After another subpar performance by the Falcons’ offense, the team is contemplating changes along the offensive line.
The Falcons, built to be an offensive team, have scored 16, 19 and 17 points while losing their past three games.
In the 31-17 loss to the Saints on Thursday, right guard Ben Garland and right tackle Ryan Schraeder had tough outings.
“We’ll go back through it hard and see if there is a change to be made,” Falcons coach Dan Quinn insisted after the game. “Nothing will stop us from doing the job that we need to get done.”
After reviewing the film and discussing the matter with offensive line coach Chris Morgan, Quinn was still fixated on the line Friday afternoon.
“I’m certainly not pleased with the results and how we finished,” Quinn said on a conference call with local reporters. “But I haven’t made a final decision of who or what or if there is going to be some changes or not.”
The Falcons have a couple of options on the roster.
Veteran Zane Beadles, 32, has started 115 games in the NFL. The Falcons signed him on Oct. 30 after starting right guard Brandon Fusco suffered a broken ankle, but he has played sparingly in four games.
Beadles was a second-round pick out of Utah by the Broncos in the 2010 NFL draft. He’s 6-foot-4 and 305 pounds. He’s played in 128 games.
Beadles played for the Broncos (2010-13), Jaguars (2014-15) and 49ers (2016-17). He made the Pro Bowl in 2012.
Beadles has played mostly left guard over his career.
Also, at tackle, the Falcons could look at Ty Sambrailo, who’s been playing some at tight end in power formations.
“Those are the two (Beadles and Sambrailo) that we will consider if we do want to go down that road and add some reps into some guys, into the game,” Quinn said.
The Falcons lost starting guards Andy Levitre (pectoral surgery) and Brandon Fusco (broken ankle) to injury this season.
“I think, at this point, we’ll just make a decision,” said Quinn when asked if there would be an open competition. “There’s a determination if we can do something better with some reps. We are not all the way there yet. I’m going to go through it again (Friday evening) with Chris, and we have to go through it with the line. We can re-visit it on Monday.”
Beadles has been practicing at guard and tackle.
“Although, Ty has been the swing tackle over the last couple of weeks, we’ve (worked) Zane both at guard and tackle,” Quinn said. “Both of the guys have had experience inside at guard and outside at tackle. They definitely give us some flexibility if we decide to share some reps amongst that offensive line.”
The Falcons looked at the six sacks by the Saints and determined who allowed them.
For instance, if there was a blitz on with a hot read and quarterback Matt Ryan didn’t throw the ball, then he’s credited with that sack, according to Quinn.
The Falcons couldn’t run the ball against the Saints, and Ryan was under siege. They rushed 16 times for 26 yards.
“That’s not going to get the job done,” Quinn said.
On 53 drop backs by Ryan, he was sacked or hit on 19 of them, or 36 percent of the time.
“That made it challenging for sure,” Quinn said. “They’ve played well against the run. We knew we’d have to have some passes to open up the running game, especially in the play-action side of things. I thought that part of it went according to plan.
“What didn’t happen was the ability to convert some of those runs.”
The linemen were dejected after the game.
“We have to get back to playing our style of football and execute better,” left tackle Jake Matthews said. “Because obviously it’s not working right now.”
Also, Quinn was not happy with the four turnovers and noted that the three fumbles inside the Saints’ 20-yard line could have led to at least nine points and quite possibly 21 points.
“Over the last three ballgames, we’re sitting at minus-5,” Quinn said. “All of those three are losses. That’s a big part of what we need to do.”
With the Falcons’ playoff hopes on life support, Quinn still plans to bring back linebacker Deion Jones, but is not sure about running back Devonta Freeman.
“We’re hopeful that he’s going to come back,” Quinn said of Jones, who’s returning from a broken foot. “I’m hopeful that we’ll have him in the lineup. He was very close.”
Freeman, who had sports-hernia surgery on Oct. 18, could return for the final two games.
“We’ll see,” Quinn said. “He’s back in town.”
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