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The Mailbox: Recapping the Atlanta Falcons 2024 season

Tori McElhaney answers your questions. 

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Well, y'all, that's all she wrote.

Actually, not really, because I'll be here all offseason and therefore will continue to write but I digress...

That's all she wrote of the 2024 season for the Atlanta Falcons. It didn't go how many hoped it would, but we still need to talk about it because you all have questions that need answered. So, let's get into those questions.

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Mike R. from Suwanee, Georgia

What are the chances the Falcons will make a change at defensive coordinator? Poor schemes with corners playing 8-10 yards off the line, inviting opposing quarterbacks to complete 5-10 yard passes, which Bryce Young did all day with. Zero adjustments.

Raheem Morris was asked this exact question about the defensive future and what decisions the organization has to make about it.

Here is his full response:

"We've got to evaluate all of our coaches. We've got to evaluate all of our players. We've got to evaluate everything that we do from a whole program standpoint. And we will do those things. That's what starts today. That's when we'll get out there and get those things going. We'll have a couple of days, couple of weeks, couple of everything to evaluate everything. We'll have a chance to get back together and really talk about these things. And that's the process that happens now. You know, there'll never be anything that's the same in the National Football League, whether it's players, whether it's coaches, whatever the case may be, since I've been here. So since I've been lucky enough to be in the league, that's just how it is. We'll do those things now."

So, yeah. That's kind of all I have for you right now.

Phillip S. from X/Twitter

What's going on with Koo? Will he be back next season?

Tori: Because Younghoe Koo was placed on injured reserve on the same day the Falcons made a change at quarterback, the questions about Koo were overshadowed by that news. We haven't talked about Koo much in the weeks since, but it's a question the Falcons do need to face now that the season is over.

It's no secret Koo had his least productive performance in a Falcons jersey in 2024, and with 12 of the Falcons 17 games coming down to one score, that lack of production and trust in the kicking game loomed large. Koo's injury that landed him on injured reserve in December was listed as a right hip injury. There was nothing said that would suggest it would be an injury that would linger into 2025.

Koo has two years left on his current five-year deal. Here is what Morris said Monday when asked about the Falcons' kicking game and Koo's status:

"We missed entirely too many kicks this year. The brutal honest truth, that can't happen," Morris said. "So, we got to find ways to make those kicks. That certainly plays into the part of not winning the amount of games you want to win. We got to find ways to create that competition across the board for all of us. We got to get Koo healthy, get him back."

John J. from X/Twitter

@tori_mcelhaney we had so many guys snubbed from the Pro Bowl. Who should have gotten in?

Tori: Bijan Robinson, Drake London, A.J. Terrell and Jessie Bates III. And honestly? I'd throw Kaden Elliss in there, too, while I'm at it.

It's unfortunate for a lot of reasons that the season went the way it did. But I would say the lack of national recognition for this specific group of players is one of the more unfortunate byproducts of the season itself.

With the many questions swirling about the quarterback position coupled with the fact the Falcons were in the midst of a serious losing drought during the Pro Bowl voting window, it all amounted to the individual performances of some of these players going overlooked and under appreciated. You hope the All-Pro voting is different (and I'd argue it will be), but still...

Robinson led the league in missed tackles forced and was third overall in rushing yards. London was fourth overall in receiving yards. Terrell had quarterbacks actively choosing not to throw his way. Bates was as impactful as always. And Elliss was doing things and putting up numbers no other off-ball linebacker was in 2024.

It's tough, because even with all of the individual performances racking up in scope, the Falcons as a team only won one more game than it had in the last three seasons. I do think these players still deserve their flowers, though.

Immerse yourself in the subtle drama of the Falcons-Panthers meetup at Mercedes-Benz Stadium with our monochrome snapshots from Week 18, shot on Sony.

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