The Falcons are Learning to Spread its Wings

There has been a lot of noise about the troubling 1-2 start to the Atlanta Falcons season as there should be whenever a team starts this bad coming off a 13-3 year.  This Atlanta team was a heavy favorite to contend with the Saints for the NFC South Crown this season.  I for one am here to explain what I think they are doing and why they will stick with this plan.

Matty Ice

Atlanta had a very successful season last year by any standards as 13-3 is nothing to sneeze at, but I was among many who thought that they had no chance against Green Bay in the divisional playoff round.  This was at home, mind you, where Matty Ryan is usually unbeatable.  The problem that I saw and many others saw was that they were not good enough in key areas, such as the pass rush and the passing game.  People could dispute this saying that John Abraham is an excellent pass rusher and Matty Ryan is in fact Matty Ice.  Mr. Abraham was not enough to lift that defense last season especially with Kurtis Lofton, the middle linebacker out.  Matt Ryan has had some big games, but let's face it this offense was centered around Michael Turner and the running game.  Their offensive line is built that way and even the receivers they draft are good run blockers.  This mind set was something that you could get away with in the past, but in the new NFL, you better be able to move the ball like most college offenses do.  In my opinion, NFL offenses actually follow college offenses instead of vice versa.  Much of what you now see on Sundays, has been going on during Saturdays for years.  After a humiliating loss at home for the Falcons, I think head coach Mike Smith and management sat down and re-evaluated their future.  The future was let us trade most of our draft and go get another big name receiver to go along with superstar Roddy White.  So they went and got Julio Jones, who is a beast in my opinion and for you fantasy guys, a guy to hold onto as he will get better and better as the season goes.
What we have seen in the first few games is the new look offense, which seems to be built around the pass.  This will work in a few ways.  First it gives Michael Turner a break as he is coming off another 300 plus carry season.  He usually does not do as well coming off one of those as most running backs fall into this category, as it is too tough on the body.  Second, it will transition them to an offense that can  play with the likes of the Packers, Saints and the Patriots.  It is too early to throw the Lions and Bills in this category.  Do not expect any sudden change back to the original format, as the top brass in the Falcons organization knows that the old style might get them through the regular season, but there will be many early exits in the playoffs with that run first attitude.  So let's give Matty Ice some time to gel with his guys and let them take the next step.