Falcons go into camp knowing playoff failures need to end
The unhappy faces of the Falcons' brass said it all after last season. (Curtis Compton/AJC)
The Falcons open training camp this week. They play their first regular-season game in seven weeks. They will be judged in six months.
This is their new reality.
The question with this franchise used to be, “Can they walk straight?” The answer generally was no.
Things improved. The question became, “Can they compete?” The answer over the past four seasons mostly has been yes, at least through December.
But after raising the bar with three playoff appearances in four seasons following mostly decades of infamy, the question now is a more difficult one to answer: Have they have hit a wall?
Some within the organization believe the criticism for postseason failures has been a bit too harsh. After all, two of the team’s three playoff losses have come against eventual Super Bowl winners (Green Bay and New York). The other came in quarterback Matt Ryan’s rookie season and against a team that went to the Super Bowl (Arizona). But for those believing too much is being expected for a franchise that now is fielding a respectable product, these contrasting numbers might explain the dissatisfaction.
•The Good: The Falcons’ regular-season record the past four years is 43-21. That’s an impressive .672 won-loss percentage for a franchise that entered the Thomas Dimitroff-Mike Smith-Matt Ryan regime in 2008 with a won-loss percentage of .405 (256-378-6). The 43-21 record also ranks fifth best, behind only New England (48-16), Pittsburgh (45-19), New Orleans (45-19) and Baltimore (44-20). However …
• The Bad: Among the 11 teams with the best records since 2008, the Falcons (0-3) are the only one that has failed to win a playoff game. Six of the 11 have gone to Super Bowls. Four others have won at least one postseason game: Baltimore (5-4), Philadelphia (2-3), San Diego (1-2) and the New York Jets (2-1). The Falcons are among six of the NFC’s 16 teams not to win a playoff game in that span (the others: Carolina, Detroit, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Washington).
So yes, this little run of infamy is gaining significance.
It follows that grand projections shouldn’t be made after the team’s season opener at Kansas City on Sept. 9. Or after games against Philadelphia and Dallas. Or following the two meetings with New Orleans. We saw double-digit win totals and home-field advantage and a bye fail to equate to playoff success. The Falcons were body-slammed by Green Bay two years ago at home and, after vowing this time things would be different, went into New York last January and was shut out (save a safety, 24-2).
Smith understands the team will be graded on the playoffs, as will he. With five assistants from 2011 staff gone — either by their choice or fired – the focus is on him more than ever.
“I think [the playoffs] is how everybody measures themselves,” he said. “We didn’t talk about expectations in the first year. We talked about milestones. One of them we wanted to reach was to participate in the second season. Where we are now and how we’ve developed in our first four years, we’re going to judged on the playoffs.”
When asked if he has picked up on something that the team has been missing in the postseason, Smith said: “It’s been a group effort. We haven’t played well in all three phases. We’ve turned the ball over. We haven’t protected well. We’ve given up big plays. We haven’t coached well. We made some coaching decisions that, when we took a second look at it, didn’t turn out well.”
There is some reason for optimism. The acquisition of cornerback Asante Samuel from Philadelphia should help the defense. Dunta Robinson’s likely move inside in the nickel will play to his strengths. If we assume that most of Ray Edwards’ problems in his first season with the Falcons were injury related, then the defensive front and the pass rush also should be improved.
But there also is reason to wonder. The offensive line remains a work in progress (theoretically). It would help if either draft pick, Peter Konz (guard) or Lamar Holmes (tackle), can contribute. But the possible return of Sam Baker at left tackle again doesn’t provide much comfort. The website ProFootballFocus.com ranked Baker 74th out of 75 offensive tackles in the NFL in “pass blocking efficiency” last season (after allowing 28 “pressures” in 242 snaps).
We’ll find out something in Kansas City, and in the 15 games that follow. But it won’t be determined until the playoffs whether they’ve hit a wall.
By Jeff Schultz
•
NFL won-loss records and cumulative playoff results since 2008:
TEAM SEASON PLAYOFFS
New England 48-16 2-3 (lost Super Bowl)
Pittsburgh 45-19 5-2 (won, lost Super Bowls)
New Orleans 45-19 4-2 (won Super Bowl)
Baltimore 44-20 5-4
Falcons 43-21 0-3
Green Bay 42-22 4-2 (won Super Bowl)
NY Giants 39-25 4-1 (won Super Bowl)
Philadelphia 39-25 2-3
Indianapolis 38-26 2-3 (lost Super Bowl)
San Diego 38-26 1-2
NY Jets 37-27 2-1
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219 comments Add your comment
rm
July 21st, 2012
4:17 pm
What has Vick won lately… Nothing. Not one playoff game. Mick Choke Vick. Goes both ways homie
JSS
July 21st, 2012
4:22 pm
Falco didn’t have a bad agent, he paid the scale of what his “pick” should have gotten! However, we all know by now that Ryan’s contract blew the scale all out of proportion! And if he doesn’t win a Super Bowl (hold on, I was laughing as I dictated that one), he’ll get the smallest raise in the history of post CBA salary bumps!
Falco’s raise is going to be $10 to 11 million, Ryan is going to be lucky (wildest dream) to get to $17 million! I’m being generous and magnanimous in that number….
JSS
July 21st, 2012
4:29 pm
“But it won’t be determined until the playoffs whether they’ve hit a wall.”
Sorry, they hit a wall right about here!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l15S7mooJAY
You can’t blame Sam Baker for that one!
JSS
July 21st, 2012
4:36 pm
@ Jeff Schultz…
He’s NEVER broken 200 yards in a playoff game, N-E-V-E-R!!! O’Brien did it, Dilfer did it, and even (gasp) Vick did it (twice)!
rm
July 21st, 2012
4:41 pm
this just in: jss can post a link!!! He finally gradutated from his internet class in that swamp of a city. Third times a charm.
Who is Falco??? Think you mean Flacco. Should have learned the spell check feature. Missed that day of class I guess…
JSS
July 21st, 2012
4:44 pm
Jeff Schultz wrote…
“Can they compete?” The answer over the past four seasons mostly has been yes, at least through December.”
Sorry, they go on vacation against good football teams after November!
Last year, the Saints and Texans pounded them in December! Wins were against Carolina, JAX, and Bucs (who quit)…
Go back and look, since 2009 they’ve been muddling heading toward the playoffs!
JSS
July 21st, 2012
4:47 pm
RM…
You’re an idiot, I’m no Saints fan (y’all’s favorite fall back)! Here’s a hint for U, look up the sixth and 21st letters of the alphabet and enjoy doing that to yourself!
rm
July 21st, 2012
4:49 pm
WOW, you got me man. You really got me. Whos Falco?
I’ll just tell ya…FU Save you the time
JSS
July 21st, 2012
4:54 pm
This just in…
Mike Smith has scapegoated Emmitt Thomas, Jeff VanGorder, Mike Mularkey, Rod Medlin, and Paul Boardeau for his playoff failures… See the light, regular season Mike gets out game planned!
JSS
July 21st, 2012
4:56 pm
Unlike you “Rimmer” (look that up, sums you up), I did that cause kiddies venture this way… But hey, right back ya again!
rm
July 21st, 2012
5:03 pm
You are thoughful…they are our future. You have a hard time taking what your dishing dont ya…
AGAIN, WHO IS FALCO???
rm
July 21st, 2012
5:03 pm
You are thoughful…they are our future. You have a hard time taking what your dishing dont ya…
AGAIN, WHO IS FALCO???
JSS
July 21st, 2012
5:03 pm
This just in…
Mike Smith is stinking up the clean and beautiful air of Lake Tahoe in 71st place! He must have confused the golf course for MetLife Stadium? Somebody must have hollered “4th and one” during his back swing?
JSS
July 21st, 2012
5:11 pm
Here’s Falco http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMuDtfxAIKk&feature=related (probably before your time) and here’s Delaware Joe Flacco http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOlxTwOPDNo (I’ll add it to the dictionary so my “spell check” stops auto correcting it before you have a stroke) and cost some hospice undue money!
JSS
July 21st, 2012
5:13 pm
Jeff Schultz…
Check your filter before the adolescent keeps double posting…
66GT
July 21st, 2012
5:14 pm
Come on people, the Falcons used to suck! Now they don’t. You forget that and jump on them after their first round playoff losses (which by the way were to the eventual Super Bowl winner in each playoff loss) You want to complain, go ahead, but I appreciate winning seasons more than I do losing seasons. There time will come. Either Support and appreciate where we have come, or go get some cheese and Whine and go root for another team. Sick of all you fair weather fans!! How would you like to be in Detroit the last 7 years!! OK. I’m done venting. Those that agree, Thank you, those who don’t, won’t waste my time debating with you.
MR. Hankey..Life long seaon ticket holder, your opinion counts to me. Much respect…the others whiners probably don’t even have season tix like us!
ernisTbass
July 21st, 2012
5:16 pm
Falco oh yeah…. Amadeus, Amadeus, Rock me Amadeus
JSS
July 21st, 2012
5:19 pm
Mayberry hoodlum…
I like Der Komminser better, but Rock Me Amadeus remix was tight!
ernisTbass
July 21st, 2012
5:23 pm
Der Komisar wasn’t Falco
JSS
July 21st, 2012
5:27 pm
He did the original in 1982, After the Fire’s version was a remake…
ernisTbass
July 21st, 2012
5:29 pm
I did not know that, hit me with a rock, After The Fire is the only version I had heard
JSS
July 21st, 2012
5:31 pm
“Sick of all you fair weather fans!”
Pepto or maybe a shot at the health clinic may clear that up!
JSS
July 21st, 2012
5:33 pm
If Schultz ever checks the filter, there’s a link to Amadeus, and Der Komminsar is in the play list…
5150 UOAD
July 21st, 2012
5:42 pm
Falco…was a Great NFL Replacement player and Barnacle Scraper
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
July 21st, 2012
5:45 pm
Hello everyone and welcome to the Annual This Is The Falcons Year Party…..
HA HA
JSS
July 21st, 2012
5:52 pm
Since 1966
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
July 21st, 2012
5:55 pm
All you need to know about CHOKE…………………
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l15S7mooJAY
As Troy Aikman said……………..HORRIBLE DECISION BY CHOKE…………………
HA HA
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
July 21st, 2012
5:57 pm
That pick 6 vs Green Bay just proved how STUDID CHOKE is and add that to being a noodle arm, he just plain SUCKSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS…………….
HA HA
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
July 21st, 2012
6:00 pm
Here is yet another playoff MELTDOWN by CHOKE in the playoffs……………..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aysH7wY9jTs
This dude just plain SUCKSSSSSSSSSSSSSS…..HA HA
dagnabit
July 21st, 2012
6:05 pm
That little list at the end of your complaint has no effect on me at all. I remember two and three win seasons galore.
5150 UOAD
July 21st, 2012
6:07 pm
How MANY YEARS will Brees have to play to get the Aints to be a Winning Team?
JSS
July 21st, 2012
6:15 pm
Half a season less than it will take for any QB to get the Falcons to .500 by any reasonable estimate…
JSS
July 21st, 2012
6:17 pm
POAD…
You’re better off calling out Bucs and Cardinals supporters!
csmoov
July 21st, 2012
6:45 pm
Some of you are a joke. Obviously some of you are not true Falcons fans who have suffered through years of losing.. We are still building. This is not a finished product. But 4 winning seasons in a row when we couldn’t have a winning season in back to back years………..kudos to the leadership and players in Flowery Branch. Good luck this year!
Milledgeville Dawg
July 21st, 2012
6:49 pm
DR Doom, runs his stupid mouth again. Please leave Atlanta!!
"Just keeping it REAL"
July 21st, 2012
6:50 pm
Lets be honest, this has nothing to do about Vick or Ryan but some race haters if we want to be “real”. Some non-whites are still pissed that there man Vick got caught and prosecuted for a minimal animal crime. Others think that he should get life.
Not here to reopen old wounds in the ATL. The man did the crime and paid his time.
Since he left the falcons and joined the eagles, some fans cannot let go. He was our first black qb and he was exciting and successful at times. He has acknowleged being last in, first out while a falcon. He admitted to never studying the playbook, instead relying on his god given skills.
So why do we have some former falcon fans/vick fans CONSTANTLY on these blogs?
Race, there idol and super hero got exposed for who he was. He has turned his life around and as a former huge fan of his, Im glad and wish him the best, except against falcons.
But some fans cannot see beyond color and will ALWAYS hate on the falcons and MR because they took Vicks demise personally. Majority of falcon fans took no satisfaction in our #1 qb going down.
Its not about vick vs ryan, its about a racial divide (for some) that this city is well known for.
Hope one day this great city can stop the hate!
Just keeping it real, holla!!!
"Just keeping it REAL"
July 21st, 2012
7:04 pm
Believe in the bible and an eye for an eye.
So his so called minimal animal crime should be reinacted against his personal pets. What did that included…drowning, electrocuting, slamming down on concrete from 20′ or just pull out the glock?
Yea, think its not a race thing with choke, jss and others? yea, mlk is so proud of u idiots!!!
5150 UOAD
July 21st, 2012
7:11 pm
BRAVES are HOT HOT. take the lead in the 2nd game of the Double header while already haveing 2 wins in the 4 game series.
5150 UOAD
July 21st, 2012
7:15 pm
Just keeping it real…………..
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=383597115029113&set=a.152219938166833.40496.133279166727577&type=1&theater
5150 UOAD
July 21st, 2012
7:19 pm
Race will always be a subject spoken about in the South.
In the North they try to act so much above it & enlightened but that is the LIE they live by.
In the Hamptons do you see the same racial break-up at the gatherings that you see in the cities?
But But when it comes time to be in the City and be seen for political events or social events all of the sudden the racial numbers move closer to REALITY.
5150 UOAD
July 21st, 2012
7:29 pm
Another SAD life taken too young……
Usher’s 11-year-old stepson dies
5150 UOAD
July 21st, 2012
7:30 pm
Wrong word placement.
SAD…Another life taken too young……Usher’s 11-year-old stepson dies
"Just keeping it REAL"
July 21st, 2012
7:32 pm
Prayers for Usher and his sons’ mother…so sad!
Robbie
July 21st, 2012
7:33 pm
The facts:
1. Matt Ryan has peaked. He’s a good-to-great quarterback during the regular season but typically only shows the latter against lesser opponents. He’s a poor quarterback in the post-season and that absolutely has to change. Which leads me to….
2. Matt Ryan isn’t going to carry the team to a super bowl with his arm even with a receiving corps that includes Roddy White & Julio Jones. He’s an awesome quarterback when he has help, but he is not a Drew Brees who can throw all day long and win you the game. He needs HELP from the running game and from the defense.
3. Michael Turner only runs north and south. He doesn’t spread the field out for you and frankly doesn’t get enough yards to open up the passing game. Rodgers may help, but you should’ve gone with Snelling years ago. Give Turner a couple games and if he isn’t putting up 90+ yards on average, bench him and go with Snelling/Rodgers combo. Trust me. Mr. Tree Trunks for legs isn’t the best option unless you’re 1st and goal.
4. Your defense, especially your secondary, is sub-par. Considering you have to get through New Orleans, New York, & Green Bay (all teams that ruined your playoff runs AND have amazing quarterbacks) to even get to a super bowl, it doesn’t bode well that you gave up everything for a WIDE RECEIVER. You can’t put up enough points on your own (see #1 & #2 above) to outscore those types of offensive powerhouses because your defense isn’t that good, so drafting a wideout doesn’t make sense. Oh, and Dunta Robinson is stealing his paycheck. See if you can trade him for a 2nd or 3rd round draft pick.
**Honestly, I think with a handful of adjustments this team can be a super bowl contender. The problem is those adjustments aren’t being made. If things stay the way they are, Ryan will be exposed, the defense will only get worse, and you’ll end up 3rd or 4th in the division (Depending on whether or not Tampa Bay gets their act in order).
JSS
July 21st, 2012
8:00 pm
Robbie, you can win a Super Bowl with a “North-South runner” in the backfield… Corey Dillion, Jamal Lewis, and Bettis, but as you pointed out indirectly, you must overwhelm people defensively to get away with that scheme!
JSS
July 21st, 2012
8:03 pm
And if were race, people would have rallied behind those losers Byron Leftwich and D.J. Shockley! Better luck next time with that rationale!
"Just keeping it REAL"
July 21st, 2012
8:09 pm
JSS, they never played or started for this racially divided city, nice try.
5150 UOAD
July 21st, 2012
8:25 pm
“Just keeping it REAL”………………How MANY NFL starting QBs have been black?
Were the winners Hated or Loved?
Same for black coaches!
How many Black coaches are in the South compared to the North?
Same for Black QB’s?
Did southern attitudes change at any point?
5150 UOAD
July 21st, 2012
8:29 pm
“Just keeping it REAL”
Name me 1 city that hasn’t had a racial divide?
I can name many but it was because 1 race was more empowered.
I know you have heard the term White Flight and the Coming Home applied to both races.
Nola Nate
July 21st, 2012
8:42 pm
Falcons fans, normally I would get on here and say something inflammatory —- just so I could get you folks riled up ; But I’ll be nice today, and just state the obvious : 2012 is “MAKE OR BREAK” for the Dimitroff / Smith regime in your beloved ATL. That statistic up above says it all —- New Orleans 45-19 (4-2 playoffs, WON Super Bowl) Atlanta (43-21, 0-3 playoffs)……. If ever your Dirty Birds were going to “rise up”, they sure better do it this year if they want to be taken SERIOUSLY…….