Packers vs. Falcons: Green Bay Shows Atlanta How to Build on Success

While the Green Bay Packers have continued to build on their success, the Atlanta Falcons have been a massive disappointment in 2011.

That wasn't more evident than in the teams' Week 5 matchup on Sunday.

The Packers, down 14-6 at the half, stormed back in Atlanta, outscoring the Falcons 19-0 the rest of the way behind quarterback Aaron Rodgers' two touchdown passes.

It wasn't that disappointing that the Falcons lost to the Packers. The Packers were, after all, the reigning Super Bowl champions. It was the way the Falcons lost to the Packers, getting outclassed in every facet of the game on their home turf.

What happened to star quarterback Matt Ryan? What happened to star running back Michael Turner? What happened to the young secondary that was supposed to be up-and-coming?

Where have the Falcons gone wrong in 2011? It isn't their talent, nor their game plan. The Packers taught the Falcons a valuable lesson on Sunday: you can have all the talent and momentum in the world headed into the next season, but if you don't prepare as if you have something to prove, none of that will matter.

You look at the Packers and you see a team that will never quit, never back down and takes absolutely nothing for granted. You look at the Falcons and you see a team that appears to have quit and thought that by adding a couple pieces to an already promising squad, they would magically be a better team.

That is not how it works. The Packers didn't magically turn into Super Bowl champions. That was produced through years of toil, years of draft picks and years of commitment.

Perhaps the Falcons are too young a team in general to understand this. But there are plenty of young Packers players who seem to understand.

Where does the blame lie for the Falcons' 2-3 start after a 13-3 campaign in 2010? It doesn't just lie on the coaching staff, it lies on the players, too.

Nobody is excused from the lackluster performance on Sunday. This is a team-wide problem.

But you don't get better unless you learn something along the way.

Maybe the Packers' throttling of the Falcons on Sunday will be the lesson the Falcons need to snap out of it.