Here are five things to know about the Falcons on Tuesday:
1. Woody Hayes rule -- Run the ball. Running backs Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman ran the ball 12 times for 82 yards in the first half against the Dolphins. They ran it only six times for 18 yards in the second half. Jeff Saturday (old Shamrock High) and the guys on ESPN's NFL Primetime show ripped the Falcons for not running the ball more in the second half and they laid into quarterback Matt Ryan for throwing the ball to tight end Austin Hooper who was in double coverage on the final drive.
2. First-half Falcons are chokers? What's up with being outscored 72-30 over the second half this season? Are the Falcons chokers? They outscored Chicago 13-7 in the second half. Green Bay outscored them 16-10, Detroit 13-0, Buffalo 16-7 and Miami 20-0. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist Jeff Schultz takes an early week dive into the topic, which will be featured nationwide this week as the Falcons get ready to face New England in a rematch of Super Bowl LI. On "Tell the Truth Monday" coach Dan Quinn had this to say about the second-half scoring disparity:
“I knew this game, certainly when I’ve gone back, we just didn’t get enough possessions this last week. We had a long drive right off the bat. I think we had a possession where it went three-and-out right in the third quarter, but we need possessions and we need time. Creating takeaways is one way that can certainly help and having the mindset to go for it in the same way we do in the first half. I know when you look at it in the first half, second half, and points, there are no moral victories in the stats that go along with that. You either got the job done or you didn’t. We’ve had some games where we have, and we’ve had some games that we haven’t. It’s certainly something we looked into to find out why the scoring hasn’t been up to the standard at the end.”
3. Super Bowl Hangover is real. No losing Super Bowl team has made it back to the Super Bowl since Buffalo in 1994. The Falcons, who could easily be 1-4, appear to be on that same path early in the season after a 3-2 start and real bad losses at home to Buffalo and Miami. It's early and they can flip the script, but the Falcons have an 8-8, 9-7 look to them right now.
4. Schweizter's arrow pointing upward. Falcons right guard Wes Schweitzer played well against Miami's Ndamukong Suh. After a shaky debut against the Bears, Schweitzer is coming around.
5. Hill to practice squad. The Falcons will announce today that running back Brian Hill has re-signed to the practice squad. The fifth-round pick from Wyoming cleared waivers at 4 p.m. Monday. He was cut on Saturday to make room for wide receiver Marvin Hall.
