by Eric Jackson
The Atlanta Falcons showed signs of life, rallying back from a 24-point deficit, but their second-half comeback came up short, falling to Seattle Seahawks 27-20 Sunday.
It was the sixth-straight loss for the reeling Falcons, who fell to 1-7 on the season for the first time since the 2003 season. The Falcons are on track for one of their worst campaigns since 2002, when the franchise was bought by Blank, co-founder of Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD).
Blank told reporters that he will continue to evaluate the future of head coach Dan Quinn heading into the bye week.
“I think it’s a fair question,” he said. “I would say, much like the coach said, we’re extraordinarily disappointed in the season. Nobody would’ve anticipated 1-7 and the lack of consistency. (Sunday) was a prime example of that, down 24-0. If we could just play the second half, we would have won the game; but it doesn’t work that way. So we’ll take the next couple weeks during this period of time to evaluate where we are. And whatever decision we have to make will be made for the right reasons for the long term.”
Expectations were high for the Falcons entering this regular season, with some media outlets tabbing them as Super Bowl contenders. After an injury-riddled 2018 season, the assumption was that the team would return to playoff-caliber form with a healthy group this year.
There was also hope from fans that the defensive unit would receive a boost under the command of Quinn, who took over play-calling duties this year. The Falcons are currently 26th in the NFL in total defense, tied with the Miami Dolphins for the fewest sacks (7).
The offense has also had its troubles, notably in the first half (being outscored 144-50), despite adding two former head coaches in offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter and tight ends coach Mike Mularkey to the coaching staff this season.
“We certainly have a lot of intelligence on this coaching staff here,” Blank said. “We have three other head coaches, we’ve got three general managers in this building beyond Thomas [Dimitroff], actually four, including Rich McKay. The knowledge base is there, but the performance is not. And this is a performance-driven business, I understand that. They understand that as well. So we’ll continue to look at everything we can and make the right decisions when we have to make them. I’m not bashful about making those decisions… I understand the responsibility I have to the fans, sponsors and players to put a winning team on the field. We’re still committed to that, 1000 percent, and that’s not going to change.”
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