Coach Dan Quinn has been here before with a three-game losing streak

The Atlanta Falcons dropped three straight last year. They lost six in a row in Quinn's first season in 2015."None of us expected to be here with this losing record http://www.atlantafalconsteamonline.com/jake-matthews-jersey ," Quinn said Monday. "We also don't expect to stay here."At 1-4, the Falcons are reeling and hardly resemble the team that recovered from a three-game skid last year to win seven of 10 and make the playoffs.Their defense ranks worst in points allowed and worst in third-down percentage. Their offense struggles to protect quarterback Matt Ryan and to generate a running game.Star receiver Julio Jones didn't catch a pass until the fourth quarter of Sunday's blowout loss at Pittsburgh. Atlanta's special teams has been embarrassed with two blocked punts in the past three games."You're in a slump and how do you get out of it?" Quinn said. "You fight your ass off to get your technique right and get organized right because you're the one that will do it."The Falcons are fortunate that Ryan isn't seriously hurt. The 2016 NFL MVP had X-rays that were negative on his foot after Pittsburgh sacked him six times and hit him 11 additional times.But that's about the only good news Atlanta has had with injuries. The defense has two starters, safeties Keanu Neal and Ricardo Allen, out for the season, and middle linebacker Deion Jones won't return for another five weeks.Defensive tackle Grady Jarrett has an ankle injury and could miss his second straight game when the Falcons host Tampa Bay this weekend.Quinn said tight ends, running backs and receivers were as responsible as the offensive linemen for missing blocks that contributed to Ryan's hits.The Falcons didn't pick up blitzes well enough or hold back the Steelers' steady four-man rush. Blocks broke down quickly at the point of attack.Left tackle Jake Matthews said the line too often was out of position or not sliding out quickly enough to plug the gaps."We go over all the looks and we have a real good game plan going in how to protect him, but a different stunt comes at you and you have to react," Matthews said. "Just sticking to our rules and techniques will take care of it."The running game ranks 25th after gaining 62 yards against Pittsburgh. Devonta Freeman, returning from a knee injury that sidelined him three straight games, had a 20-yard gain in the first quarter but otherwise picked up just 12 yards on seven attempts. Tevin Coleman rushed seven times for 15 yards.Jones ranks third in NFL yards receiving, but he had five straight incompletions before finally catching an 18-yard pass that set up a touchdown. The two-time All-Pro has zero TD catches this year and just three in the past two seasons."He's always part of our thinking and design," Quinn said. "So as coaches, what can we do to put him in spots that it's way harder to find the double (team), way harder to get to a spot where they can put two guys on him. Every week we have to think that way."Easily the Falcons' biggest concern is with a defense that's allowed five touchdowns in each of the past three games, though Quinn does like that they came out of the game with no new injuries and will begin this week with the same personnel."If you just look at the stats, you're going to be miserable Authentic Keanu Neal Jersey ," Quinn said. "There are guys who have new voices playing next to one another. Maybe they haven't had as much communication as you would like, some verbal, some non-verbal."Defensive end Takk McKinley was even more succinct."Man, we got our ass kicked," McKinley said. "That's pretty much it."Falcons vs. Bengals: Snap counts to help us point fingers angrily The Falcons got plenty of snaps on Sunday. Some players rose to the occasion and others faltered, and we’re going to take a bit of a closer look at the counts and how they impacted the game right here. OffenseJake Matthews: 70Wes Schweitzer: 70Alex Mack: 70Brandon Fusco: 70Ryan Schraeder: 70Matt Ryan: 70Austin Hooper: 57Mohamed Sanu: 55Julio Jones: 54Tevin Coleman: 40Calvin Ridley: 38Ito Smith: 30Logan Paulsen: 29Marvin Hall: 16Justin Hardy: 14Ricky Ortiz: 12Eric Saubert: 4Russell Gage: 1I leveled some criticism at the offensive line for a couple of miscues—mostly Fusco’s penalties and some failures to hold the Bengals back on obvious passing situations—but they’re still enabling this offense to do some good things. They were better in run blocking situations this week, while Ortiz chipped in his best game of the year, the team’s receiving options did their jobs in that regard, and Ito Smith turned in a nice game in pass protection. Miscues aside, you have to tip your cap, especially after the disappointing showing against the Saints.The biggest surprise might have been seeing Ito get nearly as many snaps as Coleman, the lead back. Smith has been stellar in his limited playing time to this point, and his role will keep expanding until Devonta Freeman returns and/or he cools down. At the very least, the Falcons have to feel great about their running back depth at the moment.Otherwise, it might be worth noting that Marvin Hall is slowing working his way by Justin Hardy, which makes sense given the former’s production thus far in 2018. Neither guy is going to get a ton of run with these top three receiving options Authentic Vic Beasley Jersey , but both are useful players.Overall, the offense was good-to-stellar, and there shouldn’t be any sweeping changes in the near future to the way they’re being deployed. DefenseRobert Alford: 73Damontae Kazee: 73Desmond Trufant: 71De’Vondre Campbell: 64Isaiah Oliver: 63Vic Beasley: 56Brian Poole: 56Duke Riley: 55Takkarist McKinley: 49Jack Crawford: 45Grady Jarrett: 37Deadrin Senat: 30Terrell McClain: 29Brooks Reed: 27Foye Oluokun: 23Jordan Richards: 19Steven Means: 18Blidi Wreh-Wilson: 15The Falcons tried some different things in this game. They tried Trufant working out of the slot, they tried Poole at safety, they tried Isaiah Oliver period, and they tried moving Takk inside. The results were a decidedly mixed bag, but you have to give the team credit for trying to find a better way forward with what they’ve got. It’s just that the result were so catastrophic in the secondary it’s hard to feel good about it at all.Pro Football Focus is not the end all, be all, but they ranked Desmond Trufant and Robert Alford as the team’s two worst defenders on Sunday, and I don’t think many would quibble with that. Both were penalized, both found themselves out of position, and both made costly (and I would argue uncharacteristic) errors in coverage. Add in Oliver’s growing pains at cornerback and Poole’s shaky adjustment to safety play and perhaps it’s not surprising the Falcons looked awful against the pass two days ago.They did achieve a fleeting measure of success in the third and early fourth quarter, in part because the front four started to get home. This was one of the better games of the year for the defensive line, with rookie Deadrin Senat showing well, Jack Crawford looking good in an expanded role, and Takk having a lot of success. Beasley had his best game of the season http://www.atlantafalconsteamonline.com/andy-levitre-jersey , too, even if his strip sack that should’ve been didn’t count. If they lose Grady Jarrett for any length of time they’re boned, but if he’s healthy the line looks like it can deliver solid (if likely unspectacular, outside of Takk) results. Overall, obviously, the effort and execution were an abject disaster for Atlanta, which has now dropped two straight games primarily thanks to the defense. If they’re going to continue to experiment, one has to wonder if we might see Keith Tandy get some time at strong safety, given his experience at the position and the lack of inspiring alternatives at this point. It is obvious, given their 1-3 record, that the team can’t afford to tinker too much longer without finding a configuration that allows more than 35 points per week. Special Teams Jordan Richards: 22Russell Gage: 21Marvin Hall: 17Bruce Carter: 17Keith Tandy: 17Kemal Ishmael: 17Matt Bosher: 15 Logan Paulsen: 15Eric Saubert: 15Robert Alford: 13Tandy was the hero thanks to his blocked field goal, while Hall showed impressively asa returner. Overall, special teams fared pretty well against the Bengals, though Cincinnati had some quality returns that set them up for easier scores, which was not what Atlanta needed at all. At least they’re now enjoying better returns and the ageless Matt Bryant.