FLOWERY BRANCH - With the Atlanta Falcons enduring so many distractions in the last week, interim head coach Wade Phillips tried Wednesday to help his players focus on football.
``I have to have a feel for the team and get on them or back off of them,'' Phillips said. ``Whatever it takes to play as hard as they can play in this game.''
The Falcons (3-11) are reeling as they prepare to visit Tampa Bay (7-7). Though owner Arthur Blank was elated this week to introduce Rich McKay as Atlanta's new president and general manager, nothing else has worked recently in the Falcons' favor:
Four days after Blank fired head coach Dan Reeves, quarterback Michael Vick was sacked four times, lost an opening-drive fumble at the Atlanta 14 and finished with a career-low passer rating of 19 in last week's 38-7 loss at Indianapolis;
The Falcons took the NFL's least efficient third-down offense and made it worse, going 1-for-11 against the Colts as the offense finished with only 154 net yards;
Atlanta's defense has ranked at the bottom of the league most of the season, but it played abysmally against Indianapolis. Peyton Manning threw five touchdown passes and led an attack that burned the Falcons for 465 yards the eighth time this year the Falcons have allowed at least 399.
``I think part of coaching in the situation we're in now is to get the team to be motivated on whatever you can motivate them with,'' Phillips said. ``I think one thing is to beat Tampa because we haven't done that.''
The defending Super Bowl champion Bucs have won six straight over Atlanta, including a 31-10 victory in Week 3 at the Georgia Dome. Vick's backup, Doug Johnson, threw three interceptions as the Falcons finished with only 136 yards the club's second-lowest output. It managed only 119 at Chicago in a 36-0 loss 18 years ago.
Running back T.J. Duckett knows Atlanta's best hope of beating Tampa Bay is to establish a consistent ground attack. The Falcons ran 19 times for only 29 yards in the last meeting, but with Reeves' firing no longer hanging over the team and Vick preparing to make his second start after missing the first 11 games with a broken leg, Duckett hopes the distractions will cease.
``All year, there's been so much going on,'' Duckett said. ``This is just a great game for us to pretty much try to put everything behind us. Tampa Bay is who we play this weekend. Forget about coaching, forget about our record, forget about everything else that's going on everywhere, and just focus on this one game and take care of what we have to do.''
Defensive end Patrick Kerney just wants the Falcons to show some backbone against the run. In last year's 34-10 loss at Tampa Bay, the Bucs entered with a ground game that ranked No. 30, but they finished with 150 yards.
Quarterback Brad Johnson, who has seven touchdown passes in his last three games against Atlanta, burned the Falcons on four scoring strikes when the teams met a year ago at Raymond James Stadium.
``I've always thought he is the key to their offense and his ability to make quick decisions and get rid of the ball,'' Kerney said. ``With the big receivers they've had down there, they're able to hit the quick slants and be physical. He's able to get the ball off before you even get a rush going. That combination makes him very dangerous, and he's very tough, too. He takes a lot of shots.''
NOTES: Defensive end Brady Smith practiced Wednesday with a hyperextended elbow and nose tackle Ed Jasper with a swollen knee and ankle, but both are listed as doubtful on the injury report. ... Phillips upgraded cornerback Juran Bolden (lower back) to questionable. Bolden was out last week.
Tuesday
May 13th, 2025
1:40AM
