The Atlanta
Falcons’ fanbase has been craving a formidable football team to represent
the Atlanta, Georgia area for several years. Atlanta last made the playoffs in 2017
when they suffered a brutal loss at the hands of the “G.O.A.T” Tom Brady. Yes, that is right, in Superbowl LI the
Atlanta Falcons had their hands on the pulse of the New England Patriots and
were looking to close out the game while routing the Pats 28-3, but here came
the heroics of golden boy Tom Brady, yet again.
Brady and the Patriots erased a 28-3 deficit in the third quarter that
led them to a tied game to end the fourth quarter and in doing so also led to the
NFL’s very first Over Time game in Super Bowl history. When you have any team down by three or
more scores in any game, let alone the pinnacle of the sport, you must pull out all the stops to end it with a win so you can get that prestigious ring that you spend
your whole life dreaming about. The Falcons looked like their path to
victory would have been to keep the ball in the arms of the running back. After all, that is the reason they gained
such a big lead, to begin with. However to everyone's surprise Atlanta
chose to do the opposite and air the ball out rather than kill the remaining time with the run game. This decision proved fatal for the Falcons as Brady drove his guys down the
field three times while successfully holding the Falcons without
scoring the entire fourth quarter. Then
the game went to overtime for the first time in Super Bowl history and the New England Patriots ended up completing the largest comeback
in the Super Bowl era.
Since Atlanta’s
heartbreaking loss in that Super Bowl, the vibes there haven't been the same. Julio Jones ended up leaving and
spent time with three different teams since then and although I haven’t heard
that he has retired yet he is nowhere near the player he was then. Julio had an incredible career and is widely
known as one of the best pass catchers the league has ever seen. Matt Ryan had also moved on after spending a
few more seasons in Atlanta, he ended up going to Indianapolis and proved his
best years were behind him as an elite QB.
Now Matty Ice is retired, and Atlanta was just hoping to find another
proven guy to bring them back to the top of the NFC South. In comes Kirk Cousins to hopefully save the
day and Atlanta’s hopes of a long-awaited path back to a playoff birth. Granted Kirk isn’t a top 5 QB, but he is a
little more than a game manager even now at 36 entering his 13th
season and 10th season as a starter.
Cousins is a 4x Pro Bowler, led the league in completion percentage in
2015, Bart Starr award winner (2023), has the most game-winning drives in a
single season (tied with Matthew Stafford) & most fourth-quarter comebacks
in s season 8 (tied with Stafford). Kirk
also accomplished the biggest comeback in NFL history during week 15 of the 2022
season when Cousins led his Minnesota Vikings to an incredible win as the Colts
got out to a blowout kind of lead early in the game, but the no-quit in Kirk
was fully on display as he threw for a career-high 460 yds on 34 of 54 passes,
4 TDs & 2 INTs.
There is finally hope in
Atlanta with this revamped offense that comes with head coach Raheem Morris and offensive coordinator Zac
Robinson. New HC Morris was brought over
in the offseason from the Los Angeles Rams, though Morris brought some friends
with him from Los Angeles. Falcons' new OC Zac
Robinson also made the trip from L.A. where he was the Rams QB coach and passing
game coordinator from 2022-2023. The
Rams also lost their Assistant HC Jimmy Lake who is now the Falcons DC. From the coaching staff to the front office
things seem much better than just a year ago.
General Manager Terry Fontenot has done an awesome job bringing in more
talent and even late in the preseason, he was still able to strike gold with
some savvy moves signing veteran safety Justin Simmons to pair with Jessie
Bates. Fontenot also made a huge trade
with the Patriots that dealt Edge Rusher Matthew Judon to Atlanta. They also made sure to re-sign their top CB
A.J Terrell to a massive 4yr-$81M deal that includes $65.80M guaranteed, which
is a record-setting amount for guaranteed money.
Offensively the Falcons
already have two very good RBs in last year’s rookie sensation Bijan Robinson
and third-year back Tyler Allgeier. I expect big things from Bijan this season and believe he can lead all running backs in both receptions and possibly in total scrimmage yards. They
also have, the oftentimes underestimated and undervalued tight end Kyle Pitts
whose talent is about to explode. This
is finally a pass-friendly attack, and Pitts will be one of the vocal points of
this offense along with WRs Drake London and the speedster Darnell Mooney. The 2024 regular season is almost underway
and a smart bet for the NFC South champions may be those Falcons out of the
Peach State.
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