Nfc West | Atlanta Falcons Tickets

Falcons look to Tampa Bay for redemption

The Atlanta Falcons are trying to recover from an embarrasing loss to the Seattle Seahawks in which they managed only one touchdown and one field goal. The loss marked the return of superstar receiver Roddy White who participated in 55 of the 58 snaps on offense, which equates to 95% of the snaps. The Falcons are in the midst of a three game losing streak and have lost by a combined 88-33 score.

“It’s been frustrating,” quarterback Matt Ryan said. “Obviously, we’re nine games into it and certainly not even close to where we want to be and that makes it difficult.”

Head Coach Mike Smith has confidence in his team and feels that they are playing to the best of their abilities. Granted, that this loss Sunday was against a top notch team.

“I do feel like our guys are playing hard,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said. “We just physically didn’t win the line of scrimmage today, on both sides of the football.”

The Falcons go back on the road to take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who are coming off their first victory of the season against the Dolphins last weekend. Great seats and tickets are still available.

Falcons ready to fly again

Former Head Coach Tony Dungy gives the team a 5-point plan

After losing to they NY Jets, the Atlanta Falcons used their bye week to regroup and hopefully rebound after a rough 1-4 start. They got a little extra incentive from former Tampa Bay Buccanneers and Pittsburgh Steelers coach Tony Dungy who espoused a 5-point plan to right the ship.

Dungy, in town for Comcast’s Internet Essential Program, Dungy spoke with D. Orlando Ledbetter for his webpage AJC.

Here’s what Dungy thinks the 1-4 Falcons must do to fashion a turn around:

STAY MENTALLY STRONG: The mental approach must be strong. They can’t let the injuries get them down.

GET JACKSON BACK: Quarterback Matt Ryan would benefit greatly from the return of running back Steven Jackson, who could return some balance to the offense. Basically, the Falcons are passing too much behind a revamped line.

FIND A PASS RUSH: The defense needs to ramp up the pass rush. “What they don’t have is those one or two guys that can put that pressure on the passer,” Dungy said. “That’s what this league is all about now. Protecting your passer and rushing the passer.”

PUT TOGETHER A MINI-STREAK: The Falcons have enough firepower to get this season turned around. “They just have to keep going with the idea that ‘if we can get on a three-game winning streak, we can get back in this,’ ’’ Dungy said. “They have enough firepower to do that.”

PLAYER BREAKTHROUGHS: Under the current roster structure which was fashioned after the Colts, some of the late draft picks and undrafted players need to turn into major players like Robert Mathis and Antoine Bethea did for him in Indianapolis.

The Falcons take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this Sunday. Great seats and tickets are still available.

Falcons waive 3 wide receivers to get to 75

The Atlanta Falcons have waived WR Rashad Evans, WR Marcus Jackson and WR Marcus Sales to get down to the mandatory 75 players.

The Falcons have yet to win a preseason game and have been beaten by the Bengals, Ravens and Titans prompting Head Coach Mike Smith to declare that the “mistakes will be fixed before (the) season opener.

”You know there’s going to matchups that you like and matchups you’re going to be concerned about,” Smith said Monday. ”And with those matchups you’re concerned about, it’s a coach’s job to put people in position where they can be successful.”

Starting quarterback Matt Ryan was sacked five times during the loss to Tennessee.

”We gave up way too many sacks,” Smith said. ”Often times, people want to pinpoint it on one person. That’s not the case. Unless you know what the protection is, what the front is and know who’s responsible for (whom), you can’t blame one person.”

The Falcons will take on the Jacksonville Jaguars in the fourth and final preseason game. Tickets are still available.