Anonymous Atlanta Falcons player says “our (offensive) linemen are punks”
By Jason Marcum
The Atlanta Falcons offensive line hasn’t exactly done a great job of protecting their franchise quarterback through the first two games. After the season-opening loss to the New Orleans Saints, Falcons Head coach Mike Smith called out his o-line for failing to come to the aid of Matt Ryan when he was the victim of a late hit by Saints rookie safety Kenny Vaccaro.
Now, there’s reports of an anonymous Falcons player calling out the o-line:
"Atlanta’s linemen offered no such call to arms, leaving Smith to ask where the Staley moment was from his cast of blockers.“Our linemen are punks,” one frustrated Falcons player told NFL Media columnist Michael Silver this week."
The Staley moment is in reference to a moment during the Week 1 contest between the Green bay Packers and the San Francisco 49ers, in which offensive tackle Joe Staley came to the aid of Colin Kaepernick when he was hit late on a ply by Packers linebacker Clay Matthews.
Staley almost got into a fist-fight and ejected, just to show how much he was willing to do to defend his QB.
Apparently, the Falcons o-line isn’t showing that kind of “fight” in them, and it’s causing some dissension.