FanNation - The Republic of Sport

PhillyFan83: WS CHAMPS!!! said 04/26, 11:29 PM
A wild card berth?? Really! That's a pretty bold statement for a team that went 3-13 last year. They lost 3 key players to their team. While they were the right moves to get rid of, Dunn, Hall, and Crumpler were arguably the 3 best players on the Falcons.

QB- Anytime a QB comes in this league, he will struggle. With the exception of Big Ben. The Falcons O-Line is still shakey. The quarterback position is one of the hardest to adjust to in the NFL. I believe Ryan will be a Pro Bowler in the future, but not in the 09 season.

RB- This will be the first time Turner gets a lot of carries. Is he durable? Can he carry the load? Is the O-line going to protect him? Too many questions

The defense is still bad. No playmakers on defense w/ Hall gone. No pass rushers, no big run stoppers.

The division. N.O. will be better and TB is still a threat. Both of those teams have legit shots at making the playoffs. The Falcons will make strides this season, but will still struggle. I'll go with a 5-11 season.

PhillyFan83: WS CHAMPS!!! said 04/27, 10:45 AM
1st.. i did state about Big Ben playing well in his 1st year as a QB, but he is on a list of very few guys.

The Sam Baker pick was solid, but I don't think he will dominate or make a deep impact on this team. The team is young. They lost 2 of their leaders last year in Warrick Dunn and Alge Crumpler.

The defense is bad. They ranked in the bottom 10 in the NFL last year in just bout every defensive category. They lost their leader in INT in Hall. They also lost a talented punt returner in Hall. The Falcons will be better. But I don't think anybody has them in the playoffs. Here's what makes the difference from Atlanta this year and TB and NO the years before.

They both had proven solid qb's in Brees and Garcia. One did it on defense (Tampa) with a ton of playmakers there and the other did it on offense (NO) with a ton of playmakers such as bush, mcallister,colston. Atlanta has a young unproven QB. They don't have a very good offense which will be mostly run balanced and their defense is not good.

PhillyFan83: WS CHAMPS!!! said 04/27, 02:54 PM
They just don't have the talent to get it done this season. I agree with you, they will improve, but where i disagree is when you said they will get a wild card spot. They were 23rd in total offense last year. I don't think Matt Ryan will be in the Big Ben group in the upcoming year. The WR's are bad after Roddy White and their TE is pretty much a non factor with the loss of Crumpler. They ranked 29th in defense and I think that is the area where they will get even worse. They upgraded 2 major parts of the offense in the draft, qb and ot. The offense may make something happen in some games. The defense is young. They give up way too many points.

Another factor i forgot, coaching. They brought in a new coach,again. How will this affect the players. It may take the Falcons a few games to get adjusted to Mike Smith's system. This upcoming season is a start of a rebuilding year. They don't have the Vick and Petrino controversy. They lost 3 big players on the field. The team is young and will take time for some of its players to develop.