The Atlanta Falcons Thread

[MHSL82]

As explained in the Team-by-Team Thread, I am planning on making a thread every three days for a different team. The first few posts will be questions, requests for predictions, etc. There will be a poll unless I don't feel like making one. Some teams are less interesting than others.Please participate in posting articles, predictions, etc.

So far:

The Seattle Seahawks Thread - SB Winner.

The Denver Broncos Thread - Lost to SB Winner.

The San Francisco 49ers Thread - Lost to SB Winner.

The New England Patriots Thread - Lost to SB Runnerup.

The New Orleans Saints Thread - Lost to SB Winner.

The San Diego Chargers Thread - Lost to SB Runnerup.

The Carolina Panthers Thread - Lost to NFCC Runnerup.

The Indianapolis Colts Thread - Lost to the AFCC Runnerup.

The Green Bay Packers Thread - Lost to the NFCC Runnerup.

The Philadelphia Eagles Thread - SB Winner beat the Saints who beat the Eagles.

The Kansas City Chiefs Thread - SB Runnerup beat the Colts who beat the Chiefs.

The Cincinnati Bengals Thread - AFC Runnerup Beat the Chargers who beat the Bengals.

The Arizona Cardinals Thread - Best Record for a Non-Playoff Team in a Hard Division.

The Pittsburgh Steelers Thread - Next Best Record, Controversially Missed the Playoffs.

The Chicago Bears Thread - Same Record as Above, Randomly Selected.

The Baltimore Ravens Thread - Same Record as Above, Randomly Selected.

The Dallas Cowboys Thread - Same Record as Above, Randomly Selected.

The Miami Dolphins Thread - Same Record as Above, Randomly Selected.

The New York Jets Thread - Same Record, Randomly Selected.

The New York Giants Thread - The First of Four 7-9 Teams

The Detroit Lions Thread - The Second of Four 7-9 Teams.

The Tennessee Titans Thread - Third of Four 7-9 Teams.

The St. Louis Rams Thread - Last of the 7-9 Teams.

The Buffalo Bills Thread - Sole 6-10 Team.

The Minnesota Vikings Thread - Sole 5-10-1 Team.

The Atlanta Falcons Thread - The First of Five 4-12 Teams.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Hometown team...I pulled for them against everybody but the Steelers.

My thoughts.

They were the best 4-12 team I've seen in a along time and they were the worst 13-3 team I've seen in a long time a couple of years ago.

Bottom line...OFC/DEF/ST they've had 10 win talent the last few years...Some key injuries and some misjudgement on player personnel really cost them LY. Coming off a 13-3...I don't think many teams would start 3 OL guys that never had an NFL start at their position the following year...but, that's what happened.

The 2014 Falcons...they addressed the OL situation with FA & the #6 overall pick who has looked pretty good in camp...Matthews is the future LT and moving Baker to RT imo, but for now the rookie mans the right side. You don't replace Tony G @ TE, but with Julio & Roddy back in good health to go with the slot Harry Douglas...the OFC will again rely on Matt Ryan, but RB by committee should take some pressure off him. IMO Sjax is pretty avg now, but Antone Smith, Devonte Freeman, Quizz offer plenty of depth.

On the DEF they also dipped into FA to get help on the front line with Frank Soliai & Tyson Jackson...they lost LB Weatherspoon for the season most likely, but I don't think that will hurt them too much...two young inside LBs from LYs are going to be fine...look for ATL to be better vs the run, and solid on the back end, but still no dominant pass rusher and that will make them vulnerable vs the top QBs on their schedule.

Non DIV road games is pretty stiff...@CIN, MIN, NYG, BAL, GB...2 wins

Non DIV home games equally as stiff to me...CHI, DET, CLE, AZ, PIT...3 wins

9-7...that's splitting with NO, and CAR, and sweeping TB.

 

[PDay8810]

I have no clue on Atlanta.
I'm still trying to figure out if they are a good team with quality coaching... and IF Ryan is better or even as good as Romo

 

[ATL96Steeler]

I have no clue on Atlanta.
I'm still trying to figure out if they are a good team with quality coaching... and IF Ryan is better or even as good as Romo

Coaching...16 game season...for 14 of those, pretty good...normally beats the teams he's suppose to beat...has trouble in the playoffs and vs NO.

No axe to grind either way...but, I'd take Ryan over Romo based on this principle alone...he's willing to punt the ball i.e. live for another down...not athletic enough to extend the play and make the big play that Romo will make on occasion, but less likely to make the key mistake.

 

[PDay8810]

Coaching...16 game season...for 14 of those, pretty good...normally beats the teams he's suppose to beat...has trouble in the playoffs and vs NO.

No axe to grind either way...but, I'd take Ryan over Romo based on this principle alone...he's willing to punt the ball i.e. live for another down...not athletic enough to extend the play and make the big play that Romo will make on occasion, but less likely to make the key mistake.

that's the popular opinion. I just don't know.
Maybe this season will shed some light on it for me

 

[night]

I think Toilolo will be a threat at TE in the red zone in Tony's absence but in other positions on the field we'll be looking a little more towards the run game and slot to cover all of Gonzo's targets. The d-line is improved but we don't have much promise on the edges with an aging Osi and Biermann. Losing Weatherspoon hurt the heart of the d quite a bit IMO. I'm hoping our CBs we drafted last year will continue to improve. We were at the bottom of the league last year in the run game but I think with the improvements we've made with the line things will look up especially if SJax can stay healthy although with the hamstring problems lately that's not looking great even though that might just be a precaution to have him healthy week one. The jury is still out on whether Julio will be back at 100% but I think he'll still be a tough guy to slow down. The biggest advantage we'll have is a healthy Roddy back instead of nursing all of those injuries last season. If they can have a healthy season I think it's realistic to be at 10-6. Last season was a bit of an aberration with all of the injuries and I think we'll be looking a lot better this year.

 

[Clayton]

They look every bit of an 8-8 team. So quality players, a decent coach, a decent QB and lots and lots of holes.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

I think Toilolo will be a threat at TE in the red zone in Tony's absence but in other positions on the field we'll be looking a little more towards the run game and slot to cover all of Gonzo's targets. The d-line is improved but we don't have much promise on the edges with an aging Osi and Biermann. Losing Weatherspoon hurt the heart of the d quite a bit IMO. I'm hoping our CBs we drafted last year will continue to improve. We were at the bottom of the league last year in the run game but I think with the improvements we've made with the line things will look up especially if SJax can stay healthy although with the hamstring problems lately that's not looking great even though that might just be a precaution to have him healthy week one. The jury is still out on whether Julio will be back at 100% but I think he'll still be a tough guy to slow down. The biggest advantage we'll have is a healthy Roddy back instead of nursing all of those injuries last season. If they can have a healthy season I think it's realistic to be at 10-6. Last season was a bit of an aberration with all of the injuries and I think we'll be looking a lot better this year.

Night...from what I've seen and heard so far.

TE...you're right...expect the tall one (6'8" I think) to be a factor inside the 30 but he's still a liability on run block they say so they will have to guard against telegraphing things.

DL...the bigs up front are definitely better...winning most of the battles vs the OL in camp so far...they are still mums on the base DEF but it's a 3-4 and Osi is a fish out of water @ OLB and Kroy is not a whole lot better. The word I'm getting is they have the athletes (Goodman, Malacai, incl) to generate a pass rush via scheme, just not the guys that are going to beat the one on one consistently.

Spoon...yeah maybe but as ILBs Bartu & Worrilow are looking strong

CBs...at least out of camp the back 4 could be the best unit on DEF.

10-6...I can easily see that, but that really need to sweep TB and split with NO & CAR.imo. I think AZ could take a step back, PIT has a lot to prove

Running...I think this group is going to surprise some people...not so much Sjax, (I think a hammy @ his age is bad news) but Smitty is going to give him every opportunity to make it happen.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

They look every bit of an 8-8 team. So quality players, a decent coach, a decent QB and lots and lots of holes.

idk about lot, but the ones they have are glaring.

 

[Demonjoe93]

I think we'll be 10-6 or 11-5.

 

[Clayton]

idk about lot, but the ones they have are glaring.

Oline, pass rush and running game are all fairly important aspects of football. I assume they'll figure out one of those 3 areas and I think they'll be better in games where Julio Jones can exploit a mismatch. Roddy White regressing and Tony G being off the team is a big hit to their offense.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Oline, pass rush and running game are all fairly important aspects of football. I assume they'll figure out one of those 3 areas and I think they'll be better in games where Julio Jones can exploit a mismatch. Roddy White regressing and Tony G being off the team is a big hit to their offense.

LOL...indeed and you're right about all 3 LY.

OL will definitely be improved on pass protection...run blocking remains to be seen...imo the right side went from a weakness to a strength. Running game is iffy but the mix of RBs is not bad if the OL can run block...pass rush, no way to sugarcoat it...its a glaring need.

 

[Clayton]

I'm actually not impressed at all by their running backs. They look like they have 3 backup RBs imo

 

[ATL96Steeler]

I'm actually not impressed at all by their running backs. They look like they have 3 backup RBs imo

Agreed...In spite of what coach Smith would like...what makes this team go is Ryan and the passing game...they need to run enough to make teams respect the playaction fake and get that key yd or 2 on the ground to keep the chains moving.

Although Asamoah is reported to be a power run blocker...the makeup of the OL is really more of a pass protect group...everyone seems to be happy with Matthews, but there were some people within the Falcon organization that coveted your guy Greg Robinson...if he slid to 6, he most likely would be a Falcon.

Overall..imo the running game won't be the reason ATL is not successful this year.

 

[shabazz916]

Falcons are soft

 

[Demonjoe93]

If Sam Baker turns out to be out for an extended period of time and someone doesn't step it up, I'm thinking we won't have a chance at eleven wins. It'll be more like nine or ten.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

If Sam Baker turns out to be out for an extended period of time and someone doesn't step it up, I'm thinking we won't have a chance at eleven wins. It'll be more like nine or ten.

Smitty is going to have to get it done come hook or crook...Baker has always been a RT imo...maybe Tice can coach up Holmes...a year (albeit a bad one) under his belt should help.

I agree on the record...anything below 9 is underachieving, above 10 is overachieving imo.

 

[MHSL82]

New Orleans, @Cincinnati, Chicago, @Carolina, @Green Bay, @New Orleans, Carolina: Win 2.
Arizona, Pittsburgh, @Baltimore, New York Giants: Win 1 (2).
@Minnesota, Detroit, Tampa By, Cleveland, @Tampa Bay: Win 3 (4).

6-10 to 8-8.

Going to say they surprise in the regular season and win 9-7. Wouldn't be surprised with 10-6. Still out in the first round, just to hedge bets.