If either side of the ball has been poorer than advertised for the Falcons, it’s hands-down the offense. The Falcons defense has exceeded all expectations, one poor road game against a very good offense aside.
NESN joins The Sporting News in curiously blaming the team’s defense for its struggles, despite a month of great defense:
Matt Ryan is playing better than he did last season, which is a big reason for Atlanta’s success, but the defense still leaves plenty to be desired.
Detroit Sports Examiner drops the Falcons to ninth.
Peter King drops the Falcons to 11th, again focusing the blame on the defense and ignoring the offense’s disappointments:
Falcons bit on too much play-action in Philly and didn’t disrupt Kevin Kolb enough. Not a great team right now.
The Sports Jury is higher on the Birds than most, listing Atlanta ninth:
They lost a pair of tough road games, but are still among the league’s best.