Interview with the Enemy, Hate Week Edition: Atlanta Falcons

Pardon the old picture from the article, but the Falcons’ dejected expressions warms my heart this cold November morning.

We’re back again with the next segment in the Interview with the Enemy series. This week, Matt Chambers of The Falcoholic answers 5 quick questions before the Week 10 matchup on Sunday: the New Orleans Saints hosting the division rival Atlanta Falcons (1-7), with both teams coming off their Bye.

Who is playing at quarterback for the Falcons on Sunday? Basically, is there any chance it’s Matt Ryan?

Matt Ryan hasn’t practiced yet but it definitely looks like the team expects him to go. Matt Schaub actually played pretty well, and regardless of who goes, the only thing that will work with this team is the passing game. You could probably put prime Tom Brady in and the Falcons still wouldn’t flirt with winning

What is the biggest culprit behind the Falcons’ 1-7 record? Last year it was injuries, is the injury-bug to blame again this year?

Injuries were tough last year, but this year the problem is stunning incompetence from coaches and the front office. Every gamble failed. Even the sure things failed. The team shockingly bet on a lot of bad players. Everything needed to work out perfectly after the team ignored the defense and put all their chips in fixing the offensive line. The line is trash and the defense is putrid. Did you know they paid Vic Beasley $12.8 million? Relatedly, they have no cap space. My team is dumb.

Are the Falcons still holding out hope for turning things around in 2019, or has everyone resigned themselves to 2019 as a lost year?

All hope was abandoned by early October after losing to the Houston Texans. The team lost through the easiest part of their schedule. We’ve been looking at replacement coaches and top draft picks for weeks because it’s better than watching this team stumble over themselves.

It’s honestly surprising to me that Dan Quinn still has a job at this point. Would a loss to the Saints be the final straw or is it in it for the remainder of the season at this point?

Personally, I think they should keep Dan Quinn until the end of the year because I selfishly want Chase Young and Quinn’s disaster game plan increases those odds. The expectation is Thomas Dimitroff and Dan Quinn are both out, so there’s no real moral victories left, except maybe beating the Saints. Of course, there’s no chance of that happening. The defense is so poorly and clearly mismanaged they haven’t been able to stop any quarterback, good or bad. Even the team’s one win was in part due to Nelson Agholar dropping a guaranteed touchdown after a coverage breakdown.

What is your prediction for the game? Who wins? Final score?

The opening line was Saints by 12. That’s way too much respect for this team. I can’t even get into hate week because the Falcons have killed any joy I get out of football. I haven’t even trashed talked Saints fans once this week. If Drew Brees can’t win by 30 then Teddy Bridgewater should probably be the starter.

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Thank-you, Matt, for taking the time to answer our questions. Saints fans, make sure you check out Matt and the work his guys are doing over at The Falcoholic. You can follow The Falcoholic on Twitter @TheFalcoholic, Matt @FalcoholicMatt, and of course you can follow me @dunnellz.