The theme for the Atlanta Falcons in 2010 has to be redemption. There were a ton of expectations put on the Falcons after players like Matt Ryan and Michael Turner were able to breakout and become superstars in the 2008 season. The problem was that everyone that was counted on to have even better years in 2009 ended up having less than stellar numbers.
Despite the numerous letdowns, the Falcons were still able to finish 9-7, but it wasn’t good enough to get them into the playoffs. So, the question has to be asked: Are the Atlanta Falcons closer to being the playoff team that finished 11-5 in 2008 or the 9-7 team that was good, but not good enough to get to the dance?
The redemption has to start with quarterback Matt Ryan. After a breakout rookie campaign, Ryan went through a sophomore slump last season. It wasn’t because of a lack of options for him to throw the ball to. The Falcons are deep at the wide receiver position with Roddy White, Michael Jenkins and Brian Finneran as his top three. Also, Tony Gonzalez isn’t too shabby at the tight end spot. He’s only a sure bet to make the Hall of Fame.
The Falcons were also counting on having one of the best 1-2 rushing combos in the league with Michael Turner and Jerious Norwood. Turner by himself ran for 1700 yards in 2008. As a combo in 2009, they barely made it over the 1000 yard mark. They have to be better in order for the offense to be multi-dimensional.
Defensively, the Falcons were not very strong considering their record. Despite talking about the offence needing to step up from a sub-par effort in 2009, the Falcons scored enough points to bail out their defence in a couple of ball games. As a whole, they will need to improve in order for them to compete for a playoff spot.
The defensive end spot played poorly a year ago. John Abraham was another player who saw his sack total plummet. After collecting 26.5 sacks in the previous two years, Abraham only managed to pick up 5.5 sacks last season. Even worse has been former first-round pick Jamaal Anderson. In three seasons in the league, Anderson only has 2.5 sacks. Both will need to be significantly better in order to get pressure on the quarterback and help out their weak secondary.
Last season, the Falcons were in the bottom 5 in passing yards allowed. They’ve added Dunta Robinson at the cornerback spot to help, but other than him, the Falcons have no recognizable names that can help out. Either a bunch of no-names will step up to fill the void or the Falcons will give up a lot of yards via the pass again.
The linebackers are shaky as well with Curtis Lofton and Mike Peterson the only two to have real significant time as starters in the league.
2010 Prediction: 8-8