The 2010 Falcons: They’ll win 12 and play for the NFC title
Dunta Robinson: You wanted a cornerback, and here he is. (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)
For football, June is the silly season. Nothing much is happening, but everybody has an idea what will happen. Here’s where I add to the silliness. Here’s where I tell you why the Falcons will play for the NFC title on Jan. 23, 2011.
1. The NFC South is the league’s most fluid division. Not once in eight tries has it yielded consecutive division winners, not even when the reigning NFC South champ was also the Super Bowl winner. (Tampa Bay went from lifting the Lombardi Trophy in February 2003 to finishing 7-9 ten months later.) This is noteworthy because the New Orleans Saints, as we know, somehow won Super Bowl XLIV.
2. The Saints are vulnerable. They’ve had the usual post-Super round of controversy and then some. A lawsuit (since withdrawn and sent to arbitration) by the team’s former security director accusing Saints staffers of misusing Vicodin. Tight end Jeremy Shockey fainting in the weight room. Safety Darren Sharper getting into a Twitter fight with a former Minnesota teammate. Tackle Jammal Brown and running back Pierre Thomas wanting more money. The Saints weren’t that much better than the Falcons a year ago, and this time they won’t be as good.
3. The defensive upgrade begun in the offseason of 2009 will grow teeth in 2010. The Falcons changed five starters from 2008 to last season, but they didn’t get immediately better at every position. Some of that had to do with injury, and tackle Peria Jerry’s return to health stands to give the D-line a boost. The same should happen in the secondary with the advent of cornerback Dunta Robinson and at linebacker with the addition of Sean Weatherspoon. The Falcons actually nosed upward defensively in 2009 — they finished 21st in total defense, up from 24th in 2008. They should be close to the top 10 this season.
Loading ...4. If 2009 was as bad as it gets for Matt Ryan, the Falcons will be just fine. The quarterback wasn’t awful last season; he just wasn’t quite as precise as he’d been as a rookie. Yes, there were mitigating factors: Michael Turner got hurt and Jerious Norwood stayed hurt and the line didn’t block as well for the run as it had in 2008. But the Falcons’ whole offensive approach seemed a tad off last season. Too many short passes — that’s what happens when you add Tony Gonzalez — and not enough field-stretching. That figures to change in 2010. The Falcons have had a long time to scout themselves and see where they went wrong, and slot receiver Harry Douglas is due to return from knee surgery.
5. That never-consecutive-winning-seasons thing has finally gone away. Even Falcons insiders were of two minds about the much-discussed mark of ignominy: Some didn’t think it was a big deal, and some thought it was the biggest deal going. But now it’s gone, and the Falcons deserve great credit for taking a season going wrong and wringing a 9-7 record out of it. They know now that these coaches are clever enough to have a Plan B — as opposed to Jim Mora and Co. — and that there’s enough talent and resolve on this roster to persevere in the face of injuries and distractions. No, 2009 wasn’t a championship season, but it could well have been the season that prefigures a championship.
Prediction time: The Falcons will go 12-4, will beat Green Bay in the conference semifinals and will play Dallas in Dallas for the NFC title and the right to play in Super Bowl XLV, which is also in … er, Dallas. And how, you’re asking, will the Falcons fare against the Cowboys?
And I say: Let me hold onto a shred of mystery, please. It’s June. I see no reason to offer a prediction on the outcome of the 2011 NFC championship game until at least the Fourth of July.
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393 comments Add your comment
octavia henry
June 19th, 2010
1:59 pm
stop hating on my beloved New Orleans saints no one knows what is going to happen until that time comes We won and nothing and no one can take it from us, We are the Champs Thank you.
chef
June 19th, 2010
2:10 pm
It is true that the Saints will have a target on their backs going into 2010. Every Super Bowl Winner does. They will have to step up their game to defend the title. It isn’t easy repeating, or even getting back to the playoffs. After the Super Bowl, people said the Saints would lose many players in the offseason. They lost Fujita, Bell, and Grant. Grant wasn’t wanted back, Bell could be replaced, so basically they lost only one player in FA. But signed Alex Brown, the starting DE from the Bears. You can point out the off field distractions if you want, but I’d hardly put any relevance into a couple of tweets between two teammates and dehydration as key factors for failing to defend their division title. Even the vicodin thing won’t be a distraction because no one will ever find out the results after arbitration.
On the field where it counts, the Saints will get the opponents best each and every week. They have the talent and coaching to withstand it. The Falcons this offseason along with the 49ers and Ravens are the media darlings to make a splash. I look at the Falcons offense and see power, but I see a lot of people put a lot of confidence in Michael Turner. His first season with the Falcons was stellar, but last year tailed off dramatically. Which one do we see this year? Big if. Other big ifs for the Falcons is the defense. Really what has been done to improve it? You signed Robinson, but the jury is still out as to whether he is as good as hoped, and you have Jerri who is returning from a major injury. Combine that with the up and down play of Abraham (2008-great, 2009-soso), there’s more mystery. We’ll see. One thing for sure is that if the Falcons continue to read these press clippings and media predictions, it could be a long year in Atlanta, and an even longer offseason if they don’t live up to the hype.
NOLA
June 19th, 2010
2:24 pm
Mark why are you veering off the script. The goal this year is to achieve three consecutive winning seasons.
you ‘con fans crack me up with your optimistic projections. Don’t you know the history of losing you are reknown for? Come on, ‘cons have always and will always be losers.
Now git. git. git out a here.
Flo-Ri-Duh!
June 19th, 2010
2:53 pm
Bull Dorkey – Falocns are 8-8.
Pi$$onaDawg
June 19th, 2010
3:53 pm
NOLA what winning Tradition do you have?
Tyree
June 19th, 2010
3:57 pm
The Falcon need to get cut RB Lynn D. White
crymeariver
June 19th, 2010
6:59 pm
+Looks like all the saints fans that infest the AJC blogs are very insecure about their team, and it’s ability to be successful in 2010.
Martin
June 19th, 2010
7:26 pm
It’s seems to me Mark Bradley is trying to get those sorry falcants fans to buy newspapers. There’s no way the falcants are better then the saints this year. Isn’t he the same guy that predicted the saints would get scar dragged by the colts in the super bowl. You falcants fans keep eat tin that bs that you read. Remember the saints are the super bowl champions. The saints has a Vince Lombardi trophy not the falcants,. Remember Atlanta was voted the worst pro teams in the country. With all of your teams, you guy have one championship, (braves). Now on the other hand the saints/NFL has a championship, lsu has 3 national championships in football and lsu has 6 national championships in baseball. What does Georgia have, oh yes I remember the braves 1 championship.
Pi$$onaDawg
June 19th, 2010
7:43 pm
Saints fans were waring BAGs on their heads. Don’t count college football and baseball. Atlanta has PRO Baseball, Football, Basketball, and Hockey. NOLA has football. LSU is not in NOLA so get over yourselves.
gixxer guy
June 19th, 2010
8:15 pm
If it’s true that our species is alone in the universe, then I’d have to say the universe aimed rather low and settled for very little
Sent from my Android phone
Delbert D.
June 19th, 2010
8:23 pm
So why isn’t Reggie Bush being indicted for accepting a bribe?
DaytonSaintsFan
June 19th, 2010
8:35 pm
Puh-leeeeeeeeeeeeeeeze! The Falcons have a good team, but Brees and the Saints will NOT have a Superbowl hangover. I see the Saints repeating as NFC South Champs–the first team to do so in 9 years!
America's Team
June 19th, 2010
8:37 pm
The Atlanta Falcons have never won anything, and they won’t be winning the conference or the division this year. They’re the Atlanta Falcons, for God’s sake.
When the crowning achievement of your franchise is finally pulling together two consecutive winning seasons, you know you’re awful.
They even thought that Michael Vick was a quarterback!!
9-7, at best.
falconfan3411
June 19th, 2010
8:58 pm
I would’t care if we went 2-14, as long as we kicked the Aints azz twice.
falconfan3411
June 19th, 2010
8:59 pm
All the Falcon haters on this blog can go play in traffic.
Arthur Blank
June 19th, 2010
9:06 pm
I want to have sex with Viki Locke, again, and again.
Arthur Blank
June 19th, 2010
9:06 pm
and again.
St. Be gone
June 19th, 2010
9:13 pm
FOXSports.com has learned that the Saints and Redskins have agreed to a trade, with the Saints sending two-time Pro Bowl left tackle Jammal Brown to Washington for a conditional draft pick in the 2011 NFL Draft.
FalconsFan284
June 19th, 2010
9:16 pm
For all the Saints fans——What exactly had the Saints done before last year except lose? Just because you had one winning season doesn’t mean the rest of your History falls away. All it means is that you had one winning season. You’ll go back to being losers again.
I'm No Saint
June 19th, 2010
9:36 pm
On the football field, New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush has almost always found the right way. Guided by an uncanny inner gyro, he has dodged, ducked, juked or sprinted his way past defenders throughout his career.
111
0
20
Share Off the field, Bush clearly chose the wrong way during his tenure at the University of Southern California. He surrounded himself with bad people, knowingly broke the rules and then lied about it to anyone who asked.
He now must pay the price for his indiscretions.
The scathing 67-page report released by the NCAA on Friday was not kind to Bush or his family.
Atl Resident
June 19th, 2010
9:36 pm
Mark, the only thing you might be right about is the Saints will tumble cause whoever wins the division the previous year, do tumble the next year which is jacked up in the division.
scott
June 19th, 2010
9:39 pm
saints were a media favorites last year and werent that good but america needed a feel good story..minNesota really beat them last year this year the SAINTS will win 3 games….I HATE NEW ORLEANS AND THE SAINTS..
Saints can't handle success
June 19th, 2010
9:48 pm
The distractions are starting to add up.
Shockey’s signing session was not a Saints-sanctioned event. Still, word of the mini-controversy reached the front office, and that’s never good news.
In the past six weeks alone, the club has dealt with this Shockey thing, his “seizure-like” fainting in the weight room, a protracted contract negotiation with running back Pierre Thomas, Vicodin-gate and now Reggie Bush’s embarrassing involvement as the central scofflaw in the NCAA investigation of Southern Cal football.
And let’s not forget the club’s visit to oil-wracked Plaquemines Parish on Tuesday.
The defending Super Bowl champs are dealing with a lot besides football these days. Their offseason could serve as a case study on the potential hazards of winning a championship.
Former San Francisco 49ers Coach Bill Walsh talked about these challenges in his book “Finding the Winning Edge.”
“Refocusing after the euphoria of winning the Super Bowl can be almost as challenging as raising a team up from the depths of despair, ” he said.
Ross
June 19th, 2010
9:51 pm
Can someone please tell me where the non-Twitter Braves coverage is hiding?
RockyMtnFalcon
June 19th, 2010
9:55 pm
I see the Falcons going deep into the playoffs this season. I am very excited and cant wait. The Falcons will be one of the elete teams this season, I am not going to say Superbowl just yet, but the NFC Championship is not out of the question.
CJ
June 19th, 2010
9:59 pm
LOL@ Mark Bradley and Falcon fans. The Saints are a better team than the Falcons PERIOD. The only important piece we lost was Fujita. Saints will win the division again and please don’t give Dallas that much credit. They will make the playoffs and fall flat on their face……..that’s what they do.
A worried Saint fan
June 19th, 2010
10:03 pm
Q: I noticed many sports analysts have been picking the Falcons over the Saints. While I remember how tough the Falcons always play the Saints what happened to remaining the king until you lose the crown? Lastly the Saints do an excellent job in finding undrafted free agent talent. What position could use a free agent gem the most? Lavar, Houston.
A: Not sure what analysts picked the Falcons but almost every preseason publication I’ve read has picked the Saints to not only win the NFC South but also contend for the Super Bowl title. History has shown it’s wise to predict the unpredictable in the NFL. I still think the Saints are the team to beat in the division, but Atlanta is very competitive and they have the quarterback to be a playoff contender for years to come. As far as undrafted rookies are concerned, I think one of the two guards – Joe Tonga or Brandon Carter — has a chance to compete for a spot. Tim Duckworth is the primary reserve. The Saints could also use a developmental prospect at defensive end, where the majority of their front-liners are established veterans. Consequently, I think Junior Galette and Brandon Sharpe will get long looks in camp.
dawginDC
June 19th, 2010
10:09 pm
If Matt Ryan hasn’t learned not to sail the ball then we’ll be lucky to win 9
Charles Tee
June 19th, 2010
10:21 pm
How in the heck can a person make a prediction such as NFC title contender without playing a pre-season game?
Ken Strickland
June 19th, 2010
10:30 pm
The Saints win the Super Bowl and suddenly their fans think their team has had some kind of winning tradition. Who do you think named your own team the ‘AINTS, and became the first NFL fans to wear bags over their heads to hide the shame and embarrassment of their teams annual performances?
Don’t you ‘AINTS fans ever let one Super Bowl win make you forget who you really are and what kind of losing legacy your team came from.
Ken Strickland
June 19th, 2010
10:33 pm
One more thing AINTS fans. We may hold the NFL record for going the longest without having back to back winning seasons, but your beloved AINTS hold the record for most consecutive seasons without a winning record.
Falcons Take Flight
June 19th, 2010
10:41 pm
As a partial Falcons fan myself, I’ll admit I am a bit of Falcon homer.
With this said, there is no denying that the Falcons disappointed a lot of people in 2009.
When Michael Turner went down with an ankle injury, it was clear that most Falcon fans felt the same way the Texas Longhorns did in the BCS Championship Game when Colt McCoy hit the turf hard.
Following this hard felt loss, the Falcons stumbled. They picked up the odd win here and there, and although they did finish with a 9-7 record, the entire NFL fan base sat back and questioned themselves for labelling Atlanta as a postseason contender prior to the season.
Still, there is an obvious case to be made for the Atlanta Falcons in 2010.
Michael Turner, at a 90 percent state, is impressing people in OTA’s, and young Matt Ryan hopes to add to his impressive repertoire and get back on track as the Falcons starting quarterback.
Let’s face it, this team is talented. They have a ton of star power in Michael Turner, Matt Ryan, and of course Roddy White, and the time has come for them to beat the teams that they shouldn’t struggle with.
I guess what I’m trying to say, is the Falcons must become a consistent team this season in order to take the top seed. No questionable losses, no injuries and above all else, a bit of confidence. If Atlanta can master this, they should go a long way.
BlackMoses
June 19th, 2010
10:50 pm
You have obviously been listening to those horrid ” Rise up ” commercials. There is nothing in the Falcons history and DNA that suggests this team is elite. The fact is we will be lucky to split with Carolina. I wish the Falcons well in their upcoming campaign where 10 wins seems acheivable.
frank james
June 19th, 2010
10:50 pm
Here we go again with the local media talking about playing for championships and we haven’t even played an exhitibition game. I guess it makes good talk. Let’s let teams earn something before we start talking championship game.
Truth Be Told
June 19th, 2010
10:51 pm
Before we go forward, let’s go back two seasons ago. A new regime had ascended over Flowery Branch, featuring a fresh-faced General Manager from a great organization up north, to a silver-haired coach with a name as common as your local mailman, to a rookie QB who had the savior label attached to him before he ever put on the red and black.
There was one important storyline that was missing among the hype: an offensive coordinator who was known for installing high-powered offenses in the Steel City but yet flamed out in Buffalo, looking for a chance at redemption. That man was Mike Mularkey.
He was widely respected for his ability to create a balanced offense, but it wasn’t until Matt Ryan’s first NFL pass was complete to Michael Jenkins for a 62-yard TD that fans and the NFL universe realized that something special was happening here. It continued throughout the 2008 season as Atlanta rose from the ashes to reach the NFL playoffs.
A while back I wrote about the importance of Matt Ryan to the Atlanta Falcons franchise, but today we’re taking a look at the man behind the No. 2 machine. Many people believe that part of the reason the Falcons took a step back was due in part to a change in philosophy on Mularkey’s handling of the offense.
Truth be told, Atlanta did take a hit on scoring due in part to injuries to RB Michael Turner and rookie WR Harry Douglas . Atlanta finished with a slight step backward in 2009, going from 24.4 points per game in 2008 to 22.7.
However, watching the games last year I realized there was something missing in the middle of the season, in which Atlanta lost 4 of 6 games to finish out of the playoffs. Mularkey went to a more conventional run offense even as Turner was on the sidelines. That wasn’t going to work with guys like Jerious Norwood , who is more of a off the tackles runner, going between them.
I remember watching the television screaming, “Throw a screen pass!” every time the defense would clog up the line of scrimmage. I couldn’t help but wonder had Mularkey went with more of an aggressive attack on offense they could have beaten teams like New England and Carolina on the road to reach the playoffs.
hiramsaint
June 19th, 2010
10:55 pm
sounds to me like both sides of the house are a bit nervous …and they should be.talk all yuo want about who is better but we’ll truly know in jan. as for me and my house , we’ll cheer on the saints…TWODAT!!!!
Mike
June 19th, 2010
10:58 pm
Mark your as delusional as gsu football is of having a fan base! They’ve only sold 2,000 season tickets and the falcons won’t make it out of the first round of the playoffs
ATL WhoDat
June 19th, 2010
11:03 pm
FalconsFan284….All that needs to be said is, SUPER BOWL CHAMPS! I’ve seen our Lombardi Trophy, where is Atlanta’s?
SaintsCan’tHandleSuccess….When you STEAL an article from the website (Jeff Duncan piece from Times Picayune), you should at least acknowledge it. Obviously, your not intelligent enough to put together your own sentences.
I don’t live in fantasy land…we had a lot of things break our way last year, but to say we weren’t better than Atlanta is just not true. People forget that for the better part of last season, neither of our starting cornerbacks were healthy, and when we did get both Porter and Greer back, we beat three future HOF QBs in our run to the SB title.
Repeating will be difficult and we may fall short, but for now, the SB score remains – Saints 1, Falcons 0. Those are the facts and they are indisputable.
MRBreeze
June 19th, 2010
11:17 pm
While the guys over at Saints Report are going crazy over this and talking bad about each other on their secret forum called the Asylum (ask Andrus) They are right, The Saints will be stronger this year and willl again dominate the Failclowns. Matt Ryan may be the 3rd best QB in the south and can’t hold Brees’s jock. Clowns 7-9 Saints 12-4.
MRBreeze
June 19th, 2010
11:23 pm
Oh and Ken Strickland..we were the Ain’ts but we ain’t no more. You need to know two things 1..At one time the Steelers were one of the worse teams in the league now they are one of the best. Same holds true for the Saints. 2..Something Clowns fans will never know is the feeling of their team winning a Super Bowl….trust me it’s sweet.
Bring Back Michael Vick
June 19th, 2010
11:24 pm
This is a very bland attempt to arouse interest in a sorry organization. Choke Ryan cannot throw the ball consistently down field and needs the run to set up his passing game. The dudes a mediocre qb at best and we found that out last season.
Now, seriously, How about getting Vick back?
hiramsaint
June 19th, 2010
11:29 pm
awhile back when the saints were horrible we admitted it and made no excuses. now in atlanta it’s the samething but different. y’all won’t admit it and make excuses. funny how cultures vary from state to state. come on sept. so we can put this to rest for the 5th year in a row.
VegasSaintsFan
June 19th, 2010
11:39 pm
KISS THE RING, bitches
hiramsaint
June 19th, 2010
11:51 pm
kenny- go to the saints site to look at asuperbowl ring. according to most on-line odds makers y’all are at 30/1 to see one this year. just below the redskins i believe. man -thats gotta sting
crymeariver
June 20th, 2010
12:42 am
I believe this saints fan infestation, is really the work of one man, I mean person.
crymeariver
June 20th, 2010
12:50 am
I think the saints are an inspiration to all the other NFL teams.
If the saints can win a SB, then the other teams have to believe that anybody can win a SuperBowl.
Super Bowl Ring
June 20th, 2010
2:00 am
Stay Jealous, Atlanta. Matt Ryan is overrated garbage and Mike Smith is a crybaby fraud.
Calvin G. Sims, Sr.
June 20th, 2010
2:29 am
I have never seen a Falcon’s team with so much promise. Nor have I anticipated a season so intensely.
Go Falcons!!!
V. Lombardi
June 20th, 2010
2:43 am
Why do you Falcon “fans”(Ken Strickland?) insist on knocking teams that have won SB titles? At least they have won…compared to your pathetic franchise which has extactly 0!! Run your mouths after you actually win one! Sound fair, losers?
MIchael59
June 20th, 2010
8:24 am
hiramsaint, get a life ..or a girl friend , and stop camping out on a blog you like to spill out hate loser…tool !!!!