Overreaction Monday: Falcons already regretting giving Raheem Morris another chance

Everything we saw positive about the Atlanta Falcons over a month ago has been completely erased. After beating the snot out of the Dallas Cowboys to improve to 6-3 on the season, the Dirty Birds have gone on to lose their last three games to the New Orleans Saints, the Denver Broncos and now the Los Angeles Chargers to fall back to 6-6. If not for a 4-1 record in the division, Atlanta is screwed.

For as much as I hoped, prayed and wanted it to be, this was never going to be the year the Falcons made a deep run in the playoffs. While they still control their own destiny to get in as the best team in the worst division in the league, the Dirty Birds are starting to run out of time. 10 wins is going to win the NFC South, but do the Falcons want to roll the dice and let 9-8 be the reason they do not make it.

Yes, being two games up on the New Orleans Saints is huge, as is being three games up on the Carolina Panthers. While the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have the same 6-6 record as Atlanta, where would the Falcons be if they did not complete the series sweep of their rival? With only five games left, we have to wonder if Raheem Morris has enough coaching chops to get this team back on track.

It may have been controversial to hire him, but I was more in favor of the move up until very recently...

Atlanta Falcons have stalled out in middle of Raheem Morris' first year

What I liked the most about the Falcons hiring Morris off Sean McVay's Los Angeles Rams staff nearly a year ago was I felt that he was the perfect CEO type to get this team over the top. Yes, he favors the defensive side of the ball, but did coach wide receivers briefly in Atlanta when he was an integral part of Dan Quinn's staff. He did show me something when he went 4-7 as Quinn's interim back in 2020.

While the Saints defeat was the ultimate trap game because New Orleans had just moved on from Dennis Allen after a seven-game losing streak, the last two losses to Denver and Los Angeles have really stuck out to me. Although Morris has the respect of his peers and his players, I don't know if he is quite there to hold his own vs. some of the best coaches in the profession. Look at his 2024 record.

Morris' six wins are over Todd Bowles twice, a rookie head coach in Dave Canales, Dennis Allen before he got fired, a soon-to-be fired Mike McCarthy and a head coach nobody really likes all that much in the always cocky Nick Sirianni. There is some good there, but not a ton. I feel like Atlanta is getting out-coached more and more often. Zac Robinson has hit a wall and Jimmy Lake was a huge mistake.

Now if we take a look at who Morris has lost to, things get a little more clear. He has lost to the best coach in the game today in Andy Reid, the Falcons' perpetual nemesis of old in Sean Payton, the man who refuses to have a losing season in Mike Tomlin, the man who has never had an awkward moment in his life in Jim Harbaugh, a first-time head coach in Mike Macdonald and an interim in Darren Rizzi.

It feels like either the far more seasoned guys like Harbaugh, Payton, Reid and Tomlin are getting the best of him more than anything. The good news for the Falcons is there is only one coach left Morris could be rendered useless against. That would be Kevin O'Connell up in Minneapolis. Morris and O'Connell were on McVay's Super Bowl staff in Los Angeles. There is also a date with Dan Quinn, too...

Simply put, the Falcons are making the playoffs if they win four of their next five games. If they win three of five, they still have a great shot because of the Tampa Bay tiebreaker. I think a loss to the Vikings next week is probable. Atlanta should be favored over bad teams like Las Vegas, New York and Carolina to end the season. It may all come down to the Washington date in very late December.

Right now, I think it would be so far beyond moronic to move on from Morris for the Falcons. However, I think Morris may need to hire a new defensive coordinator over Jimmy Lake. More importantly, I think we need to see if Michael Penix Jr. is ready to compete for the starting quarterback job that Kirk Cousins' play is now bringing into question. The next five weeks will decide Cousins' Atlanta future.

If there is any saving grace with this collapse, it is that Zac Robinson is not going to be poached away.