FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The Falcons have questions to answer — at linebacker, in short-yardage situations, and most of all, in the red zone.

This week's mailbag touches on all three. With Divine Deablo out, fans are wondering what the immediate plan to fill his shoes is. Others are curious about play-calling choices, or why the offense can't seem to finish promising drives. Let's dig into what we know — and what we don't — as the Falcons try to find some answers.

John J. on X/Twitter

Tori, what's going on with Troy Andersen? With Deablo out we could really use him, and I don't know if JD Bertrand can cut it.

I understand your concern. I do. Especially given how the game transpired against the 49ers. Not having Deablo was a blow to the defense. And they will be without him for some time now as Raheem Morris said he fractured his forearm and is considered "week-to-week." Depending on the severity of the fracture, we could be talking a few weeks and a potential return after the trip to Germany. But that is just speculation on my part as a person who one time broke her wrist in middle school. So, take that with a grain of salt.

Deablo's shoes are tough to fill, and you are correct in your inquiry that based on athletic talent and speed along, Andersen would be the natural next man up. However, Andersen is not available. Asked specifically about a return from PUP, Morris said just this week that there was no news to report about a potential elevation.

So, you're going to have to continue to rely on others on the roster. Though Bertrand took the bulk of the reps on Sunday night, I don't put it outside the realm of possibility that missing Deablo means uptick in opportunities for others like Josh Woods, DeAngelo Malone and even DeMarcco Hellams.

Woods played well in the preseason. He isn't as fast or as long as Deablo, but he's a thumper and plays hard. Jeff Ulbrich said really good things about Woods when we sat down with him for the Heart, Mind, Fist feature last month. Ulbrich said Woods is all heart. So, it wouldn't surprise me if the Falcons give him a nod. Then, there's Malone, who's been cross training at both inside and outside linebacker this season. We actually saw Malone in at the end of the Bills game, nothing an interception that put the game on ice. Depending on how reliable they feel Malone is as a true inside linebacker, he's an option that matches Deablo's length. You just would lose some cover ability if I had to guess.

Then, there's Hellams, who could even drop down closer to the line of scrimmage if necessary, particularly if you need more help covering a tight end over the middle. The Falcons could easily put together a three-safety set that has Hellams mimicking what Deablo could do in coverage.

All of this to say, that yes, it stings not having Deablo, but the Falcons are not without options for how to adjust until he returns. In fact, there are quite a few options beyond Bertrand and Andersen.

Millard W. from Florida

Against the Bills, the Falcons used Feleipe Franks twice in short-yardage situations and got good results both times. Against the Niners, I did not see them do it. Any idea why?

To me, that is not a play you throw out every single time you're in a short-yardage situation. It's a special occasions type of look. Especially when you have good backs like Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier.

Particularly asked about the crucial fourth-and-1 call at the end of the Falcons' loss to the 49ers, when a pass to Drake London fell incomplete, Morris said this.

"We were ready to go with our best play, going to Drake on a play that we felt really good about," Morris said. "Some things that we've done before in the past and didn't get that off and do those things. But obviously, it was the aggressive mindset. Right there, you kick the field goal. You're still leaving a bunch of time to go down and kick a field goal to win the game, holding a ball like Kyle (Shanahan) wants to do. In order to win those type of games, as you know, I'm sure all your analytics say right there, 100% go for it. We were right on the mindset of going for it right there from pretty far out. Analytics, at that point, will tell you to go for it on the fourth-and-1 no matter where you are in the field. We don't want to be reckless with it, but we do want to be aggressive. So, we took the aggressive mindset and went out there and tried to get it to one of our best players and best moments in some of the routes that he's caught before in his past."

I would also add that the Falcons didn't have as many short yardage situations of which to utilize certain looks as some may think. The team struggled to run the ball, which ended up having an affect on third down. Of their 12 third-down plays, nine were beyond three yards to the line of scrimmage. What's more, five were third-and-long. The Falcons were in third-and-1 three times. They converted with a Allgeier run on two of the three. The third was a run for no gain via Robinson. Nothing against Franks, but I would rather give the ball to Allgeier or Robinson in those scenarios, even if it worked against the Bills the week before. It kind of loses its luster if you do it too much.

Bad Brad (@badbrad_dadstag) on X/Twitter

How much of a factor is the offense predictability in their inability to finish drives and score?

The problem against San Francisco I don't believe stemmed from predictability, rather lack of execution. Let's look at the Falcons' red zone appearances, which they only were inside even the 30 (let alone the 20) three times. Which that in and of itself isn't good.

Lets go through what happened with the Falcons did get within 30 yards of the endzone.

The offense got its first real opportunity at the start of the second quarter. It was the drive that lasted 19 plays and ended in a field goal. Once the Falcons got inside the 30-yard line, approaching the red zone, they went to the run. Robinson picked up four yards on first down and two on second down. No too shabby. A manageable third down scenario. Michael Penix Jr., however, was sacked on third down, forcing a field goal after the loss of five yards. Looking at that play, Penix got swallowed up by the defense in the pocket, but he was not without a play. He had London as he stepped up into the pocket but he held onto the ball too long.

The next time the Falcons were nearing the red zone was in the final seconds of the first half. Penix had just connected with Mooney for a 38-yard grab that put the Falcons on the San Francisco 22-yard line. There were 17 seconds on the clock, probably enough for two shots at the end zone. This was the moment, though, that Penix was called for intentional grounding as he wasn't yet out of the tackle box when he threw the ball away. Yes, he was under pressure, but that mistake kept any points off the board via a 10-second runoff. Looking at that play, Penix had a shot at Mooney if his eyes could have ever gotten there.

Then, the only other time the Falcons reached the red zone is the one time they reached the endzone, with a screen to Robinson in the third quarter. Blocking was solid on that play and the call didn't allow for any pressure on Penix to mount.

As we can see in these three scenarios — the only three in which the Falcons got inside the 30-yard line — two of the moment were thwarted by pressure on Penix. We know overall that Penix struggled to handle the 49ers front. According to Next Gen Stats, Penix did not complete a single one of his nine passes under pressure. That stat is the most such pass attempts in a game without a completion by any quarterback since 2023 (Sam Howell, 11). Penix was pressured 11 times on 42 dropbacks (26.2%). All of the Falcons' offensive issues are not solely on Penix, but there is a direct correlation here when it comes to finishing drives and Penix's performance under pressure that can be noted.