Well it’s the start of the 44th season for the Atlanta Falcons, who entered the NFL in 1966, and everyone is wondering the same thing, "Is this the year?". In their previous 43 years in existence the Falcons have never had back-to-back winning seasons. NEVER! That is a record that no other NFL team holds. The Falcons, in those 43 years, have had 15 Head Coaches. One of them, Marion "The Swamp Fox" Campbell, they hired twice. Four others were only end of season fill–ins after the respective current Head Coach was fired. One helped his way out of town, Jim Mora, by saying in a radio interview held by a station in Washington State that, "…I’d love to coach at Washington…" (the college). The Falcons even had a First time NFL Head Coach quit on the team after the 13th game of the season only to be seen less than 24 hours later doing a TV press conference singing the University of Arkansas chant "Wooo! Pig suey!" , after signing on as their new Head Coach. He informed his Atlanta Falcons players by leaving them a typed note taped on their respective lockers. One player even crossed out the signature on the note of Bobby Petrino and wrote in simply, "Coward!".
It’s a new season and a much brighter outlook for the Atlanta Falcons and their future. After a surprising season last year in which the Falcons, under a New 1st year Head Coach (Mike Smith) and a New 1st year General Manager (Thomas Dimitroff), and Rookie QB Matt Ryan (whom the Falcons drafted with the #3 overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft) went 11-5 and earned a Post-Season berth, the Falcons seem ready to break the curse this season.
Matt Ryan going into his second NFL season does not seem the type of player to have a sophomore slump as many QB’s do. He seems poised and ready to once again be the leader on an offense that has many weapons at its disposal.
Roddy White, finished the 2008 season ranked as the NFL’s #4 WR with 88 Receptions, 1,382 Rec. yards, an average of 15.7 yards a catch, 86.4 yards a game and 7 TD’s started off the 2009 Atlanta Falcons Training Camp by holding out for a new contract. Roddy held out for 7 days before he signed a new 6 year extension. The Falcons traded away a 2nd round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft to the Kansas City Chiefs for the rights to future Hall of Fame Tony Gonzales, a TE who holds the NFL records for all TE’s in receptions (916), receiving yards (10,940), touchdowns (76), 100-yard receiving games (26), Pro Bowl appearances (10) and 1,000-yard seasons. Michael Jenkins, the #2 WR finished the 2008 campaign with 50 receptions, 777 receiving yards with an average of 15.5 yards per catch and 3 Receiving TD’s. Then there is Michael Turner. He only finished the 2008 season as the NFL’s #2 ranked RB with 376 carries, 1,699 rushing yards and 17 TD’s. He managed to have an average of 4.5 yards per carry and averaged 106.2 yards a game.
The 1st string Offense looked mighty impressive in the 2009 Pre-Season. Matt Ryan playing sparingly in 3 of the 4 games went 27 of 36 for 267 yards. Ryan had 9 attempts per game with an average of 7.4 yards per reception and a QB rating of 114.0. Michael Turner also played a minimal number of snaps and still had 27 attempts for 187 yards and 2 TD’s. Turner averaged 6.9 yards per carry. Roddy White had 10 receptions for 125 yards which equated to an average of 9.5 yards per catch, while Michael Jenkins had 5 receptions for 42 yards and a 8.4 yards per catch average. All things considered, the Atlanta Falcons offensively seem prepared to have a breakout season.
The Atlanta Falcons Defense could be a whole other story. The Falcons Defense finished the 2008 season ranked 24th in Yards allowed per game (348.2), 21st in Passing Yards (220.4), 25th in Rushing Yards (127.9) and 11th in Points (20.3). The 2009 Pre–Season didn’t do much to help how the Defense is viewed not only by fans but by the other 31 NFL teams. The Atlanta Defense finished the 2009 Pre–Season ranked 27th in Yards per game (362.8), 30th in Passing Yards (247.8), 22nd in Rushing yards (115.0), 21st in points allowed (21.0), 30th in 3rd down conversions (48%), 15th in Defensive penalties (27) and 21st in Penalty yards (261).
The biggest concern has to be the secondary. They are very young. The Atlanta coaching staff has taken notice too as they traded away a 7th round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft to the St. Louis Rams for 4th year CB Tye Hill and added 8th year CB Brian Williams who played all 16 games for the Jacksonville Jaguars and finished with 89 tackles, 2 interceptions and 7 passes defensed.
The Defensive front seems to be getting better a little bit at a time as some of the younger guys have stepped up and played strong including DE – Kroy Biermann (2nd yr), DE – Chauncey Davis (5th yr), DT – Jonathan Babineaux (5th yr) and DT – Trey Lewis (2nd yr) have a combined 117 tackles and 10 sacks during the 2008 season with the Falcons. Defensive End John Abraham, the current Defensive leader had 38 tackles and 16.5 sacks (ranked 3rd in the NFL in Sacks) during the 2008 season. However 3rd year DE Jamaal Anderson, has not played up to his potential since being drafted #8 overall in the 2007 draft. Anderson has in his 2 years in the NFL racked up only 2 sacks! For a DE that was drafted that high he has not come close to the expectations of the staff and fans alike. This could be a do or die year for him.
The LB corps seems to be getting better as well. Atlanta asked veteran LB – Keith Brooking in the off-season to take a pay–cut or they would release him. Brooking opted to play the market and wound up signing with the Dallas Cowboys. Many in Atlanta were not unhappy to see him go as his level of play had decreased over the last few years. Not to mention the Rookie-like play in the Wild Card playoff game in Arizona (2008) when he bit on a play fake which allowed veteran QB Kurt Warner to hit a wide-open receiver down the middle on a 3rd and long to convert for a first down and give the Arizona Cardinals the opportunity they needed to close the door on the game and the 2008 season for the Atlanta Falcons.
The release of Keith Brooking opened up the door for other younger guys to have their chance to prove to the staff and fans in Atlanta that they were ready to take the reins and help make the defense a power to be reckoned with. The starting rotation at LB for the Falcons includes 11th year man Mike Peterson at the "Will" or Weak–side Line Backer (WLB) position, 2nd year man Curtis Lofton at the Middle Line Backer (MLB) position and 3rd year man Stephen Nicholas at the "Sam" or Strong–side Line backer (SLB) position. Their back-ups at the respective positions are Rookie Spencer Adkins (Mia–FL) at WLB, 6th year Tony Gilbert at MLB and 8th year Coy Wire at SLB. The corps as a whole isn’t real young but by no means are they proven veterans. Peterson brings a good leadership role to help the other line backers and Lofton has proven to many that he is ready to take over the role as Defensive leader and hopefully to become the next great Linebacker for the Falcons since Jessie "The Hammer" Tuggle.
It could be a long year for the Falcons if this defensive group doesn’t step up and prove they belong here. The powerful offense Atlanta has could help their defense by sustaining long drives and giving the ‘D’ time to rest and prepare for the next series. Many fans have been heard to say that the Falcons offense needs to score at least 35–38 points a game to be in any game this season. The Defense hopes to prove those people wrong by doing their part.
A lot remains to be seen for this 2009 Atlanta Falcons team. Will they meet the expectations of the fans and staff or will they just repeat Falcons history and finish 8–8 or worse?
Well this fan is very optimistic and thinks the curse will be broken! GO FALCONS! |
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