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.

I just checked out NBC’s SNF site, www.sundaynightisfootballnight.com, and they have a ton of cool stuff. Wallpaper, widgets, multimedia. You can look at Atlanta food, and facts about the team. They also have Madden, Michaels and Collinsworth talking about the Falcons match ups. You should go see it, because the site is great!

The Falcons have re-signed TE Dwayne Blakley.  He is more of a run blocker than a pass catcher, so he will fit in nicely in Coach Bobby Petrino’s power based offense.  He played in all 16 games (4 starts) for the Falcons last season and he caught 6 passes for 76 yards (12.7 avg).

This is a Bobby Petrino special as Redman played his college ball at Louisville.  Redman last played in the NFL in 2003 for the Baltimore Ravens so he could be a tad rusty.  He played in 11 games between 2000-2003 and he completed 106 of 198 passes (53.5%) for 1,111 yards with 7 TD passes and 5 interceptions.  He also carried the ball 13 times for 12 yards (0.9 ypc).  He has the look of a #3 QB at best so look for the Falcons to either sign another QB or draft one in April.

Michael Vick became the first NFL QB to ever rush for over 1,000 yards in a season, but he didn’t throw the ball that well this season and he was a major factor in the teams disappointing finish to the season.  Vick started all 16 games and completed 204 of 388 passes (52.6%) for 2,474 yards with 20 TD passes and 13 interceptions (75.7 QB Rating).  He also ran the ball 123 times for 1,039 yards (8.4 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  For his career, Vick has played in 74 games (67 starts) and he’s completed 930 of 1,730 passes (53.8%) for 11,505 yards with 71 TD passes and 52 interceptions (75.7 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 529 times for 3,859 yards (7.3 ypc) with 21 TD runs.

Matt Schaub didn’t start a game this season but he completed 18 of 27 passes (66.7%) for 208 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 interceptions (71.2 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 7 times for 21 yards (3.0 ypc).  For his career, Schaub has played in 38 games (2 starts) and he completed 84 of 161 passes (52.2%) for 1,033 yards with 6 TD passes and 6 interceptions (69.2 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 24 times for 123 yards (5.1 ypc).

It will be interesting to see how Coach Petrino handles the QB situation next season. 

 

Bobby Petrino has been given a 5 year, $24 million dollar contract to lead the Atlanta Falcons into battle.  Petrino compiled a 41-9 record in 4 seasons at Louisville.  He led the Cardinals to their first Big East Championship and BCS appearance.  The Cardinals prevailed in the Orange Bowl 24-13 over Wake Forest.  The interesting thing with this hire is that Petrino is a coach that favors the passing game, so it will be interesting to see what Michael Vick’s role will be for the Falcons.  It’s possible that the Falcons might trade Michael Vick and start Matt Schaub.  This will be a very interesting off-season for the Falcons.

The Falcons just couldn’t see fit to continue of with Jim Mora as their head coach.  Mora’s dad described Michael Vick as a “coach killer” in the media and Mora stated that he would leave the Falcons immediately if presented the head coaching job at his alma mater…the University of Washington.  Those factors plus the fact that the Falcons underachieved this season, finishing at 7-9 all contributed in the dumping of Mora as head coach.

Mora coached the Falcons for three seasons and compiled a record of 26-22.  He also was 1-1 in the playoffs with the Falcons.

The Atlanta Falcons can clinch a playoff berth with:  1) a win and Carolina, Green Bay and NY Giants all lose or tie  2) a tie and Carolina, Green Bay, NY Giants and St. Louis all lose.

The Falcons need a miracle to make it to the playoffs after an up and down season.  It’s not impossible, but everything would have to break just right for it to happen.

The Falcons played an awful game on offense and that did them in yesterday.  Michael Vick had a horrible game throwing the ball as he completed only 9 of 20 passes for 109 yards and 2 INTs.  Vick did carry the ball 4 times for 32 yards (8.0 ypc) and became the first QB in NFL history to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season.  Warrick Dunn only carried the ball 9 times for 29 yards (3.2 ypc) and Jerious Norwood carried the ball 5 times for 20 yards (4.0 ypc).  Ashley Lelie (3 rec, 40 yards) and Alge Crumpler (3 rec, 39 yards) were the leading receivers on the Falcons.

LBs Edgerton Hartwell (12 tackles) and Keith Brooking (9 tackles) led an inspired effort by the Falcons defense.  The Falcons did allow the Panthers to rush for 183 yards, but it took them 52 carries (3.5 ypc) to get it.  The Panthers only completed 4 of 7 passes for 11 net yards thru the air.

The Falcons fell to 7-8 on the season with this loss.

Keith Brooking has 120 tackles to lead the Falcons so far this season.  This makes Brooking’s 6th straight season that he’s had over 100 tackles.  He also has 2.5 sacks and has defensed a pass.  Brooking brings toughness to the defense and he’s a very sure tackler that doesn’t let anyone get away from him.