FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The Atlanta Falcons are on a four-game decline. The ire is hot within the fan base — as it should be when this many losses are strung together consecutively.

Do the Falcons even have a chance at the playoffs now that they have loss number six? What does "finding a way" look like? What changes could be coming? Some questions I can answer. Others, I cannot. Still, let's try to get some answers together in this week's Mailbag.

As a reminder, you can submit questions at the link here, or shoot me a tweet to @tori_mcelhaney. Onward to the questions.

Will S. from Summerville, Georgia

In your opinion, is there even the slimmest of chances that this bunch can turn things around and even get above .500, much less make the playoffs?

There is a chance, but it will be difficult. I think Kaden Elliss said it best in the postgame locker room. He said the team is close in some of these games to pulling out a win. However, with six losses, you can't afford to be close any longer. You have to start winning.

Looking at the New York Times' Playoff Simulator, the Falcons currently have a 5% chance to make the playoffs.

If the Falcons go 4-4 down the stretch with all four of the wins coming from NFC South opponents, that's not going to get them there. It would put them 7-10 on the year and with a <1% chance to make the postseason.

If you tack on wins over the Jets and Cardinals, that gets you to a 9-10 record and a 32% chance to make it to the playoffs.

A major crux of the Falcons' hopes rests on beating the Rams and/or the Seahawks. If you lose more NFC South games, you'd have to beat them both. If you beat your divisional opponents, you can maybe afford to drop one and still have an 83% chance at the postseason. However, that's still assuming you essentially win out besides a single loss to the Rams or Seahawks.

So, honestly, my opinion here doesn't even really matter when the math is what it is.

🤷

Justin M. from Kennesaw, Georgia

After a big time sack with 56 seconds left on the clock before half, why would we not take advantage and call a timeout when it is 3rd and long? Then, when time is running with only 29 seconds left and the Colts with no timeouts, why would we take one to allow them to settle and not be rushed to kick? Especially after their kicker had already missed two attempts. It is on the coach to call timeouts, and it is baffling as why he didn't when needed, and did when not. It's a recurring thing under Raheem Morris, as we have botched several timeouts in past losses. Will this be corrected and worked on, or does this coaching staff feel those were the right decisions?

Not going to lie, Justin, I had the exact same thought when the Falcons called timeout prior to the field goal attempt you're talking about. I vividly remember turning to Terrin Waack and saying, "Wait. Why are they calling a timeout here?" My thought process was similar to yours. This is a kicker who is showing signs of struggle; lean into those struggles. Make things difficult for him. He's already made it difficult on himself. Don't do him any favors.

Morris was asked about these specific moments Monday afternoon.

Here is his full response when questioned about not calling a timeout at the end of half:

"They were in scoring position, they were on the 50-yard line or somewhere right around that point. We got the sack. They had shown, already, that they scored in two plays in a couple different possessions. So, we were not thinking about that. We got the interception, we got the taunting penalty, we got knocked back. We would have had a little bit of time with a timeout there, been able to use it. Was not interested in using that timeframe on what it looked like for us clock and our management. They were too close. If we'd have had them back a little bit further, they were in plus territory at that point. That wasn't something I wanted to use at that moment."

Here is his full response when questioned about calling a timeout prior to the field goal:

"I thought it was going to be a gimme. I thought he was going to make that like he did. So, I wanted to give us the more time to be able to go out there, and if we got the ball and had the two timeouts and were able to complete that ball to (Darnell) Mooney, we make one more completion, and we're kicking a long one to try to win it and walk off, and I thought that was a smarter deal there because he was so close where they were and all the things of that nature. So, we kind of went that route. We could have let him rush out there and go try to kick it and try to make it under pressure. But it felt like a gimme for him. It felt like something that was going to be pretty easy for him. We felt like we could get some more time for our offense to go out there. If we get that big completion to Mooney that we dropped and if we can get another one, we might be having a different conversation right now."

So, to answer your question, Morris stood by his decisions.

From @CarasikS on X/Twitter

Why don't they work up routes to make it easier for Michael Penix to get into a rhythm? Specifically Mesh, Mills, Texas routes that would attack the middle of the field and help him grow as a QB and use the talent on this team to it's best advantages?

I actually think this question falls within the same vein of thought as a question posed by Will McFadden in Monday's presser. The conversation was more about Penix handling pressure on third down and the team scheming up ways to alleviate some of that pressure.

Specifically, he asked about Penix's command of the alert packages, hot routes, etc., and where the offense is within executing those things.

Here is Morris' full answer to that question:

"I feel really great with Mike's command. We've got to get everybody on the same page, everybody has to be the same way. We just talked about that first third down of the game, where his command is great, his check is great, and we've got to get it and execute it, and then we've got to see how that can play out after that. But all of those things have to be on us. They've got to be on us as coaches, it's got to be on us as players, it's got to be on us as the quarterback, the head coach, all of us. So, we take all those things not lightly. Those are things that we have to go out there and get executed every single week, and the last two weeks, it'd be hard to talk about the command of it all with the percentage that we had on third down. But we started off early in the season, it was really good, and we've kind of fallen off in the last couple of weeks at a historic fashion."

His answer, again, went back to execution. As much as I get where your question is coming from and why it is being asked, I would speculate that coaches would say they believe in their scheme, they feel they have the right plan in place and that if they (the players) were better executing the call, then perhaps things would be better.

It goes back to what Zac Robinson said following the team's loss to the Dolphins. He was asked whether or not he feels he has the counterpunch within the scheme to see production offensively when the run is taken away.

Here is his full response:

"Yeah, not worried about that. We had – last week, I mentioned we had basically 24 real snaps of football. We had 14 normal down-and-distance plays where you're not in known passing situations. Of the 14, we actually threw it more than we ran it. So – and we had play pass, we had screens, we had quick games. So, our counterpunches are always going to be there. That's been a staple since last season. We have all the answers that we need in terms of run and pass game, in terms of what we're trying to get accomplished. So, you're always looking for, 'Hey, are they leaning on this? Well, hey, that's why we have this plan, we're going to get to this.' So, that's our job as coaches, and we have those answers every single week. Again, it's just the sample size of plays that we got to run last week was just a little bit smaller than usual."

I feel like the answer to your question would ultimately be similar to Robinson's answer here.

From @ARwbyFan on X/Twitter

Why won't you all ask the tough questions? Why do you guys keep asking what we think if nothing changes? Why should we fans care if the Ownership and CEO doesn't? Why aren't you guys asking for an actual answer to the plans Raheem keeps saying he has week after week?

I must work within the sandbox I live in. I try to ask questions when I can based on the threads I am pulling each week. I will use this past week as an example.

I asked Morris last Monday this specific question: This team has a 25% success rate on third down over the last three games. I know it's not a one-size-fits-all because obviously, these are all different third down scenarios. But what are practical steps that this staff, this team is taking to be better in those situational moments?

"So, it's hard to put the two games into factor because we're talking about the last game where there were two different quarterbacks and we weren't able to run the football, we didn't play well up front. So, I'll take that one out. Talk about the one that happened yesterday, we've got to put ourselves in more favorable situations to get the third downs. When you go third-and-ten, third-and-12, third-and-nine, any quarterback can tell you how tough those situations are. We want to get those things, we're in more manageable third downs and be able to get those things going, particularly in those opening drives and starting fast. We had a couple drives there where we didn't use a third down. We had a couple drives in there we got to the red zone, we were able to actually go for a fourth down. So, you've got two-down territory, and things of that nature, that make those things manageable, things that we can absolutely win. So those are the steps. It's like starting faster, being able to run the football more efficiently, having the ability to not get behind the stick, so to speak, and really keep it in that mode, because we get in those situations, we're in the third-down-and-medium window, we've got a lot better chances of being able to convert those things."

Then, I asked again after the Falcons went 0-of-8 on third down in Germany: We talked earlier in the week about third downs and that continued to show up today. When you look at what needs to happen moving forward, what does? Because this is now, I think, 20% over the last four weeks of losses?

"You've got to get better. Once something was a strength for us has become a weakness over the last few weeks. You've got to find a way to convert those third downs. You've got to get them shorter, get them more manageable. And we get a chance to get those third downs, we have to get them. We can't have any drops, can't have any situation, protection problems, whatever the case may be. We've got to figure out how to get those things done."

I see the criticism from fans that tougher questions aren't asked, but I am genuinely curious what needs to be asked that isn't. This Monday, Morris was asked about any potential scheme or coaching changes, third-down woes, being nearly out of playoff contention, Michael Penix Jr.'s low completion percentage and development, offense scheme and operational errors, drops by receivers, protection issues, etc.

He was even asked about his "find a way" mantra, specifically if he would like to amend that ongoing statement for the fans, considering the Falcons have not won their last four games.

Here is his full response:

"You know, you've got to find a way to make those plays. You just mentioned two of them right there. You make that third-and-20 play, whether it was four-man rush and somebody makes a play in the backfield and third-down-and-20, or you get them tackled and then you make the play on fourth-and-long, or you make that play on fourth-and-two, or you find a way to catch that ball before you go to overtime and potentially set yourself up for a field goal. You've got to find a way to make those plays, and those plays have got to come from us. So, it's not that we've got to find a way, we've got to make the plays that present themselves and give us an opportunity to win the football game, and I think that's the most important message for our guys."

I don't mean to sound like a smart aleck here. I genuinely do not know what questions are not being asked by the beat crew as a whole.

In my opinion, just because the answers do not appease does not mean questions are not being asked.