2010 Atlanta Falcons Team Preview/Predictions
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2009 Record: 9-7
ATS: 11-5
The Atlanta Falcons were full of hope as they entered the 2009 campaign. Having won 11 games the previous season, the Falcons and coach Mike Smith had every expectation of winning the NFC South championship.
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Matt Ryan had established himself as an upper-tier quarterback in the league, a man who was valuable not just because he didn’t lose games, but because he actually managed to win Sunday showdowns in the closing minutes.
Atlanta had the field general and the taste of playoff experience (albeit in a losing cause, at Arizona in the 2008 wild card round) which normally precede a deeper and more successful postseason run.
Instead, the Falcons got their wings clipped. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
One of the main reasons for Atlanta’s non-playoff year in 2009 was the New Orleans Saints. Drew Brees threw the ball better than Atlanta could defend it.
Reggie Bush ran faster than the Falcons could on special teams plays. New Orleans’ defense was able to hold Ryan in check… enough, at any rate, to deliver a sweep of the season series and dent the Falcons’ playoff hopes.
Atlanta’s defense was generally inconsistent in 2009; Dallas rang up 37 against Smith’s squad, while Philadelphia and the New York Giants also topped the 30-point mark (in addition to New Orleans, of course) against the Falcons.
Yes, that same defense rose up to smother the New York Jets in a notable late-season triumph, but one simply couldn’t count on this team to deliver the goods on a regular basis. The loss of Ryan (due to a toe injury) at the beginning of December did not help matters at all. This team got swept by New Orleans and it managed to sweep Tampa Bay; in other words, it was a 9-7 ballclub.
In 2010, the wish list for the coaching staff is obvious. First, Ryan has to play all 16 games and remain healthy. This organization has made Ryan its franchise player, and the Boston College product has earned the respect of the locker room. Ryan needs to be on the field; even if he doesn’t play his very best, he’s likely to grind out late wins and display the kind of mental resilience which goes a long way toward a postseason run.
Chris Redman was actually quite decent in a backup role last year, but after the wreckage of the Michael Vick era in the Athens of the South, owner Arthur Blank needs his main horse, Mr. Ryan, to become an iconic quarterback for the Falcons.
The defense also needs to become more consistent. The loss of linebacker Keith Brooking to the Dallas Cowboys made a difference in 2009, so Atlanta will need to be stronger in that part of its overall defensive alignment.
If Atlanta is to catch the defending champion Saints and take home the NFC South title, Smith’s defense will likely need to hold New Orleans to 20 points (nothing more) on at least one occasion.
It will also be a priority for the Falcons to sweep Carolina and gain a firmer hold on the upper echelon of the NFC South; last year, Atlanta could only split with the Panthers.
Falcons 2010 Outlook
The feeling is that Atlanta will make modest but real improvements; an 11-5 wild card season – what this team put together in 2008 – seems like a good bet in 2010.
Falcons 2010 Futures
Super Bowl Odds: +2550
Conference Odds: +815
NFC South Odds: +205
2010 Falcons Predictions
Place they’ll finish in NFC South: 2nd
Place they’ll finish in NFC Conference: 5th
Over/Under Season Wins Prediction: OVER 8.5 Wins
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Dave Golokhov has written for BETUS Sportsbook, Sportsfanmagazine.com, FOX, Askmen.com, Sports-central.org, and the FOXSports.com Funhouse.
