The Atlanta Falcons are 4-0 in the NFC South and 0-7 against the rest of the NFL. Somehow, the Falcons have managed to sit on top of their division, tied with the New Orleans Saints, despite continuing to struggling each week. After plenty of poor game management decisions, head coach Mike Smith's job status has come under fire. However, quarterback Matt Ryan fully supports his head coach and the rest of the team as he believes the Falcons are in the driver's seat for the season.
"As ugly as it's been, we're still in the driver's seat," Ryan said, via Atlanta's 680 The Fan "You never know how it's going to shake out. Obviously this year has been way different than any other I've been a part of, but it is what it is. Here we are, with five games to go. We've just got to do whatever we can to get the job done this weekend and stay on top."
The Falcons have one of the hardest remaining schedules in the NFL which does not make their playoff chances look very good at the moment. Their season series with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is over while Atlanta still has to face the Arizona Cardinals, Green Bay Packers and the New Orleans Saints on the road. Ryan believes that the tem struggles stem far past the coaching mistakes and the players should do a better job of owning up to their own poor plays.
"There's nobody that takes more responsibility than Mike," Ryan said. "And that's one of the reasons, as a player, you love him. He is the first to say, 'Listen, I wish we would have done that one differently.' So from a player's perspective, we've got to make him right. We can't worry about anything else other than we've got to convert that third down, we've got to get a first, we've got to be able to make them burn their timeouts and then kick it in the uprights and win that game. I feel for [Smith] because he's 'the man' when it comes to that."
Top offensive stars like Roddy White and Julio Jones admit they need to improve if the Falcons are going to win a game outside of the dismal NFC South. Dropped passes have plagued the wide receivers while injuries continue to force double-coverage on defense.
''We've got to hold onto balls out there and do what we're supposed to do as an offense,'' White said, via FOX Sports. ''We know what we've got to do. We'll get it done. Our quarterback is a really good quarterback. We've got a chance to win about every game. We've had a whole lot of third-and-10s or longer than we've had the last three or four years. We've got to fix that problem and get ourselves opportunities to be successful.''
