The Atlanta Falcons are the franchise with the slogan, "Never had back to back winning seasons." So please excuse this cynical writer if he understands why there is no one on Madison Avenue willing to take the phone call from Falcon's owner Arthur Blank, who insists it's time for a new tagline!
The Falcons are coming off a dream season in which they went 11-5 with a rookie head coach, general manager and quarterback. The team made a monster off season acquisition by signing future hall of fame tight end Tony Gonzales. They bring back a pro bowl running back and wide receiver in Michael Turner and Roddy White. Then, of course, there is the cerebral 2nd year quarterback, Matt Ryan. Hmmmm....cerebral. Sounds good on paper. I'm guessing that means he watches a ton of game film. Some 'experts' have even said he reminds them of one of the Mannings. At this point, I'm guessing they mean little Eli.
Matt Ryan was crowned "the next big thing" by many NFL experts. Heck, he even landed a national endorsement deal with Gillette. Unfortunately, right now the only close shave for Ryan is whether or not he can lead this team to a winning record in consecutive seasons.
In four of his last five games, Ryan has thrown at least 2 interceptions (a total of 10 over that span). The problem is many of those interceptions have been at critical moments in a game. For a guy who studies tons of game film, you have to scratch your head at these stats. Most of those passes were overthrown balls too. If he's as smart as everyone around him says he is, then you can only assume he will get better and learn from these mistakes.
The Falcons started the season 4-1. Since then, they have lost three of their last four. More troubling, they have won only one road game this year. If this losing trend continues, can you say 8-8? That doesn't smell like a playoff team, and more importantly to the marketing department, it means another season with the same tagline, "Never had back to back winning seasons."
The Falcons are coming off a dream season in which they went 11-5 with a rookie head coach, general manager and quarterback. The team made a monster off season acquisition by signing future hall of fame tight end Tony Gonzales. They bring back a pro bowl running back and wide receiver in Michael Turner and Roddy White. Then, of course, there is the cerebral 2nd year quarterback, Matt Ryan. Hmmmm....cerebral. Sounds good on paper. I'm guessing that means he watches a ton of game film. Some 'experts' have even said he reminds them of one of the Mannings. At this point, I'm guessing they mean little Eli.
Matt Ryan was crowned "the next big thing" by many NFL experts. Heck, he even landed a national endorsement deal with Gillette. Unfortunately, right now the only close shave for Ryan is whether or not he can lead this team to a winning record in consecutive seasons.
In four of his last five games, Ryan has thrown at least 2 interceptions (a total of 10 over that span). The problem is many of those interceptions have been at critical moments in a game. For a guy who studies tons of game film, you have to scratch your head at these stats. Most of those passes were overthrown balls too. If he's as smart as everyone around him says he is, then you can only assume he will get better and learn from these mistakes.
The Falcons started the season 4-1. Since then, they have lost three of their last four. More troubling, they have won only one road game this year. If this losing trend continues, can you say 8-8? That doesn't smell like a playoff team, and more importantly to the marketing department, it means another season with the same tagline, "Never had back to back winning seasons."
They won at San Francisco.
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