Falcons: Is this the craziest thing Raheem Morris has ever said?
Raheem Morris is deservedly catching flak for the job he’s done as Falcons head coach. Despite significant resources poured into the roster since his arrival — through both free agency and the draft — he’s failed to deliver better results than his predecessor. In fact, he’s actually on a worse trajectory, which is pretty incredible considering Arthur Smith had Desmond Ridder, Taylor Heinicke, and Marcus Mariota as his starting quarterbacks over his final two years.
Morris hasn’t done anything particularly well in his return to Atlanta. His time management has been atrocious, he’s failed to keep his team focused from week to week, and his coordinator hires have been dismal.
It took just one season for Morris to fire defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake. Credit to him for not waiting any longer, and the early returns on Jeff Ulbrich have been encouraging. But now Zac Robinson is under fire.
Following a 34-10 blowout loss to the 1-6 Dolphins, the media asked Morris about whether there would be any offensive staff changes, specifically alluding to Robinson. Morris, unsurprisingly, said absolutely not.
“I’ve got so much confidence in Zac Robinson. I know we can move the football. I know we can do those things… We’ve got a lot of confidence we’re gonna get it going this week,” Morris said.
With nine games left and the playoffs still within reach, firing a coordinator without a backup plan would be foolish. The Falcons don’t have much of a choice but to see things through with Robinson calling the shots, but acting as if this offense has looked anywhere close to competent through eight weeks is borderline insane.
Which brings us to what I believe are the most dimwitted words to ever come out of Raheem Morris’ mouth during his tenure as Falcons head coach:
“It’s like the best offense we’ve had since 2016, and we’ve done a really good job over the course of the last two years, and we’ve done some really good things across the board,” Morris said, via Garrett Chapman of Sports Illustrated. “We’ve got to get better in the red zone this year, and we’ve got to do a better job in the red zone this year. I believe in my guys. I believe in what they do. I believe we’ll go out there and get that stuff done. I believe we have the system in place, the coaches in place. I believe the guys are in place, and we’ll go out there and get those guys ready to go, and we’ll play football.
“It’s not about defending everybody. It’s not crisis management every time something goes wrong, you gotta go out there, and you’ve gotta play and do what you do and how you believe in it. That’s what we do.”
I understand having confidence in your guys — but come on, read the room. The 2016 offense was one of the greatest of all time, featuring a couple of likely Hall of Famers and coordinated by another future Hall of Famer. That group averaged 33.8 points per game — the most in the league that season and the 14th most in NFL history. This year’s team is averaging about half of that (17.1), ranking 28th in the league, ahead of only the Saints, Browns, Titans, and Raiders.
The last time the Falcons averaged fewer than 17.1 points per game came in 2007, when Bobby Petrino was the head coach of an offense quarterbacked by Joey Harrington, Byron Leftwich, and Chris Redman.
To even mention the two offenses in the same sentence is nonsensical. And if Raheem Morris truly believes this offense is anywhere close to as talented as the group from 2016, that’s a damning indictment of Zac Robinson — the same man he praised just a couple of days earlier.
Falcons’ injuries are forcing this struggling veteran right back into the spotlight
There has been no player on the Atlanta Falcons more disappointing than Darnell Mooney this season. With Drake London sidelined in Week 8, the 28-year-old caught just one pass for 11 yards in the 34-10 loss against the Dolphins—and even his rapport with Kirk Cousins couldn't save him.
After coming up just short of 1,000 receiving yards in his first season in Atlanta, Mooney has seen both injury woes and a lack of chemistry with Michael Penix Jr. play a factor into his severe regression in 2025. And his short time operating as the WR1 for the Dirty Birds has ended in complete disaster.
But with both London and Casey Washington currently on the shelf due to injury, it's Mooney who's going to have to continue stepping up. The offense has disappointed as of late, but the Tulane product remains the X-Factor if Zac Robinson's unit hopes to return to form in Week 9.
Luckily, Robinson's belief in the veteran wideout hasn't wavered amid his struggles.
Falcons' injured receiver room is leaving Zac Robinson no choice but to rely on Darnell Mooney
In five starts this season, Mooney has caught 11 passes for 158 yards on 25 targets. Additionally, his 12.0% drop rate is the highest rate of his career, and his hamstring issue isn't helping his case. His rough campaign is part of why Atlanta's been looking to add receivers before the trade deadline.
With Tuesday's deadline looming, the 2020 fifth-round pick is unlikely to be dealt, but that doesn't mean his future in Atlanta is secure. Mooney is quietly emerging as a cut candidate for the Falcons this offseason, as the three-year contract he signed last year comes with an out after this season.
The Falcons are almost guaranteed to address the position in some capacity during the 2026 NFL Draft, and Terry Fontenot can take advantage of that depth. The biggest problem the offense has faced this season is the lack of receiving options beyond London, which has seen Penix fail to maintain consistency.
With Ray-Ray McCloud gone and guys like David Sills V and KhaDarrel Hodge not viable starters, Robinson and Morris have no choice but to roll with the ex-Bears draft pick. We know what he's capable of becoming in this system, but it hasn't yielded the results many expected in 2025.
With that said, Penix and London are nearing a return, and have a chance to play against the Patriots in Week 9. But in the meantime, more of the offensive load will fall on Mooney's shoulders, and dud performances like in Week 8 cannot become the norm for the speedster.
