A review of the hot issues from the Atlanta Falcons’ 23-17 loss to the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
Not the Greatest Show on Turf: There was a lot of offseason talk about Atlanta’s offense and how it could be among the greatest ever. That was obvious Sunday as the Falcons scored 17 points against a defense that was the worst in the league last season. When you have Roddy White, Julio Jones, Tony Gonzalez, Matt Ryan and Steven Jackson, you should be scoring 17 points a quarter.
A case of the drops: When they signed Jackson, the Falcons made a lot of noise about how valuable he would be as a receiver out of the backfield. But Jackson dropped two passes, including one that could have been a game-winning touchdown.
The offensive line is a problem: The Falcons juggled their offensive line after releasing right tackle Tyson Clabo and the retirement of Todd McClure. It’s obvious this unit is going through growing pains. Ryan was under duress way more than he should have been against a defense that isn’t that talented.