FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. Custom Colorado Rockies Nike Jerseys . - Mike Smith is not giving up on the Falcons season, just as he wouldnt give up in the closing minutes of a lopsided loss to Seattle. Smith was criticized for exposing quarterback Matt Ryan and others to injuries by leaving them on the field late in Sundays 33-10 loss to the Seahawks. The coach said he wouldnt abandon the idea of trying to win. Similarly, Smith said Monday he hasnt given up on the season even when three straight ugly losses have left the Falcons 2-7. The Falcons already have matched the high mark for losses in Smiths first five seasons — a 9-7 finish in 2009. Atlanta trails first-place New Orleans by five games in the NFC South. Smith said hes heard plenty of negative talk about the outlook for the remainder of the season, including this weeks game at Tampa Bay. "This season is not over," Smith said. "I know people want to say doom and gloom. Thats not the case. Weve not played the type of football that wed like to play in the first nine games. It is well below our expectations and were going to continue to work and get ready to play the Buccaneers." Smith acknowledged there must be improvement on both lines and in the running game. In his third game back from a hamstring injury, Steven Jackson was held to 11 yards rushing on nine carries. Seattles Marshawn Lynch ran for 145 yards and a touchdown, and Smith said Seattle dominated both lines. "I think we did not win the physical battle ... they won that handily," Smith said. "I felt like they won the line of scrimmage on both sides of the football. Thats where games are won and lost." As a result, Jackson often had no chance. "Of course Im frustrated," Jackson said. "The thing about it is you have to keep chipping away. No one is going to come in the locker room and save us. We have to save ourselves. ... We cant dwell on it. One thing about being a professional, you have to acknowledge the things you made a mistake on and move on to the next one." The Falcons quickly fell so far behind that they abandoned any hope of balancing their offence in the second half. Ryan had to carry the load. "On our first possession of the second half, we were down 26-3, and at that time your run game basically goes out the window," Smith said. It was not a new problem. "I know that Steven is a guy who gets stronger as the game goes on," Smith said. "Unfortunately, in the last three weeks the game has gotten so out of hand coming out after halftime weve had to basically ditch the run and start throwing the football, so we havent had an opportunity to really concentrate on running the ball for 60 minutes." Left tackle Sam Baker was held out with a knee injury. He has missed five games this season. He played on Nov. 3 against Carolina but couldnt stay off the inactive list two straight weeks. "Yes, it is a concern when youre not able to play consecutive games," Smith said. The offensive line lost centre Todd McClure, who retired, and right tackle Tyson Clabo, who was released, from the 2012 starting unit. Mike Johnson, who was expected to replace Clabo, was lost for the season when he dislocated his left ankle and broke his left leg in training camp. With Bakers ongoing knee problem added to the mix, the lack of continuity on the line has been a constant issue that resurfaced against Seattle. "A couple of our opportunities to run it, we never got a chance to get it going," Smith said. "There were some individuals and individual blocks and combination blocks that were executed very well and there were some blocks that were not executed very well on the same play. As a unit, youve got to hit on all your blocks if youre going to have a chance to have a successful running play." Smith said linebacker Sean Weatherspoon will be activated off the injured reserve list by Wednesday. Weatherspoon, one of the defences leaders, has been out since hurting his foot the second week of the season. Smith said he had no update on tight end Tony Gonzalez, who briefly left Sundays game with a toe injury. ___ AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org Custom Philadelphia Phillies Nike Jerseys . -- Justin Verlander took a no-hit bid into the sixth inning and won his fourth straight decision, leading Detroit over the Kansas City Royals 9-4 Sunday and extending the Tigers winning streak to a season-high five games. Custom Pittsburgh Pirates Nike Jerseys . At a news conference Tuesday where it was thought that the fiery Schallibaum may be shown the door after a dismal finish to the Major League Soccer season, team president Joey Saputo said no decision has been made on whether the Swiss Volcano will be back in 2014. https://www.custombaseballnikejerseys.com/ . - Mike Zimmer has brought a demanding style to the Minnesota Vikings.Shut out in their third straight loss to cap the weekend, the Toronto Blue Jays hope to have a little more pop in their lineup on Tuesday afternoon when they begin a quick two-game set with the Milwaukee Brewers. Though still leading the AL East, Toronto has lost four of its last five games and was without slugger Jose Bautista in the starting lineup for a seventh straight game in Sundays 4-0 defeat to the Chicago White Sox. Bautista has been out with a strained left hamstring, but was able to make a pinch-hit appearance in the loss. He grounded into a fielders choice. Owner of a .304 average and 15 homers through 78 games, Bautista could make his first start since June 22 today. "Everybody knows I cant go out on the field and not be 100 percent," Bautista said on Torontos official website. "Hopefully by Tuesday I feel better and I can be in the outfield. If not, I can DH the whole game and play the day after. "I did all the testing that I couldve done in order to see if I could pinch- hit (Sunday)." Drew Hutchison would love to see Bautista in the lineup as the Toronto right- hander tries to avoid a third straight losing start. Both of Hutchisons recent setbacks came at the hands of the New York Yankees, who got to him for a total of eight runs and 13 hits while drawing six walks over 10 1/3 innings in the two games. Hutchison fell to 5-6 with a 4.000 earned run average on the year, including a mark of 1-4 with an 8. Custom Minnesota Twins Nike Jerseys. 13 ERA in six starts at home. The 23-year-old is set to face Milwaukee for the first time and will go up against Marco Estrada, a winner in two straight. Estrada snapped a two-start losing streak on June 20 in Colorado despite giving up seven runs over 5 2/3 innings. His offense took him off the hook in a 13-10 decision before the righty rebounded with a solid victory over Washington on Wednesday. In the 9-2 win, Estrada gave up two runs on two hits and four walks over 6 1/3 innings, improving to 7-4 with a 5.06 ERA on the year. "This was a real important outing for (Estrada). Its important for him to get back into that mode and pitch the way we know he can," said Brewers manager Ron Roenicke. The 30-year-old has never faced Toronto. Estradas win over Washington kick started a four-game winning streak that came to an end with Sundays 10-4 loss to the Rockies. Ryan Braun homered in defeat, while Yovani Gallardo yielded eight runs -- five earned -- over five innings. Neither shortstop Jean Segura (leg cramps) or center fielder Carlos Gomez (strained neck) started Sundays loss, but both could return to the lineup today. The Brewers, who are making their first trip to Toronto since 2005, are 7-2 against the Blue Jays since moving to the National League in 1998. ' ' '