The Falcons went 13-3 last year and there are reasons to think that they might even be better in 2011.  Matt Ryan will have a new toy on offense with deep threat Julio Jones helping them stretch the field and open up passing lanes for Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez.  The Falcons are going to be a scoring machine in 2011.  The question is…..will the defense make all of those points stand up.  I happen to think that the Falcons’ D will be good enough in 2011.  The Falcons have 8 games against teams that had winning records in 2010.  I would make a small bet on the over wins wise for the Falcons in 2011.

The over/under for Falcons wins in 2010 is 8.5.  This seems a tad low to me as the Falcons won 9 games last season despite injuries that caused Michael Turner & Matt Ryan to miss some games.  With both of them ready to rock in 2010 I think the Falcons are going to make a run at the NFC South Title.  So I would take the over with confidence.  I also would suggest maybe making a small bet on the Falcons to win the Super Bowl as they are currently 25-1 to do so.

It looks like the Atlanta Falcons (6-7) might be getting Matt Ryan and Michael Turner back this week against the New York Jets (7-6), as they participated in practice in “limited” roles.  They are listed as questionable though, so you will have to wait and see until gametime whether or not they play.  Either way, the Falcons will need a very strong effort out of running back Jason Snelling because even if Turner does play he will still be limited.  The Jets have a very strong run-defense though, so if they can’t get their running backs going they might be in some trouble.  If Ryan can’t go, Chris Redman will be the starter again and he needs to make sure he takes care of the ball.  Redman has shown flashes of great play, so if he can give the Falcons a consistent performance it will bode very well for them.

The Falcons defense should put as much pressure on the Jets’ rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez as they can.  When Sanchez is forced out of the pocket he has made a lot of mistakes this year.  He has thrown 17 interceptions, so the secondary should be ready for some interception opportunities.  They probably are going to keep the game-plan conservative though, so Thomas Jones will be getting a lot of carries for the Jets.  Jones has been running the ball well, and the Falcons need to try and keep him out of the endzone.  The Jets look like the stronger team at this point, but if Ryan and Turner are back for the Falcons it could be a different story.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  New York Jets 27, Atlanta Falcons 17

The Atlanta Falcons (6-5) are hosting the Philadelphia Eagles (7-4) Sunday in what will be Michael Vick’s first time back in Atlanta since his dog fighting scandal forced him out of the NFL.  Vick doesn’t play much for the Eagles, but there will still be a lot of buzz in the ATL surrounding Vick’s return and it will be interesting to see the reactions.  As far as the game goes, the Falcons have been hit by the injury bug hard, so this will be a difficult one for them to win.  Matt Ryan is out with turf toe and it looks like Michael Turner may not be able to go as well, as he re-injured an ankle sprain last week.  That means Chris Redman will be the starting quarterback and the veteran had a pretty solid game last week going 23/41 for 243 yards and 2 touchdowns.  It was against the 1-10 Bucs though, so I woudn’t expect a similar performance from Redman.

The Falcons are going to need a great game out of their defense if they want to pull out a win.  They have been giving up 375 total yards per game on average, and they will not win if they give up that many yards to Donovan McNabb and the Eagles’ offense.  McNabb will not have his go-to receiver in this game though, as DeSean Jackson is out with a concussion.  They will probably hand the ball off a little more because of this, so the Falcons need to be ready for LeSean McCoy who averages 4.3 yards per carry.  With the Falcons two key offensive positions not at full strength, I just don’t see them winning this one.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Atlanta Falcons 17, Philadelphia Eagles 28

The Atlanta Falcons (5-5) are happy to be back at home this week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-9).  The Falcons have been awful on the road, with a 1-5 record including two straight losses the past two weeks.  The Falcons are a different team at home though, and are looking to stay undefeated at the Georgia Dome this season.  It shouldn’t be too difficult of a task for Matt Ryan and the Falcons’ offense to put some points up against a weak Bucs’ defense.  Even though Michael Turner is questionable (ankle) for this game, I still think the Falcons should run the ball often.  The Bucs give up 169 rushing yards per game and Jason Snelling has proven he can make some plays at running back for the Falcons.  If the Falcons give him enough carries I think Snelling may get his first 100 yard rushing game of the season.

The Falcons’ defense needs to be prepared to stop the run.  The Bucs’ do not have a reliable quarterback in Josh Freeman, who is a rookie and has 11 turnovers in just three starts.  That means the Bucs will try and win the time of possession by handing the ball off as much as possible.  Cadillac Williams will get most of the carries, but the Bucs have been using as many as three running backs to attack defenses.  The Falcons give up 126 rushing yards per game, so the Bucs will likely have some success on the ground.  The Falcons need to limit that success and not let the Bucs hang around too long in this contest.  The Falcons should beat them easily and improve to 5-0 at home.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Atlanta Falcons 27, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 13

The Atlanta Falcons (5-3) are on the road against the Carolina Panthers (3-5) Sunday.  Quarterback Matt Ryan has been struggling a bit lately, but I am expecting him to have a solid performance against the Panthers.  The Panthers defense is holding teams to 182 passing yards per game, but Michael Turner has been running the ball great lately and I think he will open things up for Ryan and the passing game.  In his last two games, Turner has rushed for 3 touchdowns and 317 yards on 38 carries.  The Falcons should have no problem winning if Turner has another big day.  Ryan needs to do a better job of taking care of the ball though.  He has thrown at least one interception in his last five games with the total being nine picks in that time.

The Falcons defense will need to focus on stopping the running game, as that is the only thing the Panthers offense has really got.  Jake Delhomme has been a turnover machine for them this year, so they limit him and hand the ball off a lot.  DeAngelo Williams is their top running back and has been having some big games lately.  He went for two touchdowns and 149 yards rushing on 21 carries last week.  Jonathon Stewart also gets about 10-15 carries a game and averages about 4.4 yards per carry.  Delhomme has been limiting his turnovers lately, so the Falcons really need to make sure they slow down the running game.  The Falcons are the better team, so they should win this game.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Atlanta Falcons 30, Carolina Panthers 21

The Atlanta Falcons (4-1) are coming off a big 45-10 win over the 49ers and will bring that explosive offense to Dallas this Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys (3-2).  The Cowboys have a pretty good offense themselves, so this should be an exciting and high scoring game.  The Falcons seem to keep improving each week and they have been led by quarterback Matt Ryan.  Ryan has been completing 65% of his passes and has thrown for 1162 yards with nine touchdowns and four interceptions.  Three of those interceptions have come in the past two games though, so Ryan needs to make sure he limits his turnovers this week against the Cowboys.  The Falcons should feed it to Michael Turner a ton though, as the Cowboys are giving up 106 rushing yards per game.

The Cowboys defense is giving up a lot of yards (358 per game) and have been very inconsistent this year.  Their offense, which was supposed to be one of the top offenses in the league, has been even more inconsistent.  Tony Romo has been making a lot of mistakes in the passing game this year and has played pretty timid because of it.  He had a big two touchdown 351 yard game against the Chiefs in the Cowboys last contest, but the Chiefs are one of the worst teams in the league.  If the Falcons can pressure Romo early, he will probably either throw an interception, or just try not to make a mistake leading to three and outs.  The Cowboys running game should be more of a concern for the Falcons, as Marion Barber and Tashard Choice are a pretty good running back duo.  They both average 5.1 yards per carry and have combined for five touchdowns.  This should be a close, offensive game and I see the Cowboys edging out a close win at home.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Dallas Cowboys 34, Atlanta Falcons 31

The Atlanta Falcons (3-1) are at home against the Chicago Bears (3-1) Sunday.  These are two pretty evenly matched teams, as the Falcons offense gets about 40 yards more a game than the Bears offense, but the Bears defense holds opponents to about 50 yards less than the Falcons.  The Bears have had difficulty stopping the run at times this year, and the Falcons average 106 rushing yards per game.  They need to try and attack the Bears on the ground and open things up for quarterback Matt Ryan.  Ryan has passed for 977 yards, seven touchdowns and two interceptions, while completing 67% of his passes.  The Bears are holding teams to 226 passing yards, but also are great at getting turnovers.

The Falcons need to get to quarterback Jay Cutler, as he has a big arm with speedy receivers to throw the deep ball.  If they can pressure him, then he wont be able to go down field.  Bears running back Matt Forte had been struggling the first three games, but had some huge runs last game so the Falcons need to pay attention to him as well, especially since they are giving up 127 rushing yards per game.  This should be a pretty close game with two evenly match squads, but I think the Bears have the better defense so they will pull out the win.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Chicago Bears 30, Atlanta Falcons 24

The Atlanta Falcons (2-1) are on the road this week facing the much-improved San Francisco 49ers (3-1).  The Falcons are coming off a bye week and this will be a good match-up between them and the 49ers.  The Falcons need to make sure their run-defense does a better job this week against the 49ers running game, and luckily for the Falcons the niners’ star running back Frank Gore is still out with an ankle injury.  Glen Coffee is no Frank Gore as he is only averaging 2.3 yards per carry, but the 49ers will keep giving him the ball so the Falcons better be committed to stopping the run.  The 49ers’ passing game is not that big of a threat, as their quarterback Shaun Hill has only thrown for 700 yards in four games (175 avg).

Matt Ryan has been pretty solid for the Falcons in there first three games.  He has thrown five touchdowns and only one interception, while going for 648 yards on 60/91 attempts (66%).  Michael Turner has been playing pretty well for the Falcons’ running game too, as he is averaging 3.5 yards per carry.  This is probably the best defense the Falcons have faced so far, and they do a great job of stopping the run (79 yards per game).  This should be a close game and could go either way, but since the 49ers are at home I am giving them a slight advantage over the Falcons.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Atlanta Falcons 21, San Francisco 49ers 24

I have a feeling that the Falcons are going to surprise some people with Matt Ryan and Michael Turner in town.  I would take the over with the Falcons as I think a few teams in the NFC South are beatable.  The Falcons also drew a schedule with quite a few soft spots in it.