Jaguars vs. Falcons: Atlanta's Win Proves Nothing About Super Bowl Fitness

Let's all give the Atlanta Falcons a big pat on the back for beating the Jacksonville Jaguars 41-14, shall we? 

What's not to love about the Falcons, right? They're 9-5, virtually guaranteed a spot in the NFC playoffs, even though the Saints have already wrapped up the South and...uhhh...they're offense is patently mediocre, even with stars like Matt Ryan, Roddy White, Michael Turner, Tony Gonzalez and Julio Jones in their midst.

I mean, Atlanta was supposed to be one of those teams this year, one of the privileged few that doesn't get worse or stay the same, but actually gets BETTER. After all, Matty Ice and his 'mates won 13 games last season, claimed the top seed in the NFC and summarily relinquished all of those advantages in a 48-21 trouncing at the hands of the eventual-Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers.

At home, no less!

Adding an uber-athletic playmaker like Jones was supposed to open up the offense, especially for White. He's done done terrifically well, though, hardly above and beyond what he'd already done without Jones by his side.

Then again, White had set the bar so high for himself, it's tough to reasonably expect him to do better.

Still, the offense is only middle-of-the-pack in scoring and yards per game.

As for the defense, it's improved significantly from the unit that allowed the 16th-fewest yards of any in the league last season.

Yet the Falcons have given up more points this season, showing that the Dirty Birds may not bend as much as they used to, even if they still break more often than they'd like.

And as impressive as a 27-point margin of victory may seem, especially against a team that just notched it's own "W" by the very same score, let's not forget just how bad the Jaguars really are. We're talking about a team in Jacksonville whose rookie quarterback (Blaine Gabbert) has been so bad this season that most folks wouldn't be surprised if the team went right ahead and drafted another signal-caller in 2012.

Keep in mind, Gabbert was the 10th overall pick in the 2011 NFL draft—no slouch of a spot, to say the least.

So how did the Jags nab such a convincing victory for their own resume? Well, it certainly helps that Jacksonville still had Maurice Jones-Drew and that he had the privilege of running against a Tampa Bay defense that ranks 28th against the run and 31st in points allowed.

Now, I know nobody's about to anoint the Falcons with "Super Bowl favorite" status, but it remains important to temper whatever expectations may be floating about in cyberspace. Atlanta could definitely give the New York Giants a good game in the first round.

A matchup with the Packers, the Saints or the 49ers in the second round, though, wouldn't be quite as favorable.

And so, Mike Smith's squad, after securing its fourth winning record in as many seasons, will end up back in the playoffs, with New Orleans and Tampa left on the docket.

But even that doesn't make the Falcons favorable enough of a pick to think they're actually going to come through with a win this time around. For now, they'll have to be content with serving as a solid regular-season team with a distinct postseason ceiling.

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