Falcons Flying Above Expectations
By: Kenneth Harrison Jr.
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
After Week 5 there are some surprise teams in the NFL.
Minnesota is undefeated with Sam Bradford at quarterback and a historically great defense. Oakland and Dallas are 4-1. Atlanta is another team with a surprise 4-1 record. The question is are they legit?
I’m from Atlanta and I love my hometown teams. I’m trying to look at things objectively instead of as a fan. The Dirty Birds started last season 5-0. Things fell apart after that and they finished 8-8 and missed the playoffs.
Atlanta is coming off back-to-back wins over last season’s Super Bowl participants. Sunday they beat the reigning champion Denver Broncos 23-16 on the road, giving them their first loss of the season. The biggest difference I notice compared to this year is more playmakers on offense.
In 2015 Julio was the offense. One week after his epic 300 yard receiving performance against Carolina he was held in check. Jones only had two receptions for 29 yards against the Broncos. He was held to one reception at New Orleans. Tevin Coleman has emerged as a playmaker in his second year.
He’s a threat to catch passes and he led the team with 132 receiving yards and a touchdown Sunday. Devonta Freeman went to the Pro Bowl last year so now they have a solid running back tandem. Freeman rushed for 88 yards, a TD and 35 receiving yards.
Receiver Mohamed Sanu is a solid number two receiver. He has 16 receptions on 26 targets for 195 yards and a touchdown. He helps with taking pressure off Jones.
Head coach Dan Quinn was asked how they can keep up the pace this year after what happened last year. His response: “I recognize the question, and the answer is it’s a different outfit. I recognize where you’re going with it, but it’s a different group. We’re a mentally tougher group than we were. We have real ability to understand how we have to reset to get ready to go right back to that process.”
Matt Ryan is more comfortable in his second year in Kyle Shanahan’s offense. He’s leading the league in passing yards with 1,740. That’s over 200 yards more than the man in second place, Andy Dalton. Ryan is also second place in the league in touchdowns with 12. If he can keep playing at this elite level Atlanta should easily win the division.
The offensive line has also vastly improved led by the free agent signing of center Alex Mack. Mack was a Pro Bowler in Cleveland and he added talent and experience. The Falcons lead the league in total offense.
They’ve struggled on defense, currently ranked 26th in total defense. The biggest issue they’ve had is rushing the passer. They ranked dead last in sacks in 2015. Now they’re ranked 16th with 10 sacks.
The big reason for the improvement is the emergence of defensive end Vic Beasley. He was the 8th pick in 2015 and so far he’s been a bust. He only had four sacks last year. In the season opener he didn’t record a tackle. He exploded with 3.5 sacks against the Broncos. Hopefully he can develop into a consistent pass rusher.
The next game will be at Seattle then at home versus San Diego and Green Bay. I think the Falcons will win the division this year. Winning in the playoffs will be a challenge.
