Altanta Falcons Show They're Not on New England Patriots' Level

Take a look at this picture above, and think about the fact that this may have been the only highlight for the Falcons' first-string unit against the perennial NFL superpower New England Patriots in their preseason encounter last night at the Georgia Dome. 

Some may attribute Atlanta's lackluster showing on national TV to the fact that it is still preseason, and teams are still using vanilla offenses while veterans are not playing nearly as hard. However, this was more than just a glorified scrimmage. 

For the past three years the Atlanta Falcons organization has built itself in the mold of the Patriots by bringing in their former college scout Thomas Dimitroff to become their general manager.  They also hired a defensive-minded coach in Mike Smith and drafted a quarterback who is similar in design to Tom Brady while bringing in tough-minded players who make the clutch plays, from Michael Turner to Kroy Biermann.

For the first unit, this was a game to make an early statement that it would live up to the hype and that Atlanta was ready to step up against the big boys of the NFL.  When the dust settled, it was the Patriots that showed Atlanta that it still has a long way to go in order to get to that next level.

Yes, Matt Ryan was solid, completing eight of 13 for 76 yards, and Turner did rush eight times for 32 yards, but once again the first-team offense did not find the end zone. 

In the meantime QB Tom Brady led the Patriots to two touchdowns on the Falcons' first-team defense (although one of those drives was continued because of a dubious roughing the kicker call) ,and they proved that the young Atlanta defense will need to have its starters healthy in the secondary to stop the league's power teams.

There were some bright spots.  Kroy Biermann continues to make an impact each time he steps on the field, and John Parker Wilson made his case to be the backup for Ryan. 

However, allowing Fred Taylor to run for a 28-yard TD was something I'm sure Coach Smith will let the team know about before its next game against the Dolphins.

My greater concern is the offense, because outside of a few plays in the no-huddle Atlanta's offense seemed to be stuck in neutral. Once it crosses the 50-yard line, there seems to be a lull that takes place. 

Even though TE Tony Gonzalez did drop a pass, the point is that in two postseason games the Falcons haven't seen the end zone, a point not lost on Ryan:

“We’ve moved the ball really well,” Ryan said. “We just haven’t been able to capitalize on many drives.”

Championship teams capitalize; contenders merely settle for field goals.  If Atlanta wants to ever have its name mentioned among the elite, it must learn to capitalize on every opportunity, preseason or not.