There’s a new head coach at the controls of a team that comes off its worst season since 2013. Can the Atlanta Falcons escape the NFC South basement?
Best-case scenario
The team finds a capable running game. A season ago, only five teams in the league gained fewer yards on the ground than the Falcons. The club mustered a mere 95.8 yards per game rushing this past season. Atlanta signed veteran running back Mike Davis, late of the Panthers, and also added versatile Cordarrelle Patterson.
New head coach Arthur Smith and offensive coordinator Dave Ragone should find a way to re-establish some balance and make this attack less one-dimensional. Matt Ryan remains one of the most productive passers in the league and will be even more dangerous with more versatility.
Worst-case scenario
The team fails to keep up with the rest of the NFC South, which sent two teams to the playoffs a year ago. This past season, the Falcons were swept by the Buccaneers for the first time since 2015 and the Saints for the second time in three years. The club’s 1-5 divisional record was its worst since 2015.
Not surprisingly, the biggest issue for the Falcons when it came to facing their NFC South rivals was a defense that allowed the fourth-most yards in the NFL. In six contests, Atlanta allowed an average of 26.3 points per game. In two meetings with the Buccaneers, the team allowed a combined 75 points.
X-factor
Veteran coach Dean Pees comes out of retirement after one year and is the team’s new defensive coordinator. The club gave up the most passing yards in the league this past season and the club has lacked an effective pass rush for rush for well over a decade. However, don’t be surprised if the resourceful Pees comes up with a way to harass opposing signal-callers on a consistent basis.
Linebacker Deion Jones led the team with a mere 4.5 sacks, followed by Grady Jarrett (4). The Falcons amassed a mere 29 quarterback traps. It’s little wonder that the team permitted 34 scores through the air and picked off only a dozen passes.
Biggest game – Week 9 at New Orleans
The Falcons will begin a tricky stretch in which they play five road games in a seven week stretch. The team has had its issues for years with the Saints but most of that came during Drew Brees’ tenure with the franchise. Now the team from the Big Easy has quarterback Jameis Winston at the command, a player more than familiar with the Falcons.
All told, the Falcons are 9-21 vs. Sean Payton’s Saints dating back to 2006.
The first clash of the season with New Orleans is followed by a trip to Dallas. Four days later, there’s a Thursday night visit from the Patriots.
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Bold prediction
The fresh new faces on the coaching staff, in particular Smith and Pees, prove to be the right fit for the franchise. The former brings some balance to the offense and Ryan (sacked 41 times in 2020) isn’t a one-man band. Look for the team to escape the NFC South basement and perhaps even double their victory total from a season ago.
Of course, that might not mean much when it comes to getting back to the playoffs. The Falcons appeared in Super Bowl LI and reached the postseason a year later. The franchise has posted three straight losing seasons since and own a combined 18-30 record since 2018.