"Throw In The Damn Towel!" one Falcons fan who traveled from Logansville to LA to watch the team play could be heard screaming in the 3rd quarter.

This was supposed to be the test to see if the Falcons would be ready for primetime and they failed in epic fashion.

The defense was holding on for dear life, even getting a pick of J Herbert by LB F Oluokun, but the offense kept letting them down and giving the ball back to the Chargers.  Along with that, the offense give up two defensive touchdowns, 1 pick 6 and 1 fumble, scoop and score.  The only bright side was the Falcons run defense held the Chargers ground game to just 19 yards on 16 carries.

But the offense, trying out a new offensive playbook stalled and struggled all came.  J Garoppolo threw 3 ints and no a single TD. T Gurley only had 19 yards rushing himself on 11 carries.

So there is plenty of work to be done to improve the offense and get ready for division rival Saints in Week 3.

Big Reg

Due to unforeseen circumstances, the Raiders had to forfeit the Season opener to the Falcons.

The Falcons, instead of playing the game, had a light practice that turned into a team fun day at Top Golf.

Coach BigReg "After a gueling training camp and unexpected forfeiting of the game, I felt we still have to do something competitive, but fun.  And Top Golf was a great choice.  Even though it was light hearted, these guys are competitors/  And I will neither confirm nor deny whether guys were placing wagers on longest drive"

The Falcons have a quality test ahead as they face Superbowl contenders Chargers in LA next week.

Big Reg

The Falcons finish the season with a lackluster win over the hapless Lions 35-21.

Both sides of the ball struggled early: Gurley couldn't find any holes and J Garoppolo threw an early pick to give the Lions great field position.  The game went back and forth with neither team getting more then a 7 point lead until late in the 4th quarter.

Some highlights were that despite the 2 picks, J Garoppolo threw 2 touchdown passes, one to WR C Ridley and the other to TE H Hurst.

T Gurley was able to regroup late the rush for 103 yards and 3 tds.The turning point was when RB D Hicks caught a pass that bounced off Julio Jones hands and the hands of two defenders to convert a 3rd and 14 for 37 yards.

One defense, the front 4 didn't get any pressure, not a single sack.  But CB K Sheffield was able to get 2 picks, including a game sealer in the endzone.

The Falcons will finish a disappointing 7-9, but they started to see some improvement at the end of the season that they hope will translate over to next season.

Big Reg

In a game that had a disconnection near halftime, The Falcons had to overcome a 17-0 deficient but couldn't get over the hump.

Jaguars defense totally locked up the Falcons offense in the 1st half and despite the Falcons defense holding their own, was able to get a 17-0 lead with just over 1 minute left.  Then the disconnect happened.

Owners agreed to play a half with Falcons getting the ball first and much like the 49ers/Ravens Superbowl in New Orleans.on 2013, "the lights going off" seem to help the Falcons regroup.

T Gurley had 2 touchdown runs and H Hurst caught a touchdown giving the Falcons 21 points.  Even F Oluokun was able to lurk an interception, but the Jaguars were able to also score an additional 13 points on a td run by L Fournette and 2 field goals given them an insurmountable 9 point lead with just 12 seconds left.

The Falcons will drop to 6-9 on the season and will finish the season vs the Lions on the road.

At times the Falcons defense has been humbled this season.  Whether it was giving up big games to CMC, Miles Sanders or D Henry.

But the last two games the Falcoons have been able to keep oppoising running backs in check, last week it was J Taylor.  This week vs the Packers, they was able to hold J Carruthers to 33 yards on 16 carries.  

But the big story was that the Falcons defense picked off J Love 5 times, including a game ender by G Jarrett on a tipped screen pass tot he running back.

WR D Adams got his  (6 for 126 and 1td) but corners AJ Terrell and K Sheffield didn't make it easy for Adams and new addition O Beckham Jr..

On offense, the Packers D was boxing the Falcons pass game up, but T Gurley was able to get loose for 186 yards and 3 tds to put the Falcons in the lead and keep them there.

Next up in Week 16, the Jax Jaguars and hard running L Fournette. 

Big Reg

The Falcons came in knowing that they would have to find an answer for RB J Taylor.  And even though he rushed for 102 yards, it took him 29 carries to get there and he was held out of the endzone.

The Falcons defense rallied to tackle JJ Taylor each time he touched the ball.  Meanwhile the DT G Jarrett was killing the RG in front of him with 2 tackles and several TFL's as he was constantly in the backfield either tackling Taylor or re-routing him for others to tackle.

On offense, they were able to get J Garoppolo to connect on touchdown passes to both J Jones and C Ridley while T Gurley rushed for 2 tds on the ground to maintain balance.

The Falcons look to finish the season strong but they have tough matchups ahead with the Packers next followed by the Jaguars.

Big Reg

Internal technical difficulties force the Falcons to forfeit their Wk 13 game vs the Buccaneers.

During the start and subsequent 3 restarts, LB F Oluokun had 3 ints, 1 pick for AJ Terrell and K Cone, and T McKinley added a sack without giving up any points.

On Offense, WR C Ridley had 2 touchdowns and TE H Hurst added a touchdown.

But if was all or not as the service provider (Spectrum) has failed to deliver the service they were being paid for not only in this local area but the entire neighborhood as a whole.   There is a lawsuit pending against the service provider for breach of contract and emotion distress. 

A new provider has already be contacted and contracted to install service on Tuesday morning.

And not a moment too soon as the Falcon will have to face the Colts and young superstar J Taylor.

Big Reg

It was another tough week for the Falcons as they lose to the Rams and fall to 4-7 on the season.  

Cam Akers has emerged as one of the top running backs in the league this season and he gashed the Falcons over and over again.

Jimmy G was hot and cold all game.  One minute he was threading the needle to J Jomes and H Hurst in the endzone for tds and the next he was missing 8 yard curl routes by 4 yards for pick 6's the other way.

The defense was able to create any pressure on Goff who seemingly found C Kupp whenever he wasn't handing the ball off to Akers.

The front four would tackle Akers for a 4 yard loss on one play and give up a 40 yard run on the next.

The only good news was J Jones who was thought to be lost for 6 weeks, returned to action after only missing 2 games.  Maybe watching R Gage ball out for 2 games aided the healing process.

Next up: Rematch with the Buccaneers who are now under a new coach.

Big Reg

The Eagles was able to do whatever they wanted in the Week 11 bouncing of the Falcons 49-21.

On the 1st 2 Falcons offensive plays, they through an interception and a caught pass was fumble and recovered by Philly.  Thiugs didn't get any better the rest of the way for the Falcons who gave up 190+ on the ground to M Sanders and both Philly QB's combined to go 23-31, for 263 yards for 3 tds.

The Eagles defense picked of J Garoppolo 3 times and forced a fumble.

The only bright side for the Falcons was that J Jones fill in R Gage went for 9 catches 188 yards and 2 tds.  T Gurley was held to a low 5 carries on 5 yards, due to game script not in favor of the ran game, as the Falcons were down 21-0 before getting their 1st 1st down.

So, the Falcons drop to 4-6 on the season and now have to face the NFC West leading LA Rams at home.

Big Reg

J Garoppolo's 1st pass of the game was intercepted.  He was nearly perfect from that point forward. He ended the game going 14-17 for 272 yards and 2 td along with that lone pick.  J Jones injury fill in R Gage had 5 catches for 114 yards while TE H Hurst had 3 grabs for 70 yards and 1 td. T Gurley ran hard for 76 yards but added 2 touchdowns.

The defense stepped up, getting 4 interceptions (D Jones 2, A Terrell 1, F Oluokon 1 for pick 6) while the front 4 got 2 sacks and help the Bears running game to just 47 yards total.

Due to a mixup in uniform code, top CB K Sheffield missed the 1st half.  Once the training staff was able to correct the error, he was inserted back into the starting lineup.

Next up, the Falcons travel to Philly to face the likewise 4-5 Eagles who rank 7th in total defense.

Big Reg

The Falcons just can't solve the riddle that is the Panthers as they were defeated again in Week 9 30-9.

As soon as they thinking they are doing a good job containing CMC, he goes for 60. The Falcons "held" him to 115 rushing, but he still found the endzone twice and was help the Panthers maintain just enough balance to keep the Falcons defense at bay.

Speaking of defense, it was the Panthers defense that was the real story.  The picked off Jimmy G 5 times twarting any chance for the Falcons to get any offensive momentum going.

Bright side is the CB AJ Terrell continues to shine as he added another interception to his trophy case.  SS K Cone also has an interception and new addition to the team this season DT A Billings had a strip sack fumble.

Bad news is future HOF WR J Jones went out early in the game and will be lost for 6 weeks minimum.  Depending on how the season goes from here will determine whether they rush him back, let him fully heal before reactiviting him or shut him down for the rest of the year.  At 34, he's no spring chicken.

Next up for the Falcons, they will face the Bears in Week 10 and with no J Jones, R Gage and D Staley will have to step up along side C Ridley.

Big Reg

The Falcons made a bold call late in the 4th quarter to seal the win in Houston 33-28.

Up 5 with just over a minute left, the Falcons was faced with 4th and 1 on their own 44 yard line.The choice:  Punt the ball and trust the defense, or go for it and seal the game.  They left the offsense on the field and T Gurley was able to get around the left end for a 1st down and securing the vistory.

The Houston offense was moving the ball effectively through the air all game and was gaining momentum.  QB C Austin was 22 for 30 with 277 and 3tds and speedy WR W Filler already had 145 yards and 2 tds.  So Atlanta certainly didn't want to give them the ball back.

J Garoppolo was 18-24 for 307yards and 3 tds and T Gurley ran for 103 yards and 1 td.

Next up, rematch with division leading Caroliona Panthers and the ever dangerous CMC.

Big Reg

The Falcons couldn't slow down CMC and T.Tagovailoa was super efficient in the Panthers 45-28 victory in MBS in Week 7.

Tua was 20-22 for 201 yards & 1td which was balanced enough to keep the Falcons defense off guard while CMC amassed 172 yards and 4 tds on 31 carries.

Falcons defense did a decent job on CMC early, but it's hard to keep him down for an entire game.  Eventually he was able to break threw.

Meanwhile, the Panthers defense made it difficult for the Dirty Birds getting 2 sacks and 2 interceptions, preventing the Falcons from getting any real momentum on offense.

The only bright side for the Falcons was that CB AJ Terrell scored on defense for the 2nd week in a row.  This time, it was a scoop and score on a fumble caused by SS K Cone, which at the time, gave the Falcons a 14-7 lead.

Next up for the Falcons, the 1-6 Texans.  So they are in a must win situation if they intend to keep pace with the rest of the division to get into the playoff hunt. 

Big Reg

Despite, 3 ints from J Garoppolo, the Falcons was still able to overcoming and win in New Orleans 28-17.

The Saints struck first on their opening drive featuring A Kamara but turned to RB T Pollard to punch it in on the ground for a touchdown.

One the next possession, the Falcons looking to strike back quickly and they thought they had C Ridley deep for a TD, but SS F Davidson tracked it down for an interception.

Now, the Saints had a chance to go up 2 scores but Falcon SS K Cone was able to lurk a pass intended for D Westbrook for a pick. 

On the next drive, T Gurley punch in a td on the ground to tie the score at 7-7.

The Saints drove deep into Atlanta territory late in the 2nd quarter but Stafford threw a pick six to CB AJ Terrell and the Falcons was able to maintain a halftime lead of 14-7.

Falcons got the ball in the 2nd half, but MLB C Littleton got the interception for the Saints who cashed it in for a field goal.  14-10

Atlanta got the ball back and was able to get J Jones open one on one on a mesh route and hit took it to paydirt. 21-10.

In the ensuing Saints possession, Falcons defense forced a punt and then was able to get the 2nd Gurley td.  28-10.

The Falcons were able to hold on after giving up a screen pass td to A Kamara and CB J Gladney sealed the game with a late 4th quarter interception.

Next up:  CMC and the Carolina Panthers.

Big Reg

The Falcons enter the bye week 1-3 with plenty of things to work on.

They rank 23rd in average points scored at 24 points a game. 8th in passing yards but only 32nd in rushing yards  They needs to find a way to have more balance so teams can't just pin their ears back and rush the QB.

They also rank 23rd in average points given up per game at 30.  9th in pass defense but 23rd in rush defense.  

So there are things the Falcons worked on early in the week to help turn the tide on this season so it doesn't end up like last season.

But on Friday, Coach called practice off early and told the team to go enjoy themselves and get some rest and relaxation and report back to camp on Tuesday.  

Coach is hoping the rest will replenish their energy and spirit for the rest of the season.

Big Reg