Takk McKinley says nobody feels sorry for the Atlanta Falco

FLOWERY BRANCH Youth Justin Hardy Jersey , Ga. (AP) —fense.The second-year pass rusher makes a good point. Atlanta earned a playoff berth the past two years with a mostly healthy defense, but it’s a different story this season.The Falcons (1-3) are reeling now that Grady Jarrett, their best interior lineman, is the fourth defensive starter to miss Sunday’s game at Pittsburgh (1-2-1).“It sucks not having Grady out there, but we can’t be sad, because the Steelers won’t be sad about it,” McKinley said. “They won’t.”Jarrett’s ankle injury comes with the team’s best linebacker, Deion Jones, already out another six weeks and starting safeties Keanu Neal and Ricardo Allen done for the season.After allowing 80 points combined and losing their past two games in the closing seconds, the Falcons rank third-worst in scoring, fifth-worst in total yards and second-worst in third-down percentage. They’re a banged-up group that can’t seem to catch a break.Starting end Vic Beasley is nursing a sore ankle and has been limited in practice this week. Reserve end Derrick Shelby has been limited with a groin injury and hasn’t played since the Week 2 win over Carolina.Injuries at safety has given starting jobs to Damontae Kazee, who played in 16 games as a reserve last year, and rookie Isaiah Oliver, who played exclusively at cornerback in his last two seasons at Colorado.Coaches have leaned heavily on Kazee to tone down his aggressiveness following a penalty in preseason and an ejection for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Carolina quarterback Cam Newton.And the staff is working with Oliver Stitched Matt Schaub Jersey , who made a big mistake last week against Cincinnati. Coordinator Marquand Manuel called zone coverage, and Oliver was playing too far in front when A.J. Green dashed behind him for the winning touchdown catch.“Going forward, I told the guys that you can’t line up without talking to one person,” Manuel said. “It’s the growing pains that you have to go through, but that’s a part of it. It’s new guys talking to new guys, and guys that have experience, we need them to talk more. And the guys that don’t have it, we need you to talk to guys that have it. That’s where communication starts.”Losing Jarrett is substantial enough that the Falcons will use a three-man rotation of Jack Crawford and Terrell McClain, a pair of longtime veterans, and Michael Bennett, who was signed this week after injuries allowed him to play in just one game last year with Jacksonville, to fill his spot.Rookie Deadrin Senat, a third-round pick, will take most of the snaps at nose tackle Youth Matt Schaub Jersey , where Crawford and McClain have split starts this year. Coach Dan Quinn added that third-string end Steven Means, signed last month, might have to help out on the inside, too.Trying to restore some order for his defense, Quinn has spent the past few days emphasizing better fundamentals in tackling, ball-hawking, pass rush and communication.“None of those are scheme-related,” Quinn said. “None of those are wholesale changes. It’s a matter of us doing specifically those four things really well, and that’s why I think you’ll see this group get better quickly because of those four things.”There was some progress last week. Missed tackles dropped from 15 the week before to “single digits,” as Quinn described it, against Cincinnati. Kazee got his first career interception, and McKinley, after missing the Week 3 loss to New Orleans with a groin injury, returned to have his first three-sack game.Linebacker Duke Riley says McKinley brought some swagger back to the defense.“We can’t make the excuses that we don’t have the guys Stitched Derrick Shelby Jersey ,” Riley said. “We have the right guys in the room. We’ve just got to own up to it and be closers.”NOTES: RBs Devonta Freeman (knee) and Tevin Coleman (shin) and WR Mohamed Sanu (hip) had full participation in Thursday’s practice. WR Julio Jones (hand, ankle) is expected to play despite being listed as limited. Other players listed as limited Thursday: DE Vic Beasley Jr. (ankle), DE Derrick Shelby (groin) and LB Foye Oluokun (ankle). FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) — Coach Dan Quinn says losing six starters to injured reserve never forced him to lose faith in the Atlanta Falcons, even before three straight wins revived the team’s playoff hopes.The Falcons (4-4) have recovered from a 1-4 start despite losing both starting safeties, both first-team offensive guards, running back Devonta Freeman and linebacker Deion Jones.Sunday’s 38-14 win at NFC East-leading Washington showed the Falcons, who play at Cleveland this week, are back as a playoff contender.Even after running back Devonta Freeman and right guard Brandon Fusco were the most recent starters to land on IR, Quinn continued to say the Falcons were a team on the rise who had not peaked.“All along I’ve had real belief in what this ’18 team can be,” Quinn said Monday. “Although it started under some difficult circumstances, I like the way they’ve supported each other. I like the toughness they’ve shown and I feel like we’re starting to play like we’re capable of playing.”The Falcons iced the win over the Redskins by holding the ball for 10 minutes in the fourth quarter, when Washington didn’t score. Quinn said the “ability to finish” was a highlight of the game.With Ben Garland starting for Fusco and Wes Schweitzer continuing in his fill-in starting role for injured left guard Andy Levitre, the new-look offensive line played one of its best games.The Falcons converted 10 of 13 third-down plays and scored touchdowns on two of three red-zone possessions. Matt Ryan threw for 350 yards with four touchdowns and one interception — only his third of the season and his first since a Week 2 win over Carolina.Ryan said the Falcons have improved since losing four of their first five games.“I think halfway through we were a better football team than we were at the start Youth Derrick Shelby Jersey , and we have to keep it trending in that direction,” Ryan said after Sunday’s game.Ryan has enjoyed a return to his 2016 form, when he was named the NFL MVP. Led by Ryan, the Falcons have scored touchdowns on 17 of their last 21 red-zone possessions since their opening loss at Philadelphia.“I think red zone efficiency has been really good for us,” Ryan said. “We didn’t do a good job of that in the opener, but since then we’ve done a pretty good job of that. … When you’re scoring touchdowns and taking care of the ball, that’s a good recipe for success.”Quinn said seeing Julio Jones finally score his first touchdown of the season “was probably the coolest part of the day” in the win over Washington.Jones’ teammates rushed down the sideline to celebrate with him following his 35-yard touchdown pass from Ryan.“It was a great experience having the team come out there,” Jones said.Quinn said Jones “is the most selfless leader probably that any of us have been around.”“They were so excited for him because of all the work he does behind the scenes that people don’t know about,” Quinn said. “… They know what he stands for as a teammate.”Atlanta’s daunting injury outlook could be improving.The Falcons already have had defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, who had a sack on Sunday, return after missing two games with an ankle injury.Jones is eligible to come off IR when the Falcons play Dallas on Nov. 18, though there has been no word on when he’ll be cleared from his foot injury. It’s not known if Freeman will be able to return from his groin injury when eligible in December.Placekicker Matt Bryant has missed two games with a hamstring injury. More will be known on Wednesday about his chances to return against the Browns.