I’m not an expert on football, so don’t place any wagers based on my say-so. But I have been paying a lot more attention to football the past few years than in the past, and I feel confident discussing it. The first regular season football game for this season is tonight, so all the pundits and sports media outlets have issued their predictions and power rankings. One thing that is almost universal this year is that they are holding the Atlanta Falcons in very low regard. Bottom of the barrel regard, in fact.
Quite frankly, that’s a mistake and I think most of them know it. By predicting failure on the Falcons’ part, though, they can they say “hey, isn’t it great they’re doing better than projected”, or they can simply claim they’ve been lucky or performing beyond they ability.
Well, unlike them, I’m happy to lay it on the line; the Falcons will do all right this season. I predict an 8 – 8 season. That may not sound like much, but compared to the 2 – 14 and 3 – 15 season most people are predicting I’m giving the Falcons a great deal of credit.
And they deserve it. The Falcons have a fantastic coaching staff, far better than Mora and his gang (except for special teams coach Joe DeCamillis – he was good). They have numerous playmakers on both sides of the ball. They offensive and defensive lines are solid. The Falcons lack depth, and they have a lot of rookies, but if they can stay healthy they can succeed this year.
A lot of people are using the Vick fiasco as an excuse to predict a bad season for the Falcons. If you think that they would have been a championship team this year simply if they had him on the team you’re as delusional as the people predicting they dismal failure. The team is better off without him. He wasn’t a leader, on or off the field. His unique skills maybe allow you to salvage one or two games in the win column that you might otherwise loose, and yes, one game can mean the difference between getting to the playoffs or not.
Some might point to the season in which Vick broke his leg in a pre-season game. His back-ups were Doug Johnson and some guy whose name escapes me. If it weren’t for the fact that Doug Johnson sucked ass so hard that season in Vick’s absence I wouldn’t even remember his name. The Falcons tanked without Vick that year because they didn’t have a good back-up.
So, what’s different this year? Joey Harrington. He’s got something to prove, and that is always a positive factor. He’s got a good attitude, and by all accounts he’s ready for a fresh start. Most importantly, he’s better than you think. And really, that’s all he has to be, because you (and you know who you are) think he stinks.
With Vick gone the true playmakers in this offense can shine – Warrick Dunn, Jerious Norwood, Joe Horn, Alge Crumpler, etc. All Harrington has to do is not play badly. If he plays well the Falcons can really kick some ass on offense because of the plan and plays that Coach Petrino has in place, but as long as he doesn’t play badly they can get by. I predict he’ll have a great year, though. This preseason he’s shown poise, accuracy, and an ability to make something happen when plays or protection breaks down. If he’s consistent this season, I’ll take him over Vick any day.
No, I’m sober. Really.
Other folks point to the breakdowns they’ve had in the second half of the past two seasons. You can blame that squarely on former (thankfully) coaches Jim Mora and Greg Knapp. They deserved to get canned for a variety of reasons. The only one I’ll go into here is the fact that they inherited a team with numerous playmakers, and after some first season luck failed to capitalize at all on their skills the next two seasons. If your coach can’t do that, why keep him around? Coach Petrino and his staff have made it a point to craft the offense so that the ball gets to the all the playmakers. And unlike Mora and his staff, Petrino won’t have to figure out a way to make Vick a good throwing quarterback or craft plays that can utitlize him. They can just concentrate on calling good plays.
Are the Falcon’s going to win the Super Bowl? No. Are the Falcons going to make the playoffs? Possibly. I think the Saints will win the NFC South, but the Falcons might make a run at a wildcard spot. Will the Falcons exceed expectations? Definitely.
Here’s how I see it the positives:
Low expectations from pundits equals motivation for team
Great coaching staff in place
Lots of playmakers on both sides of the ball
Good quarterback with something to prove
Solid o-line
Solid d-line
Experienced players and fresh-legged rookies
Here’s how I see the negatives:
All new staff and scheme that might not come together the first year
Very little depth behind the starters
Quarterback has history of failure and his mental toughness is an unknown
Aging players and inexperience rookies
Either way, I predict that if the Falcons stay healthy they’ll at least break even this season, and make a respectable showing. There may even be a few upsets along the way. Cinderella story for 2008? Only a deluded fan will predict that. I’ll take 8 – 8 this year, though.
Note: after the Falcons play they first regular season game this Sunday I’ll follow-up this blog with any alterations to my prediction, and then leave it alone for the rest of the season.
Quite frankly, that’s a mistake and I think most of them know it. By predicting failure on the Falcons’ part, though, they can they say “hey, isn’t it great they’re doing better than projected”, or they can simply claim they’ve been lucky or performing beyond they ability.
Well, unlike them, I’m happy to lay it on the line; the Falcons will do all right this season. I predict an 8 – 8 season. That may not sound like much, but compared to the 2 – 14 and 3 – 15 season most people are predicting I’m giving the Falcons a great deal of credit.
And they deserve it. The Falcons have a fantastic coaching staff, far better than Mora and his gang (except for special teams coach Joe DeCamillis – he was good). They have numerous playmakers on both sides of the ball. They offensive and defensive lines are solid. The Falcons lack depth, and they have a lot of rookies, but if they can stay healthy they can succeed this year.
A lot of people are using the Vick fiasco as an excuse to predict a bad season for the Falcons. If you think that they would have been a championship team this year simply if they had him on the team you’re as delusional as the people predicting they dismal failure. The team is better off without him. He wasn’t a leader, on or off the field. His unique skills maybe allow you to salvage one or two games in the win column that you might otherwise loose, and yes, one game can mean the difference between getting to the playoffs or not.
Some might point to the season in which Vick broke his leg in a pre-season game. His back-ups were Doug Johnson and some guy whose name escapes me. If it weren’t for the fact that Doug Johnson sucked ass so hard that season in Vick’s absence I wouldn’t even remember his name. The Falcons tanked without Vick that year because they didn’t have a good back-up.
So, what’s different this year? Joey Harrington. He’s got something to prove, and that is always a positive factor. He’s got a good attitude, and by all accounts he’s ready for a fresh start. Most importantly, he’s better than you think. And really, that’s all he has to be, because you (and you know who you are) think he stinks.
With Vick gone the true playmakers in this offense can shine – Warrick Dunn, Jerious Norwood, Joe Horn, Alge Crumpler, etc. All Harrington has to do is not play badly. If he plays well the Falcons can really kick some ass on offense because of the plan and plays that Coach Petrino has in place, but as long as he doesn’t play badly they can get by. I predict he’ll have a great year, though. This preseason he’s shown poise, accuracy, and an ability to make something happen when plays or protection breaks down. If he’s consistent this season, I’ll take him over Vick any day.
No, I’m sober. Really.
Other folks point to the breakdowns they’ve had in the second half of the past two seasons. You can blame that squarely on former (thankfully) coaches Jim Mora and Greg Knapp. They deserved to get canned for a variety of reasons. The only one I’ll go into here is the fact that they inherited a team with numerous playmakers, and after some first season luck failed to capitalize at all on their skills the next two seasons. If your coach can’t do that, why keep him around? Coach Petrino and his staff have made it a point to craft the offense so that the ball gets to the all the playmakers. And unlike Mora and his staff, Petrino won’t have to figure out a way to make Vick a good throwing quarterback or craft plays that can utitlize him. They can just concentrate on calling good plays.
Are the Falcon’s going to win the Super Bowl? No. Are the Falcons going to make the playoffs? Possibly. I think the Saints will win the NFC South, but the Falcons might make a run at a wildcard spot. Will the Falcons exceed expectations? Definitely.
Here’s how I see it the positives:
Low expectations from pundits equals motivation for team
Great coaching staff in place
Lots of playmakers on both sides of the ball
Good quarterback with something to prove
Solid o-line
Solid d-line
Experienced players and fresh-legged rookies
Here’s how I see the negatives:
All new staff and scheme that might not come together the first year
Very little depth behind the starters
Quarterback has history of failure and his mental toughness is an unknown
Aging players and inexperience rookies
Either way, I predict that if the Falcons stay healthy they’ll at least break even this season, and make a respectable showing. There may even be a few upsets along the way. Cinderella story for 2008? Only a deluded fan will predict that. I’ll take 8 – 8 this year, though.
Note: after the Falcons play they first regular season game this Sunday I’ll follow-up this blog with any alterations to my prediction, and then leave it alone for the rest of the season.
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