Falcons 34, Saints 20: Could the Atlanta Falcons Be Playoff Bound?

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If you're looking for coach of the year, hand the trophy to Falcons coach Mike Smith--no matter how many game Jeff Fisher and the Titans wins. If you're looking for a rookie of the year, you could do a lot worse than Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan. If you're looking for the free agent acquisition of the year, Falcons running back Michael Turner has to be near the top of the list.

And if you're trying to figure out who from the NFC will be around come playoff time, you have to consider the Falcons. Actually typing that sentence seems almost impossible to believe just a year after the Bobby Petrino fiasco.

The Falcons were clearly the superior team as they laid out a beat down on the Saints, potentially ending the Saints playoff hopes in the process. Pay no attention to the final score--the Saints scored a touchdown in the final seconds to cut the final margin of victory to a more respectable 14 points, but the Falcons led 20-6 heading into the fourth quarter.

Ryan outplayed Drew Brees. Jerious Norwood provided the big play with a 65-yard touchdown catch and Turner had his usual productive day. And after proving once again that they are for real, the Falcons players are having trouble not thinking about the playoffs:

For anybody who wanted to take note, the Falcons defensive end said it's OK to go ahead and pencil the Falcons in the playoffs.

"Definitely, I felt that from the first game and I'm going to keep saying it until we make it," Abraham said. "We play good as a team. That's the best thing that you could say right now."

Atlanta still needs to win at least four games in a very competitive NFC to make the playoffs, but with very winnable games against the Broncos and Chargers in the next three weeks, that looks doable.

The Saints, on the other hand, are just about done. In many seasons, 4-5 would be OK, but with 10 NFC teams at 5-4 or better, it would take a miracle, and a better conference record than their current 2-4 mark to have a realistic shot of turning things around.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

11-10-2008 @ 12:15PM

Spoonman said...

Thanks for the pic of Norwood high stepping into the endzone (he started the high step around half way through his run, and is still faster than the NO players).

Atlanta has a serious chance at the playoffs, and it seems every week they are "supposed" to start to decline, like in Green Bay, or Chicago, or Philly (which can still be blamed on that muffed punt, but they played a good game), and now the Saints, who have the past 2 years given the team 4 losses.

It's better than anyone had predicted (I think Peter King expected us to have 2 wins all year), but we won't know how the playoffs will sort out until the rematch against Carolina in 2 weeks.

11-10-2008 @ 6:59PM

webfoot said...

ALL THE SAINTS HAVE TO DO, IS GET RID OF BREES, SHOCKEY,AND NEVER THERE WIMPY BUSH AND THEY MIGHT JUST WIN A COUPLE OF GAMES.

11-10-2008 @ 7:32PM

Webfoot-
Really? Why get rid of Brees? He is and has been one of the best QB's the league. Shockey and Bush aren't helping the team any (unless a $10 million a year PR/KR is helping) so I can't disagree with that. But Brees was under fairly constant pressure all game, and the WR's weren't getting loose. Their offensive line has not been holding up, and there is no run game (I think it was around a 3:1 ratio of pass to run) to force anyone to load the box.

I could think of some poor draft choices. Is Meachum hurt? I remember him not getting the start because he was so streaky. Porter got injured, Ellis was injured, and when playing hasn't played well. Plus they gave huge money to DE's who haven't been able to rush the passer.

11-11-2008 @ 9:18AM

merle t cornpone said...

There may be a longer suffering franchise than Atlanta, but I don't know who it would be.
Arthur Blank is clearly one of the most competent owners, and obviously a hands on guy. He has produced a remarkable fix in a disasterous situation. Has another team ever lost a quarterback and coach at the same time? ( I would have kept Algae Crumpler, though.)
I am grateful to Blank, Ryan, Turner, Norwood, Abraham, #84, and all the players that are currently proving "you CAN make a silk purse from a sows ear."

As usual, the sports commentators at ESPN are in denial about Atlanta ( and after the last 40 years, who can blame them?) but you can get your Northeast regional biased reports from ESPN. They also spend more time on reports about teams successful in the past but out of it this year than on reports about the real contenders this year.

Just a thought, why can't the NFL spend half as much effort managing their referees as they spend trying to repeal the first amendment? I don't care what headband the player wears or if the player says the referees suck, I do care if the referees suck and change the outcome of games through bad calls.