Smith Seeks to Lead Falcons To First Back-To-Back Winning Seasons

Offensively, the Atlanta Falcons were a very disciplined group last year.

The Falcons were tied for second best with the Buffalo Bills in terms of least offensive penalties committed last year and were also tied for fifth overall in least interceptions thrown.

They will need to continue playing disciplined ball this upcoming season because they will be up against some of the leagues most opportunistic defenses.  

Atlanta’s defense wasn’t quite as disciplined, but they did fall in the upper half of the league in terms of least defensive penalties (tied for 13th) committed. Problem is, the Falcons’ defense wasn’t very opportunistic and that doesn’t look to change this year.

They will definitely be younger on defense but if they can’t improve their takeaways (tied for 20th in fumble recoveries and were tied for 27th in interceptions), then this team will have very little margin for error in order to win games.

There was one good note for the Falcons’ defense last year.

Although teams may have racked up yards between the 20s, they had a hard time scoring on the Falcons in the red zone.

The Falcons ranked 25th against the run and 21st against the pass last season, but they were 11th in points allowed.

Coach Mike Smith may not prefer this bend-but-don’t-break approach to playing defense, but it will have to do until he can get the type of personnel he needs to play the defensive style he ran in Jacksonville.

When Smith was the Jaguars’ defensive coordinator, his defenses were consistently top-15 versus the run and the pass. They were also top-10 in points allowed his last four years there.

Jacksonville’s defense would improve from 20th to sixth in Smith’s first year as defensive coordinator, and would never rank lower than 12th his entire tenure there.

Unfortunately, Smith wasn't able to work the same magic with Atlanta's defense last season. The Falcons were ranked 24th overall last year after being ranked 29th in 2007.

This can be attributed to an overall lack of defensive talent which is frightening when you consider that the Falcons didn’t make any significant moves on that side of the ball this off-season. That is unless you consider addition-by-subtraction a significant move.

The minimal defensive progress made is also discouraging when you look at the weak schedule Atlanta had last year.

With the exception of trading for Tony Gonzalez, GM Thomas Dimitroff hasn’t been very active this off-season.

Unless Smith and Dimitroff can find some low-round or undrafted rookie free-agent gems that can help turn the defense around, the Falcons could be in trouble.      

Not saying this can’t be done because Smith has had a little success on this front in the past.

Linebackers Adalius Thomas (6th round 2000) and Bart Scott (undrafted rookie free-agent) were among the gems discovered during his time in Baltimore.

He also had success in Jacksonville with defensive linemen like Bobby McCray (7th round 2004), Rob Meier (7th round 2000), and Tony McDaniel (undrafted rookie free-agent 2006).

What ever magic Smith is going to work with this defense he better do it soon.

Smith recently told NFL Network that one of the goals he had for his team last year was for them not to lose two games in a row.

This becomes a daunting task when you look at their schedule this year.

The middle of their 2009 schedule is extremely tough.

They have a three game stretch where they face Chicago at home, then two back-to-back road games in Dallas and New Orleans.

Atlanta won in Chicago last year but the game went down to the wire. Chicago is always tough defensively, but they look to be even more dangerous this year with Jay Cutler leading the offense.

Dallas has one of those opportunistic defenses I was talking about earlier and play extremely tough at home. They are beatable, but it may require an inspired effort by the Falcons as a whole to come out of Dallas Stadium with a win.

The Saints had the league’s number one offense last year and brought in Greg Williams to improve their beleaguered defense. The Saints have some talented players on defense and may be able to make a solid improvement on that side of the ball.

If the Saints’ defense can get opposing offenses off the field, then the New Orleans may actually be able to improve on their offensive production from a year ago (scary ain’t it?).

After that, they have another rough three game stretch where they face Carolina and the Giants on the road, followed by a re-vamped Buccaneers team at home.

Atlanta tends to play well against the Panthers in Carolina, so a win here is possible. Remember though, this is a division game. Plus the Falcons were not able to hold Carolina under 24 points in either meeting last year so if the Panthers’ defense shows up, then Atlanta will be looking at an L.

The Giants were virtually unbeatable at home last season and had the league’s best running game along with a top-five defensive unit to boot. They also boasted a +9 turnover differential and were top ten in sacks and interceptions. With the Falcons coming off an emotional division match-up with Carolina, this game could be a blow out for the Giants.

The Falcons will be playing the Buccaneers at home during this stretch, but that wasn’t much of a consolation last year.

Whether home or away, the Falcons found it nearly impossible to score against the Bucs.

They beat Tampa at home last year, but it took overtime to do so. Tampa Bay has re-tooled on offense and could beat the Falcons in Atlanta if they can continue to play the shutout defense they played against them last year.

The Falcons also have a couple more tough match-ups this season in New England during week three, and versus the Eagles in Atlanta during week 13.    

The Patriots went 11-5 without their All-Pro quarterback Tom Brady or a 1,000 yard rusher last year so it’s scary to imagine what kind of season they might have with Brady back.

Philadelphia had arguably the stingiest defense in the league and teams found it hard to run (ranked 4th), pass (ranked 3rd), or score (ranked 4th) against them last year.

The Falcons play the Eagles at home this year after losing to them on the road last season, but that may not help much. Atlanta had absolutely no answer for Brian Westbrook who ran for 176 yards and a whopping 7.6 yards per carry.

Westbrook also caught six passes that day and is just as dangerous in the receiving game as he is a runner, making him a match-up nightmare for Atlanta's linebackers.

Still, the Falcons have enough offense and just enough defense to make them competitive against any opponent they face this season, but they will definitely have to continue to play the disciplined football they played last year.

What Mike Smith accomplished with this team last year was nothing short of a miracle, but for a franchise that has never had consecutive winning seasons the real question is: do miracles come in twos?