25-year old QB Matt Ryan might not have played good in the playoffs against the Packers but he still had a good season.  He played in all 16 games for the Falcons last season and he completed 357 of 571 passes (62.5%) for 3,705 yards with 28 TD passes and 9 INTs (91.0 QB Rating).  Ryan also carried the ball 46 times for 122 yards (2.7 ypc) last season.  Ryan has now played in 46 games in his first three years with the Falcons and he has completed 885 of 1,456 passes (60.8%) for 10,061 yards with 66 TD passes and 34 INTs (86.9 QB Rating).  Ryan has also carried the ball 131 times for 275 yards (2.1 ypc) with 2 TD runs so far in his career.  Ryan just seems to be getting better and that’s a good thing for the Falcons in the future.

33-year old Chris Redman is a solid backup QB.  Redman only played in 1 game for the Falcons last season and he completed 4 of 6 passes (66.7%) for 20 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs (71.5 QB Rating).  Redman also carried the ball 1 time for -1 yard last year.  Redman has now played in 24 games in his NFL career and he has completed 268 of 472 passes (56.8%) for 2,991 yards with 21 TD passes and 13 INTs (79.2 QB Rating).  Redman has also carried the ball 28 times for 31 yards (1.1 ypc) in his NFL career. 

VERDICT:  The Falcons are in good hands with Ryan & Redman at QB.

As the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs and as a favorite on the BetUs Super Bowl odds – and odds virtually everywhere across the board – many fans are disappointed with the finish to the Falcons very promising season.

But on the whole, it was a very productive, impressive season for the Falcons and they don’t have much to hang their heads about. Do they have work to do? Yes. Should they be happy with their progress? Absolutely.

For the Falcons, they are clearly a Super Bowl contender and will be in the 2011-12 season once again, but they do need to make a few upgrades.

So what needs to be improved?

After losing 48-21 to the Green Bay Packers, the fingers are being pointed to the defense – and rightfully so.

Of the four remaining teams left in the playoffs, all boast defenses ranked in the NFL’s top 10. The Falcons unit ranked 16^th.  The Falcons clearly need to work on their pass defense and find someone to pressure the quarterback opposite of John Abraham.

But the Falcons offense also failed in the divisional round as it looks more and more evident that they need another explosive weapon alongside Roddy White. There’s no question that he’s become the premier receiver in the NFL but as Tony Gonzalez fades, the Falcons could really use a big-play wide receiver to take pressure off of white and give Matt Ryan another option when he’s in trouble.

The Falcons are in great shape to contend next season and for many years to come but they still have some minor renovations to do if they want to find themselves in the final four next season.

The Falcons got destroyed last night at the Georgia Dome.  The only facet of the game that the Falcons outplayed the Packers on was special teams as Eric Weems returned a kickoff 102 yards for a TD to give the Falcons a short lived 14-7 lead in this game.  It was all downhill for the Falcons from there.  They couldn’t get anything going on offense and they couldn’t stop Aaron Rodgers’ air attack.

Matt Ryan was under attack the whole game as he was sacked 5 times and hurried quite a bit on other throws.  Ryan completed 20 of 29 passes for 186 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 INTs (one of which was returned 70 yards for a TD by Packers’ CB Tramon Williams on the last play of the first half).  Ryan also lost a fumble as he will want to forget about this game as quickly as he can.  Michael Turner carried the ball 10 times for 39 yards (3.9 ypc) with a TD run.  When the Falcons fell too far behind they had to get away from the running game which took them out of their gameplan.  WRs Michael Jenkins (6 rec, 67 yards), Roddy White (6 rec, 57 yards, TD) and Brian Finneran (4 rec, 47 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Falcons last night. 

LB Curtis Lofton led the way for the Falcons’ D in this game with 9 tackles.  CBs Brent Grimes (7 tackles, 1 fumble recovery) and Chris Owens (7 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 QB hit) were also busy in this game for the Falcons.  The Packers finished up with 96 yards rushing on 31 carries (3.1 ypc) and they also completed 31 of 36 passes for 346 yards.  The Falcons will go back to the drawing board as their season has now ended with a gigantic thud!

The Falcons beat the Packers 20-17 on November 28th in Atlanta and they will be looking to do the same tomorrow night.  It’s not going to be easy though as the Packers beat up on the Eagles last weekend in Philly.  This game could wind up looking like a track meet.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Falcons have the ball:  The Falcons are without a doubt going to come out running the ball in this game.  Michael Turner will be taking on the front seven of the Packers who shut down Lesean McCoy and Michael Vick last weekend.  The Falcons need to be effective running the ball tomorrow if they want to win this game.  They need to control the clock and keep the Packers’ offense off the field.  Matt Ryan will need to be careful when throwing the ball to his WRs in this game as the Packers’ corners (Charles Woodson and Tramon Williams) are thieves.  TE Tony Gonzalez is likely going to be the Falcons’ silent assassin catching tough passes over the middle tomorrow night.

When the Packers have the ball:  The Falcons are going to need to get pressure on Aaron Rodgers or the defense is going to have a long night.  Rodgers threw for 344 yards in the first meeting between these two teams.  Rodgers has too many good WRs for the Falcons to cover in Greg Jennings, Donald Driver, James Jones and Jordy Nelson.  The Falcons also will have to deal with rookie RB James Starks who broke out last weekend against the Eagles which gave the Packers balance on offense.

PREDICTION:  PACKERS 30, FALCONS 27

The Falcons played a very solid football game today to clinch home field advantage in the NFC Playoffs.  Matt Ryan was efficient in this game as he completed 22 of 32 passes for 236 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 INTs.  Chris Redman finished up this game by completing 4 of 6 passes for 20 yards.  Michael Turner rushed for only 67 yards on 17 carries (3.9 ypc) with a TD run and he also lost a fumble.  Jason Snelling only rushed for 17 yards on 8 carries (2.1 ypc) today but he also added 3 catches for 26 yards (8.7 avg).  Roddy White (6 rec, 62 yards, TD), Tony Gonzalez (6 rec, 53 yards, TD) and Michael Jenkins (5 rec, 52 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Falcons today.  The Falcons finished up with 99 yards rushing on 32 carries (3.1 ypc) and they also completed 26 of 38 passes for 253 yards as they had possession of the ball for 35:30!

The defense was outstanding overall in this game despite giving up 79 yards rushing on 2 carries (39.5 ypc) to the WRs of the Panthers.  Safety William Moore (7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and 1 QB hit), CB Brent Grimes (7 tackles, 1 pass defensed), CB Dunta Robinson (3 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception) and LB Mike Peterson (FR) led the way for the Falcons’ on D in this game.  The Panthers finished up with 137 yards rushing on 19 carries (7.2 ypc) and they also completed 19 of 34 passes for 154 yards.  Falcons’ return man Eric Weems also pitched in today with a 55-yard punt return for a TD.  The Falcons finish the regular season with a 13-3 record as they are the Champions of the NFC South.