Falcons Drake London is done with sleeves, hopes hes done with fumbling, too

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The Falcons have Drake London’s back, sleeves or no sleeves.

The rookie wide receiver lost his third fumble of the season last week against Baltimore, prompting him to go to the sideline and have the training staff cut the sleeves off his shirt. Sleeveless London caught six passes for 76 yards.

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“It was just, ‘I’m pissed off, cut these things off me,’” said London, who thought the Baltimore cold made the sleeves slippery against the football.

London’s three fumbles are the fourth most by an NFL wide receiver this season. His last two have come after making a catch to convert on fourth down.

“For me to put it on the ground this many times this year is way more than I should have,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve ever had a year in my life, whether I wore sleeves or not, to fumble like that, from Pop Warner on. It was just my last straw with them.”

Good catch by @bkfox5sports — Falcons equipment staff cutting off Drake London's sleeves following his second quarter fumble. https://t.co/Iwk7YmhF02 pic.twitter.com/NsT8bBXMTr

— Justin Felder (@Justin_FOX5) December 24, 2022

London said he hasn’t sworn off sleeves forever, but he doesn’t expect to wear them again anytime soon.

“I’m pretty much done with them,” he said.

Atlanta coach Arthur Smith and offensive coordinator Dave Ragone both said they are comfortable with London’s commitment to ball security and impressed by his ability to bounce back from bad plays.

“I’ve seen a lot of young guys that can’t recover from that,” Smith said. “I think that’s what is unique about Drake. You see some guys who don’t want the ball to come their way (after a bad play). Drake is the opposite. He comes out and attacks it.”

“When something doesn’t go right, you want to see reaction,” Ragone said, “how they react not just by word but by action. Drake has reacted in a positive way and guys around them have supported them.”

London’s turnovers have resulted in minus-10.28 EPA, the 15th-worst total among wide receivers, running backs and tight ends in the league. Andre Roberts, who had four fumbles in 2017, is the only Falcons receiver since 2000 to have more fumbles in a season than London has had this year.

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“Some people say, ‘I want the ball,’ and you can tell by the way they play, they really may not want the ball,” Smith said. “You see it happen in a lot of sports, but he has an aggressive mindset. He’s fun to coach.”

The Falcons are 27th in the league in turnover margin this year (minus-9).

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Vacation plans?

Rookie quarterback Desmond Ridder had heard the stories just like everyone else, the stories of NFL players making vacation plans the moment their team is eliminated from the playoffs. He even talked to the Falcons coaching staff about it.

“We just talked about it, and we don’t think we have those guys who book their flights and get everything ready for the offseason,” Ridder said. “That’s one thing that guys are trying not to do here. I feel like preparation is going how it goes every week. These next two games, we want to finish strong not just for this team but for next season, as well.”

Sunday’s opponent, the Arizona Cardinals (4-11), similarly has nothing tangible to play for, but Smith doesn’t believe it will affect his team’s motivation for the game.

“We didn’t achieve (a playoff berth), but it doesn’t mean that all of a sudden we are down and out because we know we’re building something real here,” the coach said.

Last days of a legend

The Falcons managed to avoid J.J. Watt almost until the end. The Cardinals defensive end has played in the NFL for 12 years, but Sunday will be his first time facing Atlanta. It’s also set to be the second-last game of Watts’ career. He announced his plans to retire earlier this week.

“You know he’s going to be amped up and wanting to finish his career on a high note,” Ridder said.

Watt has had five seasons with more than 10 sacks and he needs just one more to surpass that milestone again this year. With 117 1/2 career sacks, he’s just outside of the NFL’s top 20 all time in that category.

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“He was certainly near the top in terms of biggest challenges to game plan for, that’s for damn sure,” said Smith, who faced Watt multiple times when both were in the AFC South.

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Veteran presence

Thirteenth-year quarterback Colt McCoy also will be playing against the Falcons for the first time. Arizona has been without regular starter Kyler Murray since Murray suffered a torn ACL in Week 14. The Cardinals started McCoy in Week 15, but he suffered a concussion, forcing them to start Trace McSorley last week.

Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury announced this week that McCoy had been released from concussion protocol and would be back, which is good news for Arizona considering McSorley averaged 4.8 yards per attempt and had a passer rating of 57.4 last week.

“Colt has been around for a while, very smart player, very efficient player,” Smith said.

Falcons defensive coordinator Dean Pees said this week he was more concerned about the Cardinals’ other offensive players than who is playing quarterback. Three of Arizona’s wide receivers — DeAndre Hopkins, A.J. Green and Marquise Brown — were first-round draft picks.

“The quarterback thing, I wouldn’t make too much of it,” Pees said. “They have a talented, talented group of skill guys.”

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Pass rush still missing

Since the start of 2021, the Falcons have 37 sacks, which ranks last in the NFL. The next fewest in that time period is 60 (Lions and Raiders).

“We know we have to continue to find ways to pressure the quarterback,” Smith said.

The Falcons picked pass rushers in the second and third rounds in the 2022 NFL Draft, but Smith didn’t rule out taking another pressure player high next year.

“It’s not just the edge, it’s the coordinated rush inside, too. We know we have to be more productive there,” Smith said. “In my opinion, to have a really top-flight pass rush, there are a lot of coordinated things.”

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Outside linebacker Arnold Ebiketie (second round) has 2 1/2 sacks this season. Outside linebacker DeAngelo Malone (third round) has one.

“We feel good about their development, but we have to continue to improve,” Smith said.

(Top photo: Mike Ehrmann / Getty Images)

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