One Year, Lots of Change

It’s hard to believe, but the Atlanta Falcons are headed to the playoffs and with a win over the St. Louis Rams on Saturday, they’ll be the number 2 seed in the NFL playoffs. At the beginning of the season, I along with all the sports pundits predicted that the Birds would finish in last place and if they were lucky, they’d finish with 4 wins and a high lottery pick. The doom and gloom analysis was expected, especially considering the tragedy of last season – Coach Bobby Petrino quitting with 3 games left in the season; franchise quarterback Michael Vick pleading guilty to federal dog-fighting charges, and the purging of veteran players like Alge Crumpler, Warrick Dunn, DeAngelo Hall, and Patrick Kerney. As a result of rough season, I along with a majority of the Falcons’ fans became jaded because it seemed as if the Birds were destined to permanent rebuilding status.

The off-season started slow, with potential franchise saviors like Bill Parcels and Bill Cowher saying thanks but no thanks to the Falcons. At this point, it appeared that even NFL royalty didn’t want to be tied to our struggling franchise. Eventually and with such an anticlimax, team owner Arthur Blank and team president Rich McKay hired former New England Patriot scout Thomas Dimitroff as general manager and former Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator as the head coach.

With an unknown general manager and coach, the Falcons started the off-season and made several moves that were second guessed by fans and me. First, the team threw the bank at running back Michael Turner, best known for being LaDainian Tomlinson’s backup in San Diego; next the team drafted Matt Ryan with #3 overall draft pick. This wouldn’t have been controversial, except for the fact that almost everyone (including myself) felt Ryan lacked the physical attributes to be a successful and immediate impact quarterback in the NFL; lastly, the team signed a group of no-name players like Harry Douglas, Sam Baker, Justin Peelle, and Kindal Moorehead.

The one special thing about this year’s Falcons is the fact that they are a TEAM that appears to enjoy playing with each other, and appear to hold each other accountable for making big play after big play. Past years installments lacked these qualities and seemed to defer to Michael Vick more than not. Although I doubted at the beginning of the season, I believe that this is the beginning of a successful and consistent run as a top franchise in the NFL.