Expectations Flying High For The 2009 Atlanta Falcons

After a year that saw a star Quarterback jailed and a coach commit one of the biggest acts of coaching cowardice ever, Falcon fans wondered how long it would take for the haze of the 2007 season to wear off and for the franchise to get back on track. 

With a rookie General Manager, rookie Head Coach and rookie Quarterback it seemed as if it would take a few years to right the ship. Thomas Dimitroff, Mike Smith, Matt Ryan and the rest of the Falcons had other ideas.

Matt Ryan's first NFL pass was a 62 yard touchdown to Michael Jenkins and that was the first in a series of improbable events that saw the Falcons go from shambles to the Playoffs in a one year span. 

Ryan shattered the bar for rookie Quarterback expectations, Michael Turner was superb in his first year as a feature back, Roddy White had another Pro Bowl season, John Abraham terrorized Quarterbacks and the Falcons finished with an 11-5 record and a playoff spot. 

The Falcons finished with a disappointing performance against the Super Bowl runner-up Cardinals in the first round of the playoffs, a game that still sticks in the craw of many a Falcon player. 

Expectation levels have risen in Atlanta, and there is plenty of reason to expect the Falcons to soar to new heights in 2009.

The Falcons young core on Offense should continue to improve in 2009.

Ryan is a relentless worker and is motivated to get better after he ended the season on a bit of a down note. In his last four games he finished with a Quarterback rating of 67.6 with four touchdowns and six interceptions. 

He particularly struggled in the Arizona game, but the team has always been thrilled with his work ethic and leadership and he's determined to improve. 

The best news for Ryan was the addition of Tony Gonzalez.  When you go from 19 catches and two touchdowns to the greatest pass catching Tight End in league history who is coming off a 96 catch, 1,000+ yard, 10 touchdown season, it's safe to say that's an upgrade.

The Falcons had one of the most explosive offenses between the 20s last year, but they were in the middle of the pack in terms of Red Zone scoring. Gonzalez should help to improve that number, while helping to keep teams honest in the run game. 

Stack eight in the box against the Falcons at your own peril, they now have the ability to burn you down the seam. 

The only major question mark Atlanta has on Offense is Offensive Line depth. Obviously, every team is only as good as the back up they have at any position, but Left Tackle Sam Baker missed eight games last season and is injury prone. 

Todd Weiner played admirably in his place last season, but Weiner retired after the season and there is no clear back-up should injury problems arise again.

The Falcons Defense is a good news, bad news story.

The bad news is they lost several key veterans like Keith Brooking, Lawyer Milloy and Grady Jackson. 

The good news is the Falcons ranked 25th against the run and 21st against the pass last year so there's plenty of room for improvement. 

Dimitroff is no dummy and spent the first five draft picks on defense.

The Falcons selected Peria Jerry with the 24th pick and the big fella is expected to come in immediately and help improve the interior of the defensive line. He's a one gap Tackle that can stop the run and push the pocket up the middle. 

The Falcons will also get Trey Lewis back from knee injuries that derailed his promising rookie season in 2007 and cost him all of 2008.

If both Jerry and Lewis can be productive, the interior of the Falcons defense ugraded big time. Rookie Defensive End Lawrence Sidbury is an athletic freak who will hopefully provide some pass rush help opposite John Abraham that the team isn't getting consistently from Jamaal Anderson. 

The Falcons registered 34 sacks last season, but 16.5 of them came from John Abraham. More production from the Defensive Line is the key element to defensive improvement in 2009.

The Falcons have a franchise player in the middle of the defense in Linebacker Curtis Lofton. The Falcons are expecting the second year player to emerge as the leader of the defense. 

Atlanta added Mike Peterson, who played in Jacksonville with Coach Mike Smith, to an Outside Linebacker rotation with Coy Wire and Stephen Nicholas.

Wire was signed prior to the 2008 season as a special teams ace, but earned a starting spot from Michael Boley by the end of the season and Nicholas has served as a solid back up the past couple of seasons.

The Secondary is where position battles will emerge on defense. 

Chris Houston has one Corner spot locked down. Brent Grimes is the favorite to grab the other Corner spot. Grimes is undersized and isn't going to break up passes, but he rarely gets beat deep and is a sure tackler. 

He earned a starting spot coming out of camp last year, but suffered an injury and never regained his starting spot from Dominique Foxworth who signed with Baltimore this offseason. 

Von Hutchins, who missed all of 2008 with a foot injury, Chevis Jackson and rookie Chris Owens will compete for starting jobs and playing time in the Nickel package. Erik Coleman will hold down one Safety spot. 

Coleman is a solid, if unspectacular veteran. Second round pick William Moore is expected to earn the spot vacated by Lawyer Milloy. 

Thomas DeCoud and Jamal Fudge will serve as the primary back-ups. Moore was viewed as a potential top 15 pick last year, but came back for his Senior season and struggled due in large part to an injury. Atlanta is counting on him to make an instant impact along with Jerry.

The biggest reason for concern for Falcons fans is the increase in the level of competition. In 2008 Atlanta played, and beat, five of the ten worst teams in the league. The schedule isn't so favorable in 2009. 

Aside from the six games played in the tough Southeast division, Atlanta has to play every team the NFC and AFC East. The other two games are a road game at improving San Franciso and a Sunday night game against Jay Cutler and the Bears. 

It's a murderer's row of a schedule on paper. If Atlanta can start 4-1 with home wins against Miami, Carolina and Chicago and a road win at San Francisco, the Falcons could keep momentum going enough to challenge for a division title and a playoff spot. Anything less and the Falcons will be a dire situation. 

The Falcons face a stretch of four road games in five weeks against New Orleans, Dallas, Carolina and The Giants. Yikes. 

If Atlanta emerges 5-5 after 10 games they play four of the final six games at home, where they were 7-1 last year. Anyway you slice it, it's going to be a battle.

Perhaps the toughest opponent facing Atlanta is history. It's well documented in this town that the Falcons have never had back-to-back winning seasons. They came close in 2005 following an NFC title game appearance with an 8-8 season. That year the Falcons started 6-2 before collapsing down the stretch. 

In 1981 the Falcons were 7-6, but lost the final three games of the season. They've never really been close other than that. The organization doesn't think about things like that, but you can bet that every Falcon fan worries about Matt Ryan suffering a serious injury this season. 

After the Super Bowl run Jamal Anderson destroyed his knee, after the playoff win at Lambeau Adalius Thomas destroyed Michael Vick's ankle. We're just waiting for the other shoe to drop in 2009. This paranoia isn't fun, but you can't blame us for being paranoid.

2008 was a dream season for the Atlanta Falcons. Expectations are higher than they've been in several years. 

There's no reason this team shouldn't compete for the playoffs. If they do make the playoffs they are overcoming 40 years of a treacherous history. 

The odds are against them, but they like it that way. They're young and they're hungry. I can't wait for training camp.