2011 Atlanta Falcons Team Preview | NFL Predictions
When speaking of the “process’’ that the Atlanta Falcons talk about time after time in their internal meetings and practice sessions?
2011 Atlanta Falcons Team Preview/Predictions
2010 Record: 13-3, Division Champions
ATS Record: 11-5
The NFL community found out that while it’s taken this franchise a long way, the Falcons are far from a complete team after getting abused in their own building against the Green Bay Packers in the playoffs.
After showing very encouraging signs that pointed to championship contention (highlighted by a 13-3 campaign, good enough for the number one seed in the NFC playoffs), the Falcons stumbled in their attempt to win the first Super Bowl championship in franchise history.
It was as though the Falcons woke up from their dream and realized that despite all the great things that they had accomplished they hadn’t arrived just yet. However, they are going in the right direction.
Falcons head coach Mike Smith uses the “process’’ theme more than anyone in Atlanta and has since the day he arrived in the Athens of the South in 2008. He will continue to use it until his team wins the Lombardi Trophy.
To continue the process Smith and general manager Thomas Dimitroff are establishing with this franchise in the wake of Michael Vick’s train-wreck a few years ago, the two men are going to have to figure out how to take the next steps in going from a team that’s very good in the regular season to one that can carry its excellence through the postseason.
This is a hard climb the city of Atlanta is used to, especially considering the plight of the baseball Braves, who also had their share of postseason struggles over the years.
The Falcons didn’t have one of the top defensive units in 2010, but they were the masters of the bend but don’t break defense. On the offensive side of the ball, they were the exact opposite, they used every opportunity to their advantage.
On both offense and defense, the Falcons ranked 16th in total yards (gained and allowed, respectively); however they were fifth in points scored.
One of the reasons for that success was the Falcons’ ability to force the other team to turn the ball over; Atlanta ranked third in the National Football league, finishing the season with a +14 turnover differential.
Another key factor turned out to be all the skill players on the Falcons’ roster, headlined by Matt Ryan. The emerging star finished the year with a 91 QB rating, which ranked 11th in the NFL. Running back Michael ‘The Burner’ Turner finished with 1,371 yards rushing, which put him third in the NFL, and 12 touchdowns, which ranked him fourth. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Not to be forgotten, wide receiver Roddy White ranked in the top 10 in both receiving and touchdowns for wide receivers. He finished the year with 1,389 yards receiving (second) and ten touchdowns (sixth).
The area where the Falcons need to improve if they truly are going to climb the ladder in the postseason is in their defensive front seven. Opposing running backs averaged almost half a first down, 4.63 yards per carry to be exact, against the Falcons this year. This placed them 27th in the league. Also, they only got to opposing quarterbacks 21 times, which put them at 20th in the NFL.
The last glaring weakness for the Falcons is that they struggled to stretch the field on the offensive side of the pigskin.
For all of his greatness, Ryan managed only 6.49 yards per pass attempt which was near the bottom of the league at 27th overall.
2011 Falcons Futures
Super Bowl Odds: +1615
Conference Odds: +825
NFC South Odds: +125
2011-2012 NFL Regular Season Wins: Under 10.5
2011 Falcons Predictions
Place they’ll finish in NFC South: 2nd
Place they’ll finish in NFC Conference: 7th
Over/Under Wins Prediction: Under
With NFL football just a short time away, Cappers Picks Football handicappers have been hard at work putting out the team by team NFL previews for those of us who can’t wait.
Bet on the 2011 SuperBowl winner, plus Conference and Divisional winners.
What are you waiting for use our insider knowledge today to gamble on all the NFL Football Futures in our top online sportsbooks today.
