Let's Talk About The Atlanta Falcons

[CrypticVillain]

I really can't put my finger on how this team is so successful. I know they have Matty Ice, Turner, White, and Gonzalez on offense. They are ranked 12th in YPG and 5th in PPG. On defense they have some good players, but I don't think any of them are elite. They are giving up about 19 PPG, and 14th in total defense.

It could be the schedule. But even that is respectable. The only two teams they lost to was the Steelers and Eagles. And they beat the Saints, Ravens, and the Bucs twice.

Then there is the other teams in the NFC. I don't know if they can beat the Eagles, Giants, Saints, or Bears in the playoffs. Even if they are at home.

All of this could change by the way they play against the Saints on Monday Night. A win would make them a little more respectable in my eyes, but a lost would just raise more questions.

Does anybody else have any more thoughts/comments about the falcons?

[Gibbs Hog Heaven]

They have an A1 dick as a HC who could probably push me to violence in his presence.

Oh, I want them to fall flat on their ass in the playoff's. Nottin' against Atlanta, just the jerk mentioned above.

Hail.

[Rskins91]

The Falcons are a good team that play sound football. I believe they have committed the least amount of penalties in the NFL, and they have a very balanced offense. Michael Turner is a great RB, and Snelling is a good second option. Roddy White is a freak at WR, and Matt Ryan is very calm, cool, and collected at QB. He's led multiple drives in crunch time to get the Falcons points when they need them.

On defense, they have some young talent that steps up and makes a play when they need to. For instance, Kroy Biermann in the game against the Cleveland Browns tipped a pass and got the INT, and then ran it back for 6. That gave the Falcons a 10 point lead with 4 minutes left in the 4th. Last week, Babineaux stepped up and recovered a fumble in the endzone to give the Falcons a 14 point lead in the 3rd over Seattle.

Simply put, the Falcons are good because they know how to close out games. They rarely let an opponent linger around when they are outplaying them, and when they find themselves in a battle, their players have made plays when they need to (even if that includes Roddy White pushing off the Baltimore defender).

However, I do agree with GGH; Mike Smith is a dick, and after seeing how he made verbal threats against DeAngelo Hall last year, I can't stand the guy. That said, should they find themselves against the Eagles in the playoffs... Go Falcons.

[Spartacus87]

I wish people would stop using the "Matty Ice" nickname.

It might be the worst nickname for a pro athlete today.

[CrypticVillain]

I wish people would stop using the "Matty Ice" nickname.

It might be the worst nickname for a pro athlete today.

Yeah it is pretty lame, but that is why I like it.

I honestly can't see them winning a playoff game this year. Unless a NFC West team pulls off in upset in the wildcard round. It's not that I hate the Falcons, I just think that the Giants, Bears and Eagles are playing lights out football right now. If they do make it to the Super Bowl, I can't see them beating any of their playoff teams.

[Tom [Giants fan]]

They are who they are because of their coach. Playing sound football with low penalties and turnovers being rare for them is how they win. If the Giants played like the Falcons, they would have 11 or 12 wins right now. I admire the type of football the Falcons play. It is one of the reasons I nominated Smith for coach of the year in the other thread.

[Warhead36]

Depending on the matchups they could make the Super Bowl, or they could lose in the 2nd round. I don't think they're a great team, they're a good team though that has gotten a bit lucky along the way. Some of those wins really could have easily been losses like the Ravens, 49ers, both Bucs,and Saints games.

[Beans]

They have an A1 dick as a HC who could probably push me to violence in his presence.

Oh, I want them to fall flat on their ass in the playoff's. Nottin' against Atlanta, just the jerk mentioned above.

Hail.

Care to elaborate? I have no idea why one would think of Mike Smith as an "A1 dick"?

[Drew_Fl]

the falcons are better than the people in this thread believe they are in my opinion. they haven't played many primetime matchups so they aren't thrown in our faces constantly so we just assume they aren't as good. defense and running game still wins in this lg, especially if you have one of the best passing attacks with it. they are a more balanced team than philly and chicago, and i believe the Giants would be their best competition.

not trying to say you guys are wrong. just my $.02

[darklight1216]

Yeah it is pretty lame, but that is why I like it.

I honestly can't see them winning a playoff game this year. Unless a NFC West team pulls off in upset in the wildcard round. It's not that I hate the Falcons, I just think that the Giants, Bears and Eagles are playing lights out football right now. If they do make it to the Super Bowl, I can't see them beating any of their playoff teams.

I wouldn't give the Falcons a chance if they were playing in say Dallas, but when they're in their home dome, they are nigh unstoppable. Those other teams are good, but as long as the Falcons have home field advantage it's hard to pick against them.

I'll certainly be rooting against them though.

[Gibbs Hog Heaven]

Care to elaborate? I have no idea why one would think of Mike Smith as an "A1 dick"?

From trash talking opposing teams and players, through trying to fight with opposing players, take your pick.

Hail.

[ArmchairRedskin]

ATL is my pick to lose in the SB to NE.

[CrypticVillain]

I wouldn't give the Falcons a chance if they were playing in say Dallas, but when they're in their home dome, they are nigh unstoppable. Those other teams are good, but as long as the Falcons have home field advantage it's hard to pick against them.

I'll certainly be rooting against them though.

I will give them that. I heard Ryan has only lost one or two games at home.

[Edwardpena69]

Ive been preaching to people at my work how the falcons are gonna be a force to be reckoned with in the playoffs and they blew me off, im pleaseantly happy im right

[Big Blue Joe]

Ive been preaching to people at my work how the falcons are gonna be a force to be reckoned with in the playoffs and they blew me off, im pleaseantly happy im right

I don't think you are. The Falcons are a good team who doesn't make very many mistakes. They are easily the most consistent team in the conference, but that's not enough to get the job done in the playoffs. A team generally needs to be standout dominant in some particular area to make the Superbowl. The Saints had their passing game, the Steelers had their defense, the Giants had that pass rush, and so on. The Falcons don't have that aspect they can rely on when the intensity is kicked up a notch and games become do or die.

[DarrellsMyHero28]

From trash talking opposing teams and players, through trying to fight with opposing players, take your pick.

Hail.

Honestly thought that for a while til I had a conversation with my good friend who's an ATL fan.

Revisiting the brawl we had with them, Mike Smith was really just trying to protect his players. He's a "player's coach" and a fiery guy, probably an ******* but honestly most good coaches are.

[Mr. Sinister]

I think the Falcons are pretty good, but I do not think they are as dominant as their record suggests. All of their wins that came against teams with winning records, were pretty close contests. I think a team like the Saints/Bears Eagles could beat them at home. Their game against the Saints, who are playing better now, will be a good test for them as we get closer to the end of the season, and will give us an idea of where the Falcons are at right now as a football team.

[Seabee1973]

They had a plan and stuck to it. they have good depth also Hopefully we can develop a team similar

[Conn]

I don't think you are. The Falcons are a good team who doesn't make very many mistakes. They are easily the most consistent team in the conference, but that's not enough to get the job done in the playoffs. A team generally needs to be standout dominant in some particular area to make the Superbowl. The Saints had their passing game, the Steelers had their defense, the Giants had that pass rush, and so on. The Falcons don't have that aspect they can rely on when the intensity is kicked up a notch and games become do or die.

I don't know, Matt Ryan to Roddy White seems to be pretty dominant. But I get what you're saying, for sure. I'm just pointing out that it worked for Warner and Fitz...at least till they got to the SB. And even adding the fact that Ryan doesn't have a Boldin across from White, I think that this Falcons team is much more consistent than that Cardinals team.

[88Comrade2000]

It doesn't matter who the NFC sends, Patriots are winning another superbowl this year. That said, the nfc championship game appears to be a Falcons-Eagles matchup-- which should be a great game.

[darklight1216]

I don't think you are. The Falcons are a good team who doesn't make very many mistakes. They are easily the most consistent team in the conference, but that's not enough to get the job done in the playoffs. A team generally needs to be standout dominant in some particular area to make the Superbowl. The Saints had their passing game, the Steelers had their defense, the Giants had that pass rush, and so on. The Falcons don't have that aspect they can rely on when the intensity is kicked up a notch and games become do or die.

The Falcons have their home field advantage... and their offense. Aren't they the fourth highest scoring team in the league or something like that? With a top ten scoring defense, they're not a team to take lightly, particularly when they play in Atlanta.

I don't know, Matt Ryan to Roddy White seems to be pretty dominant. But I get what you're saying, for sure. I'm just pointing out that it worked for Warner and Fitz...at least till they got to the SB. And even adding the fact that Ryan doesn't have a Boldin across from White, I think that this Falcons team is much more consistent than that Cardinals team.

Matt Ryan has something that the Cardinals didn't: a running game. Arizona was infamously the worst team at running the football last year, while Ryan is backed up by a top ten ground game.

That Gonzales guy isn't too shabby either.

It doesn't matter who the NFC sends, Patriots are winning another superbowl this year. That said, the nfc championship game appears to be a Falcons-Eagles matchup-- which should be a great game.

I completely agree with that.

[Big Blue Joe]

The Falcons have their home field advantage... and their offense. Aren't they the fourth highest scoring team in the league or something like that? With a top ten scoring defense, they're not a team to take lightly, particularly when they play in Atlanta.

I'm not taking the Falcons lightly. Their offense is good, but the Eagles' offense is better by a significant margin and far more dynamic. The Falcons are good at a lot of things, but they're not great in any particular area. And that's usually not enough when the playoffs start.

As for their home field advantage, I think it's massively overrated. The Falcons had a soft schedule at home in 2008. They only had to play 1 playoff team there. Matt Ryan sat out the Falcons' 2 toughest home games in 2009 (both losses) due to an injury. So even though he didn't beat a team with a winning record at home in 2009, "the streak" continued. And this season isn't over yet. The Falcons are a good team, so it's not surprising that they have a good home record. But their dominant home field advantage, in my opinion, is just a statistical anomaly.

[TaylorPickSix]

Definitely an interesting mix with Atlanta. I have a good friend who is a huge Falcons fan.

Mike Smith is AWFUL. Zero respect for that guy.

Matt Ryan and Roddy White are just fun to watch play. You have to love how Ryan always comes up in the clutch, probably 2nd behind Brady on that one. Personally I'll always love him for the pukefest game against Tech .

That being said, I'll probably root for them in the playoffs, only because I think they can take out New England if Pittsburgh can't.

[Hitman21ST]

Yeah it is pretty lame, but that is why I like it.

I honestly can't see them winning a playoff game this year. Unless a NFC West team pulls off in upset in the wildcard round. It's not that I hate the Falcons, I just think that the Giants, Bears and Eagles are playing lights out football right now. If they do make it to the Super Bowl, I can't see them beating any of their playoff teams.

They've got home field. Matt Ryan is 19-1 at home in his career. I don't see them losing a Conference playoff game this year.

[darklight1216]

Definitely an interesting mix with Atlanta. I have a good friend who is a huge Falcons fan.

Mike Smith is AWFUL. Zero respect for that guy.

Matt Ryan and Roddy White are just fun to watch play. You have to love how Ryan always comes up in the clutch, probably 2nd behind Brady on that one. Personally I'll always love him for the pukefest game against Tech .

That being said, I'll probably root for them in the playoffs, only because I think they can take out New England if Pittsburgh can't.

Second to Brady? I think that Ben Roethlisberger (and probably Peyton Manning) would beg to differ.