Cover 9@9: Falcons are sixth-least penalized team in NFL

Baltimore is the most penalized team with 120 penalties, followed by Dallas (109), Seattle (100), Houston (100), New England (98) and Houston (98).

The Falcons committed a season-high nine penalties in their win over the Saints on Sept. 29. The Falcons were called for six penalties in the loss to the Saints on Nov. 10 and six in the loss to the Broncos seven days later.

Falcons coach Raheem Morris believes fixing the untimely penalties and self-inflicted mistakes will help quarterback Kirk Cousins and the offense get back on track.

“First, you’ve got to identify it,” Morris said.

He was particularly disturbed by the opening drive against Denver, when left guard Matthew Bergeron was called for a holding and wide receiver Drake London had a false start. Both penalties took the ball back from the Broncos’ 1-yard line.

Unable to overcome the penalties, the Falcons had to settle for a field goal. Everything went downhill from there.

“When you’re talking about getting into the red zone and really being conscious of it,” Morris said. “If you increase the (awareness) of it, the guys will go out there and absolutely be able to recognize those moments when they come up and not get the unnecessary holding calls.”

Bergeron and others may have to be more conscious of their hand placement.

“Some of it’s technique stuff,” Morris said.

London may have been too eager because he was the primary receiver.

“Getting up too early, getting too fast, timing, things of that nature,” Morris said. “Eliminate some of the excitement.”

With only 73 penalties, the Falcons are doing just fine in the discipline department. They just need to eliminate the untimely penalties.

“The discipline that’s required in order to not get penalties is another part that’s really important to it,” Morris said. “The thing that we haven’t had is the lack of control, which I’m really excited about.”

Some of the teams with the higher penalty counts may have those “lack of control” issues.

“The last time I think we had one of those penalties was, well, I guess we had one last game on special teams and when (DeAngelo Malone) pulled (a player) out of the pile,” Morris said. “But it’s not the same as when you hit somebody in the face. When there’s a lack of control, you get that type of penalty. So, we really haven’t had those.”

Morris is looking for a formula to eliminate the discipline and concentration of effort penalties. He believes that will allow the offense to score touchdowns and not keep hurting itself.

“We can be a really good offense,” Morris said. “And we have been, you know, and we can be so much better. We’ve got so much left out there that we can really go and attack the second half or whatever you want to call this part of the season.”

2A. A look at the NFL standings: Peruse the NFL standings and a glaring number can be found regarding the Falcons. The Falcons lead the NFC South. Their net points through their 11 games are a minus-30 (244 points for, 274 points against). They are the only division leader in the league with a minus in the category. The second-place 5-6 Buccaneers are a plus-36. The third-place 4-7 Saints are a plus-2.

It shows you how important it is to win division games. The Falcons are 4-1 in the division, with only a home game against the Panthers remaining.

The rest of the division leaders look like this in the net points category:

AFC East – Bills (9-2): plus-106

AFC North – Steelers (8-3): plus-66

AFC South – Texans (7-5): plus-17

AFC West – Chiefs (10-1): plus-52

NFC East – Eagles (9-2): plus-97

NFC North – Lions (10-1): plus-177

NFC West – Seahawks (6-5): plus-2

2B. Harbaugh is no stranger: Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh is no stranger to Atlanta.

He interviewed for the Falcons’ coaching position Jan. 16. It was a day after the team met with Bill Belichick. The job went to Morris.

Harbaugh, who won a national title at Michigan last season, was the head coach of the 49ers when they overcame a 17-0 lead and defeated the Falcons in the NFC Championship game to advance to the Super Bowl on Jan. 20, 2013.

He has reunited with offensive coordinator Greg Roman, who was calling plays for quarterback Colin Kaepernick in the title game.

3. Dobbins watch: The Ravens drafted J.K. Dobbins with the second-round pick (55th, 2020) that the Falcons sent them as part of the Hayden Hurst trade.

The often-injured running back was reviving his career with the Chargers before going down with a left knee injury against the Ravens on Monday.

The Chargers have leaned into a revived rushing attack that has been led by Dobbins and Gus Edwards. They are backed by Kimani Vidal, who played at Marietta High.

Dobbins has rushed 158 times for 766 yards and eight touchdowns. Losing him would be a major blow to the Chargers.

4. Justin Herbert update: With Dobbins’ status up in the air, the Chargers could move away from the run and cut loose quarterback Justin Herbert. He has completed 197 of 313 passes (62.9%) for 2,404 yards, 13 touchdowns and one interception. He has a passer rating of 99.

Rookie Ladd McConkey, who played at North Murray High and Georgia, is the Chargers’ leading receiver. He has 49 catches for 698 yards and four touchdowns.

5. “Monday Night Football” scouting: The Falcons had an opportunity to scout the Chargers on TV.

“They are obviously on a roll right now,” London told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution before the game. “They are doing really good. They are doing really good under Harbaugh.”

The Falcons respect Herbert, who won the Chargers’ last meeting against the Falcons, a 20-17 win on Nov. 6, 2022 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

“Herbert is out there doing his thing,” London said. “J.K. Dobbins is doing his thing, and obviously they have a stout defense. It’s going to be a challenge. There is a challenge every Sunday, and we’ll just have to go out there and try to conquer that.”

6. Local Chargers: In addition to Vidal and McConkey, the Chargers have several familiar players: outside linebacker Bud Dupree (Wilkinson County High School and the Falcons); tight end Tucker Fisk (Falcons), long snapper Josh Harris (Carrollton High School, Falcons), Taylor Heinicke (Collins Hill High School, Falcons), Hurst (Falcons) and offensive lineman Jamaree Salyer (Pace Academy, Georgia).

7. Series history: This will be the 13th meeting. The Falcons lead the series 8-4. The Chargers have won the past three meetings.

8. Where to watch, listen, livestream Chargers at Falcons: What you should know about Sunday’s game between the Chargers (7-4) and the Falcons (6-5), which is set for 1 p.m. at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

TV: CBS. Play-by-play: Kevin Harlan. Analyst: Trent Green. Reporter: Melanie Collins

Local radio: 92.9 The Game. Play-by-play: Wes Durham. Analyst: Dave Archer. Executive producer: Beau Morgan. Engineer: Jake Cook. Pregame/Postgame show – Hosts: Chris Goforth and Mike Johnson. Dylan Matthews and Orin Romain (studio producers). Dylan Matthews (network studio producer) and Chris Thomas (local studio producer).

National radio: ESPN radio. Play-by-Play: Steve Levy. Analyst: Harry Douglas Sideline: Jeff Darlington

Satellite radio: SiriusXM NFL Radio. Falcons channel 225 and 801. Chargers 381 and 817 and on the App.

Livestream: Fans in the Atlanta market can stream the game on the Atlanta Falcons app. NFL app (subscription required). Out of the country: GamePass International. There are several other subscription services.

9. Depth chart: Here’s a look at the Falcons’ official 53-man depth chart heading into Sunday’s game:

OFFENSE

QB: Kirk Cousins, Michael Penix Jr.

RB: Bijan Robinson, Tyler Allgeier, Avery Williams, Jase McClellan

WR: Drake London, KhaDarel Hodge

WR: Darnell Mooney, Casey Washington

SWR: Ray-Ray McCloud, KhaDarel Hodge

TE: Kyle Pitts

TE: Charlie Woerner, Ross Dwelley

LT: Jake Matthews, Brandon Parker

LG: Matthew Bergeron, Kyle Hinton, Elijah Wilkinson

C: Ryan Neuzil, Matt Hennessy, Jovaughn Gwyn

RG: Chris Lindstrom, Kyle Hinton

RT: Kaleb McGary, Storm Norton

DEFENSE

ROLB: Lorenzo Carter, DeAngelo Malone

DE: Grady Jarrett, Zach Harrison

NT: Eddie Goldman, Kentavious Street

DE: David Onyemata, Brandon Dorlus

LOLB: Matthew Judon, Arnold Ebitketie

IL: Kaden Elliss, JD Bertrand, Rashaan Evans

ILB: Nate Landman, Troy Andersen

LCB: A.J. Terrell, Kevin King, Natrone Brooks

RCB: Mike Hughes, Clark Phillips III

NCB: Dee Alford, Antonio Hamilton Sr.

SS: Justin Simmons, Richie Grant

FS: Jessie Bates III

Special teams

K: Younghoe Koo

P: Bradley Pinion

LS: Liam McCullough

KR: Avery Williams, Ray-Ray McCloud

PR: Avery Williams, Mike Hughes