Falcons squashed by Ravens after miserable offensive performance

The Atlanta Falcons need to rebuild, because what they are doing right now isn’t working.

The Baltimore Ravens absolutely manhandled the Falcons for the majority of this game on the way to a dominating 29-7 victory by Joe Flacco and his crew. The Falcons were so bad in this game that they didn’t even have a third down conversion until the second half. Let alone score any points until late in the game.

In the first half, the Falcons only managed the following drives: punt, punt, fumble, punt, punt, punt, and a missed FG. That half was one of the most insanely pathetic offensive performances I have ever seen. At no point in the Falcons rambling, incoherent play calling were they close to anything that could be considered a rational drive. Everyone watching the game is now dumber for having seen it. The Falcons scored no points, and may God have mercy on their souls. Yes, I stole that from Billy Madison, but it fits.

The second half wasn’t much better. The Falcons first “drive” ended after they went for it on fourth down and Matt Ryan got sacked. The Falcons second drive ended when they went for it on fourth down and came up short on a screen pass somehow. Did I mention what the Baltimore score was? Does it even matter? It was more than zero, which is all the Falcons had at this point. In actuality it was 20-0, but it felt like 60-0.

Sardonically comical, that’s about the only way I can describe this game. It got so bad at points I couldn’t help but chuckle at how totally inept the entire team looked. There were some bright spots like Robert Alford actually getting two interceptions, but what did that matter when the offense couldn’t put the ball in scoring position, let alone the end zone? It was even more depressing based on the fact that Flacco wasn’t sharp. With two interceptions and only one touchdown pass, Flacco played a sub-par game, but the Falcons couldn’t take advantage.

In the fourth quarter, the Falcons finally broke the shut-out with a Matt Ryan pass to Roddy White. That pass made the score 20-7 with about seven minutes left in the game. So for 53 minutes, the Falcons were scoreless. It took the Ravens going into a prevent, and the Falcons going into the passing hurry-up to get on the board. A mock cheer went up from the fanbase that the Falcons weren’t going to get completely embarrassed with their first shut-out loss since 2004 in Tampa. That’s where this franchise is right now. Trying not to set decades old records for awful. The Ravens scored two more times anyway.

The team has an obvious need for an overhaul, and the top brass of the Falcons are part of the problem. Their increased denial that the team was in desperate trouble after 4-12 last season has led us to this year’s issues. The Falcons are trying to sell you, the fan, on PSL’s for a new stadium that they “needed” to build. In reality they didn’t need it at all, and now we are all paying the price for the laughable idea of selling rights to seats for a team that’s 6-17 since they won one game in the playoffs. One game. It’s frankly insulting to the fans and the city of Atlanta.

In the end, if you expected the Falcons to win this game after their road woes, you are either crazy or the most optimistic person on the face of the planet. I don’t know that the Falcons will win a single game on the road this year. Their best shot is going to be against Tampa, but the way the Falcons are playing right now I don’t think anything is a given. What’s even crazier is that the NFC South is so bad, it might take 9 wins to seal the division. Talk about missed opportunities.

The Falcons head to London next to inflict this terrible brand of football on an unsuspecting British populace. If the Falcons lose again on the road, maybe they will just stay abroad and keep us from having to watch the rest of this mess.