ATLANTA –Before taking a brief break for the bye week, Falcons coach Mike Smith and his staff did an intensive self-scout of their last five games.

After starting the season at 2-1, the Falcons have dropped five straight games and appear to spiraling downward.

“Anytime you go through a self-scout and you’ve had the first half of the season like we’ve had, it’s not good,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said. “There are a lot of things that stand out numbers-wise. …

There are a lot of things that we have to get better at. We still have the markers that we look at.”

The offense, which was built to carry the team, received most of the scrutiny. The unit has been ravaged by injuries along the offensive line.

“On the offensive side of the ball, over the last five games things have taken a big dip,” Smith said. “That’s really what we tried to focus on, was the last five games and not the first three games of the season.”

The offensive line has been revamped after season-ending injuries to Sam Baker, Lamar Holmes, Joe Hawley and Peter Konz.

Ryan Schraeder has also beaten out Gabe Carimi for the right tackle position.

Rookie Jake Matthews will start at left tackle alongside left guard Justin Blalock, center James Stone, right guard Jon Asamoah and Schraeder to open the second half of the season.

“I think it was really important for us to look at the guys that we’re going to be playing with through the second half of the season,” Smith said.

Stone, an undrafted rookie, will make his second NFL start against Tampa Bay.

“James is a really smart guy,” Smith said. “He’s a guy that we worked out. The scouting department had worked him out. Coach (Mike) Tice went and spent some time with him. We were very impressed with his ability to talk the game of football and I think he’s cerebral when it comes to making the calls. He impressed us all through the preseason and actually won a spot of the 53-man roster.”

The Falcons are high on Stone.

“He’s going to be a good football player,” Smith said. “He’s going to have his moments like all young guys will go through. We just hope that we eliminate them and that they are not a critical times.”

The Falcons are hoping to rally in what is a down year in the NFC South. The Saints are in first place with a 4-4 record.

“It’s amazing how much of an opportunity that everyone has,” NFL Network analyst Michael Irvin said. “That’s what the NFL wants. They want everyone to have an opportunity so that all of the fan bases are excited.”

Carolina is in second place 3-4-1 and Tampa Bay is 1-7.

“Atlanta is still in the hunt now, with that being said, you do see what Atlanta’s defense looks like, right?,” Irvin asked.

The Falcons might not be able to overcome their injuries.

“They’ve been hit big time with the injury bug and they don’t even use it as an excuse, but it’s a reality,” said NFL Network’s Steve Mariucci. “When you lose five offensive linemen and they are not coming back. They are on injured reserve. They played James Stone at center. An undrafted rookie free agent and so it’s just tough.”

Changes in the football operation have been widely speculated if things don’t get turned around.

“Heck, Mike Smith won 56 games his first five years,” Mariucci said. “He started off like gangbusters and the last couple of years, really after the NFC Championship Game that they lost, it’s been very difficult with injuries over there. They are fighting and they are in a division that … heck, who knows this division winner might be 8-8 or 7-9 even. We’ve seen that before. The Falcons have so many darn injuries, just like they did last year.”

The Falcons are coming off perhaps the worst lost in team history, where they became the first team to blow a 21-point halftime team. The 2003 team blew a 21-point first-quarter lead to Tennessee.

“Mike Smith is another coach that has got his team continuing to fight, but there are just not going to get any help back because of these (players) on injured reserve,” Mariucci said.

NOTES, QUOTES

–Veteran safety Charles Godfrey, who was signed over the bye week, plans to be ready to play against Tampa Bay if needed.

“Anything is possible,” Godfrey said on Monday. “I’m not here to not be ready. I’m going to do whatever I can to be ready.”

Godfrey, 28, played seven seasons with the Panthers and started 75 of 82 games. He has 11 career interceptions. Godfrey was released by the Panthers on Oct. 21.

Godfrey, 5-foot-11, 210 pounds, was originally selected by the Panthers in the third-round (67th overall) of the NFL draft out of Iowa in 2008.

The Falcons are giving up 280.8 yards passing per game, which ranks 29th in the league. They gave up a 74-yard pass play against Chicago and a 59-yard bomb against Detroit that helped ignite the Lions’ rally from a 21-point halftime deficit to a 22-21 victory.

“I just want to learn everything so that I can get out there and play fast,” Godfrey said. “I want to do whatever I can do to help us win and get back on the right track. I will do whatever I can to help.”

Godfrey spent the bye week learning the Falcons’ playbook.

“The good thing is that I got the playbook early and I was able to go home and look at that,” Godfrey said. “This is not like my first playbook, so I’ve had time to kind of look at stuff. But it’s different when you actually have to do it and actually have to make calls. That was some of the stuff that I had to do over the bye week.”

–The pressure is building on Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, who signed a huge contract after guiding the franchise to the playoffs in four of his first five seasons.

Since inking his five-year $103.75 million deal in July 2013, the Falcons are 6-18 and currently don’t resemble a playoff team. Having dropped five straight games since routing Tampa Bay 56-14 on Sept. 18, the Falcons face the same Bucs on Sunday at Raymond James Stadium.

Despite their first result, the Falcons are expecting a tough battle.

“This is the second game,” special teams coordinator Keith Armstrong said. “They are going to want some form of revenge. You have to take that approach to it. The onus is on us to go out and do our job and respect what they can do.”

In the past, Ryan has brushed off suggestions of mounting pressure since signing the new deal, but indications are starting to show in his play that he’s over-extending himself and perhaps trying to play up to the level of his deal.

An interception in the last game against Detroit, where he threw a pass across the field, was an example. Normally, Ryan would have just ran or sailed the ball out of bounds.

“Matt doesn’t make a lot of bad plays. When he does, he doesn’t need me to tell him about it,” offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter said. “He is way harder on himself than anybody else would ever be. You love that in a player.”

REPORT CARD AT THE BYE

–PASSING OFFENSE: C – Matt Ryan is the fifth-rated quarterback in the league, according to Pro Football Focus. Over 524 snaps, 333 drop backs and 305 attempts, he’s completed 198 passes for 2,306 yards. Ryan has eight interceptions after throwing 17 last season. T.J. Yates played in a mop-up duty in a scrimmage against Tampa Bay and tossed a pick-six. If things go sideways, look for Sean Renfree to get some action. The Falcons must determine if he’s an NFL player. Julio Jones has caught 53 of his 81 targets (65.4 percent), but has six drops, including a crucial dropped screen pass against Detroit. Roddy White is the 75th-rated wide receiver. He’s caught 33 of his 58 targets (56.9 percent), has five drops and is averaging 12.7 yards per catch.

–RUSHING OFFENSE: D – Antone Smith, who said he’s fine after suffering a neck injury against Detroit, has been the star of the four-member committee. Steven Jackson and Jacquizz Rodgers have been steady and rookie Devonta Freeman has shown some promise. Jackson is averaging only 3.6 yards per carry. He averaged 3.5 a year ago. The team is averaging 95.6 yards per carry, which ranks 25th in the league.

–PASS DEFENSE: F – There’s no pass rush and coverages have been blown. Safety Kemal Ishmael has given up some deep passes. Robert Alford has three interceptions, but needs to eliminate pass interference penalties. Jonathan Massaquoi has come on as a pass rusher over the past three games. “He is making some plays or at least being around the ball,” defensive coordinator Mike Nolan said. “At least he’s showing flashes. That’s a good thing.” Kroy Biermann plays a hybrid outside linebacker/defensive end position for the Falcons and has six missed tackles, no sacks, two quarterback hits and 11 hurries. “We still continue to have problems with the pass rush, there is no question about that,” Nolan said. Designated pass rusher Osi Umenyiora has one sack.

–RUSH DEFENSE: D – Safety Dwight Lowery has helped to stabilize things after William Moore went down with a shoulder injury. “He comes down into the box and plays some linebacker at times,” Nolan said. “He also plays on the back end, so he’s wearing a lot of hats.” The Falcons are giving up 125 yards rushing which ranks 25th in the league.

–SPECIAL TEAMS: C-minus — Kicker Matt Bryant is striking the ball well. Antone Smith, Eric Weems and Dezmen Southward were singled out by special teams coordinator Keith Armstrong for their solid play. Punter Matt Bosher has shanked at least one punt in three games. The kickoff return unit must improve. Devin Hester returned a punt for a touchdown against the Bucs.

–COACHING: D-minus – The coaching staff has the team ready to play. They’ve started out games just fine. But the Falcons have been unable to hold leads. They had leads at Minnesota, at New York and had a 21-point halftime lead over the Detroit. They were also tied late with Chicago. They dropped all of those games. There have been some questionable decisions, too. The move to sit on a lead against Detroit after getting an interception came back to haunt them.