Kritik und Lob » Ricardo Allen injury: If the safety m

isses significant time Youth Takkarist McKinley Jersey , the Falcons are in big trouble The Falcons have sort of weathered the storm with Keanu Neal out. Damontae Kazee and Jordan Richards haven’t been amazing, but they’re been at least solid (more Kazee than Richards, of course). The bigger troubles have been in the front seven, where a lack of a quality pass rush and some middling linebacker play have hurt.That said, the Falcons are far worse off than they would be with Neal in the lineup, But what happens if Ricardo Allen misses significant time, too?In this unbelievable nightmare hellscape of a season, that possibility is now on the table. We will likely start hearing about Allen’s status as soon as tomorrow, but the possibility that the Falcons could be down two excellent safeties should and will fill every Falcons fan with dread. There’s almost zero chance the team would charge ahead with Damontae Kazee, Jordan Richards and Keith Tandy between the two positions, even if all three have starting experience at this point. Before I go any further, I’d like to stress that I don’t know that Allen will be out for any length of time. This season has taught me to expect the worst. Why they’re in trouble Allen’s just a quality safety, one who is acknowledged as an effective communicator and leader for this defense. Without him out there Takkarist McKinley Men Jersey , the team is leaning on players who just don’t have that experience and reputation. They’re also relying on players who haven’t shown the aptitude to make the kind of absurdly difficult, play-saving open field tackles that Allen has perfected over the last few seasons, though Kazee has shown some real promise in that regard. Allen’s strengths have never exactly earned him recognition from the fanbase, but we’ve come to increasingly appreciate him as the defense has improved. If the team lost physicality and playmaking ability with Neal, they’re losing steadiness and leadership with Allen. Both will hurt a lot.How they might address the positionFirst of all, Damontae Kazee will likely start at free safety for the rest of the year if Allen’s out. That’s the easy part, I think, because Kazee has shown promise there and the Falcons have shown they trust him there. The hard part comes from trying to figure out what to do at strong safety over the long haul, because the Falcons don’t have any slam dunk candidates in-house.One option would be Jordan Richards, who filled in against the Panthers and showed some solid instincts against the run combined with not-so-solid instincts in coverage. He was known for his adventures with the Patriots, who gave him away for nothing despite the state of their defense, so that’s unlikely to be more than a stopgap option. Ditto Keith Tandy, who was inactive against the Saints despite a long history of starting games for the Buccaneers and playing reasonably well doing so. The other Color Rush Takkarist McKinley Jersey , more unorthodox option would be to put Brian Poole at strong safety. Poole isn’t big, but he’s extremely physical. His coverage has not been inspiring this year to this point, but he’d likely be better than Richards in that regard, and the Falcons could roll out Blidi Wreh-Wilson or Isaiah Oliver at cornerback if they shifted him over. It’d be a pretty big shift, but one I think Poole could probably handle.The final option is to replace him with an outside candidate. Eric Reid is the obvious choice given his skillset, relative youth, and history of production, but he’s gone unsigned this entire time as he pursues a collusion case against the NFL, so for better or (more likely) for worse I’m guessing we won’t see Atlanta sign him. That leaves guys like the amusingly-named Fish Smithson, former quality starters with recent difficulties like T.J. Ward and Tyvon Branch, and bargain basement types to fill out the back end of the roster. There’s just not as much out there as there once was, and it’s frustrating to realize that the team really would have had the opportunity to use Ron Parker had they kept him around. Any way you slice it, the Falcons defense will be worse without Ricardo Allen. Hope against hope that he can come back healthy soon so we don’t have to find out just how much worse. FLOWERY BRANCH Authentic Takkarist McKinley Jersey , Ga. (AP) — This is not the way Tevin Coleman hoped to pad his resume entering possible free agency.Coleman had an excellent opportunity to show he can be a lead running back when Atlanta Falcons starter Devonta Freeman was placed on injured reserve on Oct. 16. Coleman had been productive in a shared role with Freeman the last three years, but his chance to shine as the clear-cut starter hasn’t worked out as planned.The Falcons’ running game has flopped. Atlanta ranks last in the NFL in rushing entering Sunday’s game at the Green Bay Packers.The blame can’t rest only on Coleman and rookie backup Ito Smith. In recent weeks there has been no room to run behind a makeshift offensive line. It’s a big reason the Falcons (4-8) have lost four straight games .Instead of seizing the job and increasing his value on the free-agent market, Coleman has hit a wall. He has 14 carries for 14 yards in the last two games.Coleman said Wednesday he’s not concerned about the possible financial hit to his free-agent outlook.“I’m really not thinking about that right now,” Coleman said. “I’m just thinking about playing my game.”Smith had more carries than Coleman in last week’s 26-16 loss to the Baltimore Ravens , though neither back was effective.Smith had seven carries for 22 yards. Coleman ran for only eight yards on a season-low six carries.“That wasn’t by design at all,” said coach Dan Quinn of Coleman’s reduced role.The Falcons ran only five plays in the third quarter against the Ravens’ top-ranked defense. Coleman had three carries on Atlanta’s opening possession and only three more the remainder of the game.Coleman lost yardage on three of his six carries.“It’s definitely been frustrating but we’ve just got to keep on working, keep coming out here and practicing hard and getting the right looks we need to get,” Coleman said.When the running game isn’t working, Matt Ryan’s play-action passing game also suffers. Ryan’s 131 yards passing against the Ravens set a career low for a full game.Clearly, it’s crucial for Coleman and the Falcons to revive their running attack.“It sets up everything,” guard Ben Garland said Wednesday. “We have to run the ball better so we’re allowed to run the ball more and have more play-pass. It sets up the rest of our offenseThe Falcons face difficult offseason decisions at running back.Freeman signed a five-year, $41.25 million extension before the 2017 season, making him one of the NFL’s highest paid running backs. He has played in only two games this season due to knee Takkarist McKinley Jersey Boys , foot and groin injuries. Freeman and Coleman each missed time with concussions in 2017.Coleman, in his fourth season, ran for 107 yards in a Week 2 win over Carolina . He has only one other game with at least 60 yards. Overall, he has 514 yards rushing with two touchdowns.Season-ending injuries to starting guards Andy Levitre and Brandon Fusco have hurt ground game, especially in the last few weeks.“Really over the last four games is where we felt like we hit a wall,” Quinn said.Quinn is trying every option on the patchwork line. Zane Beadles started over Garland at right guard against the Ravens. On Wednesday, Ty Sambrailo took snaps ahead of starting right tackle Ryan Schraeder. Quinn has not said if Beadles will make another start or he will make a change at right tackle.Breaking the season into four-game quarters, Quinn is looking at Sunday’s game as the start of the team’s fourth quarter and another chance to find the missing running game.“We’re going to keep digging hard,” he said. “You know how important it is to us and the team. We’re not backing off even though the results over the last third quarter have not been what we want. We’re starting fresh for us in this fourth quarter … going after it as hard as we can in every way.”