2007 Atlanta Falcons

The Falcons appeared to be one of the NFL’s brightest franchises with the game’s most exciting player under center, but Vick’s offseason issues and a new head coach are sure to be hurdles that Atlanta won’t be able to overcome in 2007.

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The Falcons missed the playoffs for the second straight season in 2006. That was enough to cost Jim Mora his job. Owner Arthur Blank is hoping that Bobby Petrino and his no-nonsense approach will reestablish some order in a franchise which is quickly heading south. Petrino may have been known as a disciplinarian at Louisville, but those players didn’t have egos the size of Texas and salaries to match. Petrino’s offensive wizardry will hopefully be the answer to Atlanta’s inconsistencies on offense. Petrino does not inherit a lack of talent, and he will likely turn Vick lose, giving him more responsibility than ever before. His only hope will be that Vick is up for the task in wake of his serious off-the-field issues with dog fighting. Some players rise up. We saw this with Kobe Bryant in the midst of his trial a couple years back. How Vick performs is vital to the success of this team.

Atlanta’s running attack has been very good with the zone blocking scheme that Mora installed, but Petrino will be quick to strip it out and replace it with a spread attack. He will use three and four wide out packages to open up the field, looking for opportunities to run up the middle (like we saw at Louisville). The problem with this is that the Falcons have much more talent in the backfield than they do at the receiver positions. But Vick can be a great running weapon out of this spread attack and we fully expect Petrino to use him that way. The Falcons have brought in Joe Horn to improve a sub par receiving corps. Young wide outs Roddy White and Michael Jenkins both show promise but are both yet to show any real star ability on the field.

The defense is going to have to be strong while the offense adjusts to a new scheme in the early going. New coordinator Mike Zimmer comes in from the Big “D” and he will bring his favored 4-3 scheme with him that he was not able to use under Parcells in Dallas. The Falcons found the top ten in the rankings against the run last season with All-Pro talents John Abraham and Rod Coleman plugging the holes. Zimmer will have speed for days to work with in Keith Brooking and Michael Boley. These guys are among the fastest linebackers in the league. The secondary lets this unit down. DeAngelo Hall is a star, but teams don’t go his way very often, which takes him out of the game many times. The Falcons will have to be better against the pass this season if they hope to make a run at the playoffs.

The NFC South appears to be one of the most talented and toughest division in football. Atlanta has the talent to win a title, but we don’t see it as likely with the obstacles that must be conquered.

2007 Atlanta Falcons

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