Falcons move to No. 1 spot in ESPN power rankings
FLOWERY BRANCH – The Falcons have used a three-game home winning streak to improve to 7-2 and climb to the top of ESPN’s power rankings.
The Falcons’ 7-2 mark is the best in the NFC.
If they are going to stay on top, they will have to prove their mettle on the road.
The Falcons play four of their next five games on the road.
If you count their last two exhibition games, the Falcons opened the season playing six of eight games on the road.
“We have a part of the season, albeit part of it was in the preseason, that we’ve gone on the road almost twice as much as we’ve been at home,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said. “Playing on the road is a big challenge.”
The Falcons 2-2 on the road this season. They have road victories over New Orleans and Cleveland. They have road losses to Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.
“This season, so far we’ve had some success on the road,” Smith said. “We’d like to have a little bit more.”
With ESPN’s No. 1 power ranking and with the best record in the NFC, the Falcons will now have teams gunning for them.
“We try not to concern ourselves with what our record is and the record of the team that we are playing,” Smith said. “We try to come in, and I know it gets harder from week to week, we come in and we try to do what we have to do to get better. . . We feel like it’s all about us and not who we are playing.”
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138 comments Add your comment
SawThat1nce
November 17th, 2010
10:06 am
johnny @10:03…….bring em on, baby.
johnny
November 17th, 2010
10:06 am
no one on the falcons line can control Clay Matthews!
Falcon Jim
November 17th, 2010
10:08 am
Back to football. Why is it that people say this is a down year in the NFL? What makes this year any different? There are good teams playing well and there is a lot of competition. A lot of teams COULD win it. Isn’t that why the games are played? Isn’t that the fun of it?
Mr. Mustard
November 17th, 2010
10:09 am
Hey Falcon Jim, who is defending it? As usual, you change the subject. No one defended it, just explained how it originated.
But that is above your head isn’t it?
Defend this: The Tea Party was against giant corporations, and now you support giant corporations but identify yourself with the true patriots of 1773.
Ouch, that’s gotta hurt, but if you read a freaking book, you would know that. Oh, you are not allowed to read are you? Because if Rush allowed you to read, you would learn how freaking wrong the tea bagging wingnut Fox puppets are.
Health care for everyone……..BAD! Cruel health care corporations refusing to pay claims to hard working Americans who paid their bills……GOOD!
ROTFLMAO.
Cannot go anywhere without a dittohead spewing his hate and stupidity. Geez.
SawThat1nce
November 17th, 2010
10:09 am
To get the only true Power Rankings for the NFL, you must go to Yahoo! Sports at the NFL page and click on RANKER (view all results). That is the gospel.
johnny
November 17th, 2010
10:11 am
The only true power ranking will be when the last second has ticked off the clock in the super bowl, until then it’s just people’s opinions.
Mr. Mustard
November 17th, 2010
10:11 am
Do what you gotta do guys, but let me say this………I want to talk football, but when a dittohead starts in on “Libruels” I will respond.
I won’t start it and never will, but I won’t sit back and let their hate and ignorance go unanswered.
Go Falcons, and have a nice day on your socialist roads, and schools and socialist sports league.
Mr. Mustard
November 17th, 2010
10:16 am
Tea Party Meber, brown people are not the problem. Wall Street and the banksters are the problem, and yes our government is bought and paid for by Wall St. That means Democrats and Republicans.
They are called “wedge” issues, to divert your attention from the fact that corporations have too much power. That is our problem right now.
Think about it, we keep giving corporations too much freedom, and the economy collapsed.
That is why the orginal Tea Party revolted against the East India Tea Company.
Have a nice day, and no I never make stuff up. I am wrong at times and will admit it, but I never make stuff up.
FrontRow
November 17th, 2010
10:24 am
Political discussion? You are TEABAGGERS. If you didn’t want to be called that maybe your members shouldn’t have worn teabags on their hats.
I doubt any of you teabaggers can comprehend Mr. Mustard’s factual representation of the original tea party. Keep in mind you can vote; the originals were protesting their inability to elect their representatives.
Liberal media means media that doesn’t publish what you want them to publish. Freedom of the press is in the constitution and one of the cornerstones of modern TEABAGGERS is to eliminate freedom of the press.
Stick to football; it’s more your speed.
Falcon Jim
November 17th, 2010
10:25 am
Mr Mustard,
This is supposed to be Falcon talk. I TRIED to get back to it.
You are just one of those snooty liberals that spew your insults and your uppity B.S. and I will not acknowledge your insults or your B.S.
cejay
November 17th, 2010
10:28 am
You tell him Jim !!!!
cejay
November 17th, 2010
10:30 am
Excuse me, but can someone tell me what the hell a “brown person” is??
johnny
November 17th, 2010
10:33 am
holy snikies!! Talk football, there’s a poltical page here on ajc
SawThat1nce
November 17th, 2010
10:34 am
cejay a brown person is a person that is not a white person.
Mike is back
November 17th, 2010
10:35 am
Dled, Great Stuff!!!
The mire fact that the Birds are even mention among the elite teams in the NFL…speaks volume of the body of work of TD, MSmith, and his staff…especially considering the fact that the Falcon are a young team…save for a few vets. The kid from Kentucky has Mel Kipper chewing on a lil crow. lol
Amidst all the success the Birds are enjoying…the unsung hero for me…has been the D-line…the young guys in the middle…have been playing stout. We don’t have the flashy names…But the defense as whole…has dramatically improved. We still have our issues…but you can count on someone to make a big play to keep us in the game or seal a win. They are still evolving…but we have a solid foundation.
Also can’t say enough about the job Mulurkey has done with his play calling…the past few games. It’s no fluke…THE BIRDS ARE FOR REAL.
GO BIRDS…LETS SLAAAAAAAAAM…THEM RAMS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SawThat1nce
November 17th, 2010
10:37 am
The thing about the Falcons is that they are just getting more better, and more better.
cejay
November 17th, 2010
10:37 am
SawThat1nce
November 17th, 2010
10:34 am
cejay a brown person is a person that is not a white person.
—————————-
Wow, thats kinda vague isn’t it….are you sure? thats an awfully lot of people to clump together under one heading… Oh well…
johnny
November 17th, 2010
10:41 am
the packers are getting alot better too
JONESBORO SLIM
November 17th, 2010
10:41 am
Is it me?… but I find it difficult to read from bottom to the top and then scoll back down to get to the next page….does anyone else have this problem? or again is it just my p.c?
SeenThisB4
November 17th, 2010
10:41 am
Boy, I tell ya, the intelligence level in ATL is rock bottom, non-existent. Everyone else in the US knows that a brown person is a Cleveland fan.
GEAUX SAINTS! OUR TIME!!
SawThat1nce
November 17th, 2010
10:43 am
The Falcons are still climbing the mountain.
What is happening in ATL, is that the Falcons organization is building a dynastay, that is being designed to last through the 20-teens.
SawThat1nce
November 17th, 2010
10:46 am
SeenB4…..that was a pretty good one. Does that explain it for you there, cejay? Final answer.
Tea Party Meber
November 17th, 2010
10:47 am
Dont 4 get to menton that you socialists will take R guns a way so we cant defend r selfs from the goverenment . Next we will b forced to eat what the goverenrment says, then what 2 watch on tv, how we dress, cars we drive…….It goes on liek that. No me buddy. U want all that then go 2 Cuba or Russia.
cejay
November 17th, 2010
10:47 am
This blog has been jacked up awhile, they won’t fix it
Tea Party Meber
November 17th, 2010
10:47 am
Also, Flacons R over ratted in these rankings
cejay
November 17th, 2010
10:50 am
@Tea Party Meber, I would rather listen to seenthisb4 than your dumb a$$
Frozen Rope
November 17th, 2010
10:50 am
I just have one question,, whats a Meber
SawThat1nce
November 17th, 2010
10:53 am
Jonesboro Slim…..I agree this back-a$$ward format is really cumbersome and annoying, but complaining about apparently doesn’t seem to register with the blog-master, as it is his blog, and he will run it any dang-well way that he sees fit.
My advice, try to live with it, and/or visit other blogs when they have Falcons articles, and ignore this one, which is what I do.
SawThat1nce
November 17th, 2010
10:55 am
A Meber is an American cousin, of that Justin Beber boy from Canada.
Tea Party Meber
November 17th, 2010
11:01 am
@ cejay
Why the anger? Why the insluts? U dont like what I say dont reed it. Still dont like it we can go…..N E palce N E tiem!
JONESBORO SLIM
November 17th, 2010
11:02 am
@saw that1nce
I guess Ur right mention this sometime back…I thought it was just me……besides Ive been waiting for the St. Louis paper to see what they have to say about Sundays game…..
cejay
November 17th, 2010
11:10 am
Tea Party Meber
November 17th, 2010
11:01 am
@ cejay
Why the anger? Why the insluts? U dont like what I say dont reed it. Still dont like it we can go…..N E palce N E tiem!
—————————
No anger, no insults, you just don’t know what the hell you’re talking about, and as far as your threat goes…..I laugh at you
Falcon Jim
November 17th, 2010
11:11 am
cejay,
It’s funny, whenever this happens, it always follows the same scenario:
-”They” start it.
-You make one comment.
-”They” go off on a diatribe with insults and some sort of “lesson.” (Even if you are old, highly educated and politically sophisticated, they call you a “child” or something like that.
“They” feel compelled to “educate” you.)
-Then you try to get back to football, and “they” then say you are changing the subject and running away, while in the same breath berate you for getting away from football.
Unbelievable.
Thanks for chiming in, cejay.
F.J.
Glen Beck 4 Prez
November 17th, 2010
11:16 am
Crazy libs
cejay
November 17th, 2010
11:17 am
Jim, the way I look at it is, some people should not be allowed to reproduce…..
FrontRow
November 17th, 2010
11:23 am
I was first; the politics started here:
ESPN: Blows Like The WInd
November 17th, 2010
8:40 am
Love Us or Hate Us, no one cares about your “rankings” anymore, ESPN!
ESPN has become a pandering, politically correct tool for liberalism, and I no longer get my NFL and sports coverage from that abomination.
Thanks to NFL Network, the Internet & SIRIUS NFL 124, I don’t have to get tolerate Stuart Scott or Chris Berman or any of the other Obama-foot-kissing leftists on ESPN.
ESPN = The Way of the Dinosaur
Wingnuts – the posts are still here; please do not re-write the facts when the ink is still wet.
Falcon Jim
November 17th, 2010
11:23 am
cejay,
Oh well………….”diversity.”
cejay
November 17th, 2010
11:26 am
I refuse to watch ESPN….myself
cejay
November 17th, 2010
11:27 am
And if Dieon would leave the NFL channel, I’d be thrilled…
Ken Strickland
November 17th, 2010
11:46 am
TEA PARTY MEMBER-judging from the way you write and think, you need someone to do all of those things for you, which explains your attachment to the tea party.
SEENTHISB4-don’t you think you need to be telling that crap to your BELOVED AINTS, rather than the DIRTY BIRD FAlCONS, THE NEW KING OF THE NFC SOUTH, AND THE NFC?
DAVID-the very CB that worries you because you feel he’s too small, has been one of the NFL’s best ball hawking CB’s over the last 25gms. You have to judge him by his production, not by your particular bias towards his height.
MR MUSTARD-wasn’t THE STUFF you claim the BROWN PEOPLE are trying to take from you taken from them in the first place? At least they’re not trying to take it back the way it was taken from them in the 1st place, you know, by lying, deceiving, cheating, intimidating and out right murdering those who tried to stop the theft. That’s the same ANAL MINDED THINKING that has people believing this country was founded on demoncratic principles and the quest for freedom, when the the majority of this country’s inhabitants were denied freedom in their own land by those pretending to seek it.
SawThat1nce
November 17th, 2010
12:06 pm
Falcon Jim @11;11…….All the political stuff dies down, and then you bring it back up. Then you accuse someone else of continuing to bring it up. You may be old, highly educated, and consider yourself to be politically sophisticated, but your retorts to Mr. Mustard were juvenile, to say the least.
I don’t know about your political sophistication, as Mr. Mustard pretty well handed your a$$ back to you.
SawThat1nce
November 17th, 2010
12:10 pm
The Eagles have good team, but they will never make it to the playoffs.
Frozen Rope
November 17th, 2010
12:10 pm
@ Tea Party Meber
No need for Violins
tbhawksfan
November 17th, 2010
12:14 pm
Wow, came to the Falcons blog and found some important and intelligent comments. Very surprising. As for the others…..
7-2 is great. Youth, coaching, GMing, good ownership….
Falcon Jim
November 17th, 2010
12:53 pm
Sawthat1nce,
What the hell? It’s a Falcons blog. I didn’t get into details because from me, you would get a book…………..and it wouldn’t be revisionist junk.
SawThat1nce
November 17th, 2010
12:57 pm
Clueless
Doggy Dad
November 17th, 2010
12:58 pm
DLed, could you return the format of your blog to the way it was before. If not I’ll have to cut you!
Tweets that mention Falcons move to No. 1 spot in ESPN power rankings | Atlanta Falcons -- Topsy.com
November 17th, 2010
1:08 pm
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Hilton Atlanta, Robert A. Campbell. Robert A. Campbell said: #Falcons No.1 in the power rankings=> http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-falcons-blog/2010/11/17/falcons-move-to-no-1-spot-in-espn-power-rankings/ [...]
Ackshun
November 17th, 2010
1:23 pm
Don’t know if the Falcons rank number one yet. The defensive secondary really hasnt performed very well. Dunta Robinson hasn’t been the shut down corner we hoped for. Philly really exposed that situation although a relentless pass rush helps. The boys still don’t know how to stomp a team and finish them we are prone to get a bit lazy in the 3rd quarter (the bucs game should have been a blow out, the Ravens game should have too). All that said I can’t say who in the NFC is better (definitely not the Giants, although Vick and the Eagles are scary). We just need to focus on constant improvement and we need a shutdown corner and more speed at safety. Then maybe we can lay claim to the “best” title. Maybe.
SeenThisB4
November 17th, 2010
1:32 pm
Ken Strickland: How are you and your geriatric buddies doing? Still breathing unassisted?
GEAUX SAINTS! OUR TIME!!