FLOWERY BRANCH — Back in 2008, the Falcons had a new coach and new general.
The season after quarterback Michael Vick was sent to federal prison, the Falcons pre-season odds to win the Super Bowl were 20-to-1. The over/under on wins was 4.5.
But somehow, rookie coach Mike Smith and general manager Thomas Dimitroff, made all of the right moves, got lucky with a few late wins and found themselves 11-5 and headed to the playoffs.
That was the last time that the Falcons entered the season with such low expectations and then surpassed them.
The 2021 Falcons are set to enter the season with a new head coach and general tandem for the first time since 2008. They are not an obvious playoff team with an over/under for wins being placed at 7.5 and they are 80 to 1 to win Super Bowl LVI as the NFL is set to play 17 games for the first time.
Also, there will be a seventh playoff team added in each conference.
“It’s also clear Atlanta needs to clean up defensively and their secondary was a clear focus in free agency,” according to thelines.com. “The Falcons need to get off to a faster start than in recent years past if they want to compete for a playoff position, but optimism remains low. (Arthur) Smith now has the keys and is putting the Falcons rebuild into motion.”
Back in 2008, with Matt Ryan playing as a rookie quarterback, the Falcons got off to a 4-2 start.
Ryan’s first pass went for a 62-yard touchdown to wide receiver Michael Jenkins in the season-opening 34-21 victory over the Lions.
Credit: Curtis Compton
Credit: Curtis Compton
The team started to believe something special could happen after Ryan directed a game-winning drive with just 11 seconds left to set up Jason Elam for a game-winning 48-yard field and a wild 22-20 win over the Bears to head into the bye week.
The offense was powered by running back Michael Turner, who rushed for 1,699 yards and 17 touchdowns. Backup running back Jerious Norwood added another 489 yards and four rushing touchdowns.
Ryan leaned heavily on wide receiver Roddy White in the passing game. White had a whopping 148 targets in his breakout season. He finished with 88 catches for 1,382 yards and seven receiving touchdowns.
In 2021, the Falcons offense has Ryan and some established weapons in wide receivers Calvin Ridley and Russell Gage. Ryan is veteran now and doesn’t lock-in on one receiver like he did as a rookie.
The Falcons plan to have a balanced attack and run the ball more in 2021 with a revamped backfield.
Running backs Mike Davis, mostly a career backup, and Cordarrelle Patterson, a former wide receiver, would stun the football world if they matched the 2,188 yards and 21 rushing touchdowns that Turner and Norwood amassed.
The wild card will be a rookie just like in 2008. Ryan was the big question mark for the offense back then and this season it will be rookie tight end Kyle Pitts, who was the fourth player taken overall in the draft.
Pitts played just two plays in the exhibition season. He caught a short pass and turned it into a 27-yard gain.
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
“I think Kyle is going to have an outstanding year,” Pro Football Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez said. “He’s got Calvin Ridley on the other side to take the pressure off because he’ll be the No. 1 option it looks like. He’ll get a lot of one-on-one match ups and when he’s covered, he’s not covered.”
Pitts may be the answer to the Falcons’ red zone woes.
“I’ve got to believe that in the red zone Kyle will be used a lot,” Gonzalez said. “Just line him out there and throw the ball up in the air. Get him one-on-one, nobody will be able to guard him.”
The Falcons had some veterans on a quality defense that was led by defensive end John Abraham, who finished with 16.5 sacks and defensive tackle Grady Jackson upfront.
Linebacker Keith Brooking led the unit with 102 tackles and was followed by free safety Erik Coleman’s 95, middle linebacker Curtis Lofton’s 94, strong safety Lawyer Milloy’s 92 tackles. Dominique Foxworth, Chris Houston, Brent Grimes and Chevis Jackson (nickel) were the top cornerbacks.
The Falcons defense gave up yards, but not a lot of points. They were 24th in yards allowed with 346.3, but 11th in points scored (20.3). The Falcons were also ranked 21st in turnover margin with a minus-three (18 to 21 ratio).
The Falcons are switching to a 3-4 defensive scheme and don’t appear to have a player of Abraham’s caliber on the roster.
New defensive coordinator Dean Pees plans to attack offenses with a variety of blitzes in order to fabricate a pass rush like he did in 2019 with the Titans. Defensive tackle Grady Jarrett and linebacker Deion Jones are the only players who have been to the Pro Bowl on the defensive side of the ball.
Outside linebacker Dante Fowler had 11.5 sacks back in 2019 with the Rams.
The 2008 Falcons went 7-2 in one-score games and won their final three games of the regular season in close contests. They were 3-3 against the NFC South, but swept the NFC North (Detroit, at Green Bay, Chicago and at Minnesota).
The Falcons closed out the season with a 13-10 win at the Buccaneers in overtime, a 24-17 win at the Vikings and a 31-27 win over the Rams to finish 11-5 and earn a wildcard playoff berth.
“The thing I really remember is celebrating in the locker room up in Minnesota when we clinched,” Ryan said. “I was in the (locker room) with Chris Redman and D.J. Shockley after the game. That was my kind of biggest, wow. We’re going to the playoffs.”
The Falcons loss 30-24 to the Cardinals in the NCF Wild Card game.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
“That was a fun year,” Ryan said. “It was a lot of fun. I don’t think, even that year I’ve never been one to get too far ahead of myself. You just kind of stay in your lane and try and keep winning games.”
The 2021 Falcons will also enter the season as prohibitive underdogs in the NFC South. The Buccaneers are the defending Super Bowl champs and the Saints are four-time defending division champs.
The Panthers finished ahead of the Falcons and they have running back Christian McCaffrey back and a new quarterback in Sam Darnold.
“It’s a little different,” Ryan said. “Playing against Drew (Brees) every year for my entire career was a challenge. He was a great player.”
Brees has retired, but Ryan still see the Saints as tough.
“I watched some of their game (recently) and they looked good,” Ryan said. “New Orleans looked solid in the (exhibition) season. We know that Tampa is coming off a Super Bowl and Carolina is a team that I thought added a lot of really good pieces the last couple of years on the defensive side of the ball. So, we’ve definitely got our work cut out for us in division.”
The Bow Tie Chronicles
For more content about The Atlanta Falcons
Follow me on Twitter @DOrlandoAJC
On Facebook at Atlanta Falcons News Now
Atlanta Falcons coverage on the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Falcons’ 2021 schedule features trip to London, January trip to Buffalo
About the Author
