quite honestly that’s where a lot of [games] can change.”
Few offensive players were available to the media Monday, when quarterback Matt Ryan was not seen and wide receiver Julio Jones was in and out of the locker room quickly. Running back Devonta Freeman declined to be interviewed.
While surrendering a modest 23 points, the Falcons allowed the Patriots to rush 36 times for 162 yards, and New England held the ball for 34:05 to Atlanta’s 25:55.
Campbell said the Falcons are not frustrated, but rather committed to working out kinks and missed assignments.
“We get out of our gaps sometimes so I think it’s just being more disciplined,” he said. “There’s not anything that they did, they didn’t give us any looks that were un-scouted. We just have to be more disciplined.
“We’re just re-setting right now. We can’t harden our hearts to the situation. We’ve got to watch the film and take the positive and the negatives and learn from them and just get ready for New York.”
Defensive end Adrian Clayborn echoed his teammate’s thoughts, suggesting that the Falcons have solutions at their disposal.
“I think we know what the problem is, and that’s the good thing,” Clayborn said. “We’re not just searching for random answers. We’ve got to play better. We can. We’ve just got to play better as a team. It’s no secret sauce; we’ve just go to do that.”
Quinn said, “It was a good time to have that meeting. I felt like it was one that we needed to have.”
About the Author
