Falcons crashing to earth

I was beginning to re-think my preseason prediction that the Atlanta Falcons would go 8-8 and miss the playoffs.
Then a couple of things happened.
They played a New York Giants team with legitimate playoff potential that was at full strength (unlike the banged-up Carolina Panthers outfit they beat in Week One).
They failed to protect an 11-point second half lead and lost handily, giving up somewhere in the neighborhood of (and I’m just estimating here) 5,243,763 yards to Tiki Barber in the second half. They failed to protect Michael Vick, who was sacked seven times despite being the league’s most mobile QB. They struggled to mount any semblance of a passing game, which is astounding given that wide receivers Michael Jenkins, Roddy White and Ashley Lelie were all first-round draft picks.
When it was over, coach Jim Mora rushed to proclaim that the obvious flaws on display weren't nearly as awful as they seemed. That only adds weight to the claim that, yes, they really were that bad.
And then Tuesday arrived and it became known that starting left guard Matt Lehr violated the NFL’s steroids policy and would miss the next four games.
I’m wondering what sort of juice Lehr was on, because the offensive line’s performance has been so erratic this season. The Falcons lead the league in rushing, but have allowed 18 sacks. Do they make a time-release steroid that only works for run-blocking?
I’d love to ask an Atlanta offensive lineman about this, but the unit has abided by a foolish no-talking-to-the-media policy introduced by former O-line coach Alex Gibbs a couple years ago.
Can’t say I blame them for their silence. I’d hate to have to answer questions about steroids too.