In just five games this season, the Atlanta Falcons have already lost one more regular season game than they did all of last year.
However, according to head coach Mike Smith, the team is not discouraged, via Pro Football Talk:
"We simply came up short. We are disappointed but we are not discouraged. Now we have to use this bye week to evaluate everything we do, keep on fighting."
The Falcons’ 1-4 start has to be more than disappointing. For a team that made the NFC Championship just a year ago, and championship aspirations this year, this has to be absolutely shocking.
To be fair, all of the Falcons’ losses have been close against winning teams, but I can’t think of any word to describe “coming up short” week after week, especially against teams like the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets, than discouraging.
“I feel like we are not making the plays that we need to make,” said Smith. “We are not coaching the way we need to coach. We’re all in this together. There is enough things to look at we all can improve on. It is a group effort.”
The Falcons will have a chance to make corrections during this weeks bye. The Falcons are certainly not out of the playoffs yet, but with the New Orleans Saints looming at 5-0, a wild card birth maybe all the Falcons can hope for at this point. And that has to be disappointment.