The Falcons were hoping for more explosive plays out of the WRs in 2011, but it hasn’t happened yet.  Roddy White is leading the way out of this bunch with 39 grabs for 425 yards (10.9 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  He is still an excellent possession receiver, but he doesn’t get down the field a whole lot.  Rookie Julio Jones was supposed to be the deep threat of the Falcons.  He has caught 25 passes for 358 yards (14.3 avg) so far this year and he has yet to catch at TD pass.  Harry Douglas has caught 17 passes for 199 yards (11.7 avg) this year as the Falcons continue to wait for him to step up.  Eric Weems has been so busy on special teams that the Falcons aren’t using him on offense as the has only caught 1 pass for 4 yards.  If the Falcons want to get back to the playoffs in 2011, these guys need to step up.

The Falcons made moves in the off-season to add even more firepower to the offense, but they have been stuck in reverse.  Most of the reason for the lack of offense this year falls on the shoulders of 26-year old QB Matt Ryan.  Ryan has played in all five games for the Falcons so far this year and he has completed 120 of 196 passes (61.2%) for 1,302 yards with 7 TD passes and 6 interceptions (79.9 QB Rating).  Ryan has also carried the ball 12 times for 53 yards (4.4 ypc) so far this year.  The Falcons can’t get back on track until Ryan starts to play like he can.

26-year old QB Matt Ryan has not been too consistent this year for the Falcons.  He has played in both games for the Falcons so far this year and he has completed 48 of 75 passes (64%) for 514 yards with 4 TD passes and 3 INTs (85.1 QB Rating).  Ryan has also carried the ball 4 times for 6 yards (1.5 ypc) so far this year.  The Falcons brought in rookie WR Julio Jones and RB Jacquizz Rodgers in the draft to help amp up the offense even more in 2011, so they need Ryan to get into a positive groove.  The Falcons are going to have to score points to win this year as they have already allowed 61 points in 2011.

The Atlanta Falcons need 27-year old Peria Jerry and 24-year old Vance Walker to step up starting this Sunday against the Eagles.  Jerry and Walker both played against the Bears and they each had 1 tackle.  Jerry is in his third year with the Falcons and he has played in 19 games in which he has 11 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks and 1 pass defensed.  Walker is also in his third year with the Falcons and he has 30 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss and 2 passes defensed.  Starting DTs Jonathan Babineaux and Corey Peters are both out for this Sunday’s game against an Eagles team that rushed for 236 yards and 7.4 yards per carry against the Rams last week.  So the Falcons need Peria Jerry and Vance Walker to step up starting this Sunday.

In 2008 , 26-year old WR Harry Douglas burst on the scene in Atlanta as a rookie.  He played in all 16 games for the Falcons in 2008 and he caught 23 passes for 320 yards (13.9 avg) with a TD catch.  He also carried the ball 12 times for 69 yards (5.8 ypc) with a TD run in 2008.  The Falcons had high hopes for him but he was seriously injured in 2009 missing the whole year with a torn ACL.  With Michael Jenkins to miss the start of this year with an injury and Harry Douglas healthy they were depending on him to step up but he didn’t!  Douglas has played in 15 games for the Falcons this year and he has caught 21 passes for 275 yards (13.1 avg) with 1 TD grab and he has also carried the ball 2 times for -5 yards (-2.5 ypc).  Falcons’ QB Matt Ryan (who is very accurate) only has completed 21 of 51 passes (41.2%) to Douglas so far this year.  He is now buried on the bench with Michael Jenkins back in action.

The Falcons used a first round pick on linebacker Sean Weatherspoon and he got off to a fast start to his NFL career.  In his first three games for the Falcons, Weatherspoon had 24 tackles and 1 sack.  But he injured his knee which caused him to miss some time and he doesn’t appear healthy quite yet.  Weatherspoon has played in 6 games for the Falcons so far this year and he has 32 tackles, 1 sack and 1 pass defensed.  The Falcons really like what they have seen out of Weatherspoon and the defense could really use him down the stretch this year if he can get close to 100% healthy.

Michael Turner and Tony Gonzalez got off to rough starts against the Steelers’ D in the season opener last week.  I look for both of them to have a much better showing against the Cardinals in the Falcons’ home opener this Sunday.  Turner carried the ball 19 times for 42 yards (2.2 ypc) and he also caught 1 pass for 7 yards last week while Gonzalez only caught 2 passes for 35 yards (17.5 avg).  Gonzalez has a tough match-up against the safeties of the Cardinals (Kerry Rhodes & Adrian Wilson) but I fully expect Michael Turner to have at least 80 yards rushing this Sunday.

The Falcons will likely need to win out to make the playoffs and while that seems like a hard task it is far from impossible.  This week is the toughest one for the Falcons as the Saints are 12-0 after all.  But, in the first meeting between these teams the Falcons only lost by 8 points.  The Falcons then play the Jets in New Jersey, Buffalo at home and then they finish the season at Tampa Bay.  So if the Falcons can somehow win this week then the playoffs won’t be a pipe dream.

Michael Jenkins has not improved one bit since joining the Falcons six years ago.  He just seems to be the latest of the overrated players from Ohio State.  He has played in 9 games this year for the Falcons and he has caught 27 passes for 310 yards (11.5 avg) with 0 TD grabs.  In six years with the Falcons, Jenkins has played in 86 games in which he has caught 212 passes for 2,682 yards (12.7 avg) with 17 TD grabs.  The Falcons need Jenkins to step up or he needs to sit down because he has not been a good WR in the NFL yet in his career.

The Falcons need Matt Ryan to pick up the pace as he needs to snap out of his sophomore slump.  Ryan has completed 178 of 298 passes (59.7%) for 2,008 yards with 14 TD passes and 12 INTs (78.8 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 22 times for 34 yards (1.5 ypc) with 1 TD run.  I know that it’s not fair to single out Matt Ryan for criticism but with Michael Turner injured and the defense playing poorly the only way the Falcons are going to start winning again is by outscoring the opposition using the passing game.  And that means that Matt Ryan has to carry the team on his shoulders.