FLOWERY BRANCH Stitched Steve Bartkowski Jersey , Ga. (AP) — Atlanta Falcons‘ injury-ravaged defense.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, 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 Youth Steve Bartkowski Jersey , 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, 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 Stitched Brett Favre Jersey , 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,” 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). A two-sport athlete who decided on baseball."Welcome to Forgotten Falcons, a 2019 offseason series where we remember some quality players who have been largely forgotten by the fanbase over the years. Today we take a look at Brian Jordan, a well-known figure in Atlanta whose brief NFL career is eclipsed by his accomplishments on the baseball field.Time in Atlanta: 1989 - 1991Stats: 5 interceptions, 4 sacks, 4 fumble recoveries, 2 safeties, 20 punt returns, 169 punt return yards, 8 kick returns, 127 kick return yards.Why you should remember himThe Falcons flirted with a pair of two-sport athletes in the late eighties, selecting Atlanta legend Deion Sanders fifth overall in the 1989 NFL Draft, and signing Brian Jordan later that year after he was cut by the Buffalo Bills. While Sanders would play for both the Atlanta Braves and Atlanta Falcons at one point, his Hall of Fame career was charted in the NFL. Jordan chose the other direction Youth Brett Favre Jersey , accepting a three-year contract from the St. Louis Cardinals to abandon football and play baseball full-time. He flourished at the MLB level, playing 15 seasons and returning to Atlanta in a roundabout way — he roamed the outfield for the Braves from 1999-2001, and finished his professional sports career in a Braves uniform for the 2005 and 2006 seasons. Brian Jordan still enjoys a visible presence in Atlanta as a Braves analyst, but his brief career in a Falcons jersey often flies under the radar. Selected in the 7th round of the 1989 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills as a defensive back, Jordan was a training camp cut and subsequently snapped up by the Falcons. He found his way onto the field for four games in the ‘89 season, but started 15 games at strong safety in the 1990 and 1991 seasons — the latter earning him All-Pro honors. He tallied 5 interceptions across that span, and was also given a crack on special teams returning punts and kickoffs. Brian Jordan made two playoff appearances with the Falcons, picking off quarterback Mark Rypien in Atlanta’s eventual loss to Washington in the 1991 NFC Divisional game. It would prove to be his final game in the NFL.During his Atlanta Falcons tenure he was also bouncing around the St. Louis Cardinals’ minor league affiliates, having been selected 30th overall in the first-round of the 1988 MLB Draft. Itching to secure his full commitment to Major League Baseball, the Cardinals finally offered Jordan a multi-year deal with one large caveat: walk away from the game of football. And so Brian Jordan’s NFL career came to a close after three seasons, the remainder of his time as a professional athlete spent with the Cardinals, Braves, Dodgers, and Rangers. It’s pretty mind-blowing that the Atlanta Falcons had a pair of two-sport athletes in Deion Sanders and Brian Jordan on the same defense; a quirk in Falcons history that likely won’t occur ever again. Jordan’s Falcons’ legacy is one of a promising strong safety opting for the financial assurances and stability of Major League Baseball. He was a productive member of Atlanta’s secondary, but his decision to devote his talents to baseball full-time is why his history with the Falcons often goes overlooked — hence his inclusion in this series. Not everyone can occupy the rare air of a Bo Jackson or Deion Sanders, but Brian Jordan carved out a splendid career in his own right with his dedication to professional baseball.
