News » 3 Falcons up, 3 Falcons down in Week 3 loss to Saints

The Atlanta Falcons came up Womens Desmond Trufant Jersey short Sunday, falling 43-37 in overtime to the New Orleans Saints.Who’s up and who’s down in the loss?UpMatt RyanRyan was masterful against the Saints. He threw for 374 yards, a career-high five touchdowns, and no interceptions on 26 of 35 passing. Unfortunately, it still wasn’t enough. His 148.1 passer rating was the highest rating a quarterback has posted in a loss. Would you expect differently from the Falcons?Calvin RidleyThe rookie didn’t have a catch in Week 1’s matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles and suddenly he’s catching three touchdowns in a single game. Ridley screwed Saints cornerback P.J. Williams into the ground on his first score from 18-yards out. Then, he ran past Williams for a 75-yard touchdown. He completed the hat trick with a nine-yard score early in the third quarter. Welcome to the NFL, Ridley.Steve SarkisianThe Falcons are perfect (8/8) in the red zone over the past two games. Give credit to Sarkisian for that efficiency after the Week 1 blunder. Perhaps he should’ve called fewer tosses against the Saints Youth Logan Paulsen Jersey , but at least he and Ryan appear to have some sort of connection.DownTakeIt was clear the Falcons defense would offer virtually no resistance from the first possession of the game. Drew Brees marched the Saints right down the field on an effortless six-play, 75-yard drive. The lack of resistance came to a culmination when Brian Poole and Robert Alford had Brees dead to rights but the Saints quarterback spun away and scored on a seven-yard touchdown run that would force overtime. Yikes.YourThe football gods hate the Falcons and there’s no doubt about it. Injuries have dismantled the defense, with Ricardo Allen the latest defender set to miss the rest of the season. Adam Caplan, who proudly declared the Falcons as the healthiest team in the league in a now-deleted tweet, certainly deserves some of the blame for the jinx. He’s probably already blocked you, though.PickThe offense was weirdly conservative on its final drive before half time. With 1:36 left and a couple of timeouts, the Falcons had an opportunity to put more points on the board before the half. Instead Youth Brandon Fusco Jersey , two rushes and an incomplete pass later, the Saints got the ball back with :40 left and promptly drove down the field for a field goal and a 16-14 lead. It didn’t make much sense when you consider the Falcons were moving the ball at will up until that point.What’s your take?Falcons place Ricardo Allen on IR, sign LB Bruce Carter & S Sharrod Neasman The Falcons have officially placed starting FS Ricardo Allen on IR, ending his 2018 season. The team also made several other roster moves on Tuesday afternoon, including:Signed LB Bruce CarterSigned S Sharrod NeasmanWaived LB Richard JarvisRicardo Allen tore his achilles during the Falcons’ Week 3 match-up with the Saints. Allen signed a 3-year, $19.5M contract with the Falcons during training camp, and all of Atlanta hopes that he is able to return healthy for the start of the 2019 season. Achilles injuries are typically quite difficult to return from Youth Terrell McClain Jersey , however, so it’s possible that Allen may need additional time to return to full strength.The Falcons also signed LB Bruce Carter and S Sharrod Neasman to bolster the depth at both positions. Carter is a 7-year veteran who most recently played with Jets in 2017—he’s piled up 311 tackles, 5 sacks, 17 pass deflections, and 5 INTs during his career. Neasman was with the Falcons in 2017 as the primary back-up strong safety behind Keanu Neal. He played in 11 games for Atlanta last season, with only 2 total tackles. Neasman is familiar with the scheme and looked solid in limited playing time—hopefully, he can provide steady depth and will compete with Jordan Richards Authentic Matt Ryan Jersey , Keith Tandy, and Kemal Ishmael for the starting role.Richard Jarvis has bounced between the active roster and the practice squad several times this season. The Falcons clearly like Jarvis as a developmental EDGE/LB, and I’d expect him to return to the practice squad if he clears waivers.What are your thoughts on these roster moves? Do you think the Falcons will get anything out of Bruce Carter and/or Sharrod Neasman? Who do you think should start among the Falcons current options at SS?