Atlanta Falcons Look to Regain Focus After Bye

The 6-3 Atlanta Falcons seem like they are in good spirits after their Week 10 bye. Atlanta will host the 4-5 Indianapolis Colts on Sunday afternoon.

After limping into their Week 10 bye, the Atlanta Falcons seem to have turned the page on the bad ending to the first half, in what was actually a strong start for this football team. HC Dan Quinn, WR Roddy White, KR/WR Devin Hester, and FB Patrick DiMarco all met with the media yesterday to discuss where the team is at heading into their Week 11 home game versus the 4-5 AFC South leading Indianapolis Colts.

Roddy White fully understands his role as a veteran leader on this team. White is in his 11th season in the Atlanta Falcons organization and believes that his leadership role with this team should help the Atlanta Falcons down the stretch during their 2015 NFC Playoff push. White said, “It’s just certain parts of the season where you need guys to lean on. This is one of those times where I got to go out there and just be a leader for this team and this organization, to settle everything down.”

White expressed that the team was in good spirits at Flowery Branch yesterday. Everybody was supposedly on time to their meetings, “laughing and joking” with each other in what feels like a positive work environment. The bye seems to have energized the team and may stand as what this team needed more than anything: a week off. Atlanta was one of the last teams to go on their bye in 2015.

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Patrick DiMarco said that this team needs to finish better and compete until the end of games. He said that “this is the tightest team [he’s] ever been on. The chemistry is great. The guys love each other, we’re like a brotherhood. We’ve got more weeks to grow. The tighter we can get, the better.”

While it often goes unsaid given the thankless of the position he plays, Patrick DiMarco is having one of the better years of any fullback in the National Football League. His outstanding run blocking and ability to receive the football out of the backfield puts him in consideration for a possible Pro Bowl/All-Pro type of season for the 2015 Atlanta Falcons.

Devin Hester said that he is progressing from his toe injury that has kept him out since the second week of the preseason, doing the necessary cardio and pool work to stay in shape while he recovers. He spoke highly of the job Eric Weems is doing as his replacement in the return game, especially Weems’ ability to hold on to the football. Hester comes of IR for Week 13’s road date with NFC South division rival Tampa Bay down in Raymond James Stadium.

Dan Quinn believes that the bye week was great for the team to recover and re-evaluate, focusing more internally than on the Indianapolis Colts, who were also on a Week 10 bye. From the bye, Quinn and his staff were able to pinpoint a handful of areas the team can improve going forward. While he did keep some of those areas of emphasis to himself, Coach Quinn did say the Atlanta Falcons have addressed three concerns with the club: 1. Turnover Margin. 2. 3rd Down on both sides of the ball. 3. Red zone on both sides of the ball.

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The turnover differential issues have seemed obvious in recent weeks, but I like how Quinn pointed out concerns with 3rd down and red zone. Those two areas essentially mean that the Atlanta Falcons team feels good about itself focusing on those issues. 3rd down and red zone strength are qualities of intermediate to contending teams. Teams that struggle are often horrific in those two areas, but have other more fundamental areas of concern like technique, ball security, penalties, and clock management to deal with.

Obviously the one area we would have liked to have heard something being worked on was the pass rush, but that seems like a wash in 2015, the team’s Achilles’ Heel. Unless Quinn and the defensive staff have done major scheme overhauling, Atlanta will finish in the bottom five in sacks again in 2015.

Next: Atlanta Falcons: NFC Power Rankings, Week 11

Atlanta has two straight home games versus playoff contending teams in Indianapolis and Minnesota. Should Atlanta win one of both of these games, then the Falcons have to feel confident about their chances to make the NFC Playoffs. The magic number for this team is 10, as in 10 wins. Get there and you’ll make the playoffs. If not, then a team that is sub-.500 at the moment will take your spot. Rise Up!

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