2009 Expert NFL Picks Preview: Atlanta Falcons

Last season marked one of the biggest turnarounds in franchise history for the "Dirty Birds." They went from laughingstock after the Michael Vick era to the playoffs in one season.

This happened in no small part thanks to rookie quarterback Matt Ryan as well as free agent acquisition Michael Turner. The new GM in town had a fantastic first year out from under the Patriots shadow.

They had a magical run until they ran into Kurt Warner and the high-flying Cardinals in the playoffs.

Now the question is, can they take the next step? If you’re looking for free NFL betting picks, don’t expect to see them in the Super Bowl this season.

The Good News: The biggest and best news of the off-season was acquiring “All-World” tight end Tony Gonzalez. Gonzalez basically carried the Chiefs offense on his back the last few years, which is saying a lot for a tight end.

When you add him to an already potent offense, that’s going to be one tough team to cover. He holds the all-time records for every major statistical category for tight ends and he seems to be getting better with age.

His experience and preparation will help the rest of his teammates.

Ryan will have another year under his belt. After a superb rookie season, he should have a better year this year. He's also still got the running game behind him with Michael Turner.

They also added a couple of good defenders in the draft this year. Defensive tackle Peria Jerry and safety William Moore will go a long way towards bolstering the defense this year.

The Bad News: The best thing about last season for the Falcons was the cupcake schedule that they had. They played some pretty bad teams, including the Detroit Lions and the Kansas City Chiefs.

Unfortunately for them, the league seems to want to showcase them against some of the better teams this year. As always, they’ll have to play the teams from the NFC South twice.

However, the non-division portion of their schedule will be a lot tougher.

Many quarterbacks seem to suffer from a sophomore slump. The Falcons will figure out real quick if Matt Ryan’s rookie season was a fluke or not.

Will the interception bug that plagued him at Boston College come back to bite him again?

Outlook: The Falcons will again have a good offense this year. Tony G. is going to get his, regardless of who he’s playing with. He put up monster numbers last year with four different quarterbacks throwing him the ball.

However, I think the tough schedule will be tough for them to overcome. They weren’t really one of the best teams last year, but merely a product of the system.

This was on full display as they got steamrolled by the Cardinals in the playoffs. As far as free football picks go, I wouldn’t put my money on “Matty Ice” to improve on last season’s record.

Make sure you check out Vernon Croy's Expert NFL Picks this season.