When the 2012 Falcons went 13-3, more than a few folks wondered how they’d done it. They didn’t have a great defense. They didn’t blow anybody out. The best thing they did was win a lot of close games, which some savants attributed to the presence of a really good quarterback and the ongoing favor of Old Lady Luck. When the 2013 Falcons went 4-12, the choruses of crowing – “See? Told you!” – resounded from sea to shining sea.

This week the Falcons convene for training camp, and the most interesting thing about them is that they’re allowing HBO’s cameras to film the inside doings for “Hard Knocks.” This seems proof that the Falcons are desperate to remind folks they still have a team, although airing one’s sweaty linen on pay cable wouldn’t have been my first choice, or my 101st, in the Rebranding Derby. Eventually, though, the team will rise or fall on its merit, and there’s a chance it will rise rather boldly.

In lieu of a “Hard Knocks” trailer, a rundown of pros/cons is offered for your perusal:

Pro: Beefier should equal better. If the Falcons didn't succeed in their stated goal of improving both lines, it wasn't for the lack of trying. They fired both line coaches and replaced them with, ahem, more outgoing types. (Mike Tice for the O-line, Bryan Cox for the D-line.) Their three notable free-agent signees – guard Jon Asamoah, nose tackle Paul Soliai and defensive end Tyson Jackson – were linemen. Their No. 1 pick was Jake Matthews, a tackle who should be a 10-year starter. There's no guarantee this will make the Falcons the NFL's toughest team, but they shouldn't be among the flimsiest anymore.

Con: He's finally Tony Gone-zalez. The famous tight end retired. Gonzalez wasn't the most popular Falcon in the locker room – his assertion that Matt Ryan isn't an "elite" quarterback was an indication why – but everybody loved him on third-and-5 . He was the fail-safe option for a quarterback who doesn't buy time with his legs. He was great in the red zone, great in the air, great every time the ball was thrown his way. No, he didn't really block, but no tight end does in the 21st Century NFL. There's no way to underrate his absence. The Falcons' ability to throw and catch, which has long been the thing they do best, has been compromised.

Pro: The schedule is easier. Vince Verhei of the analytic site Football Outsiders unearthed this nugget in a post for ESPN Insider: The 2013 Falcons faced one of the 10 toughest schedules of the past 25 years. They played eight games – half the season – against teams that won 10 or more games. (They were 0-10 against them, alas.) This year they'll go two calendar months – from Sept. 15 through Nov. 15 – without facing a plus-.500 team from 2013. Trading the NFC West, where three of the four members finished 10-6 or better, for the NFC Central, where the division winner was 8-7-1, is a boon.

Con: The defense might still reek. For all their offseason work, the Falcons really didn't address their puny pass rush. (The signee Jackson is rated one of the NFL's worst ends at pressuring the quarterback.) The Falcons insist they're not changing to the 3-4 as their base defense, and the loss of Sean Weatherspoon to a torn Achilles means they mightn't have four linebackers good enough to make the 3-4 work. They were 27th among 32 NFL teams in total defense last season, and they should be better – Soliai helps here – against the run. But it's hard to see the Falcons' D moving into the top 20 without a real quarterback-chaser.

Pro: If the Falcons ever find a pass rush, their secondary could be prime. The Falcons like cornerbacks Desmond Trufant and Robert Alford, their Nos. 1 and 2 draftees in 2013. When last season went south, the Falcons made the considered decision to phase out the fading Asante Samuel, which made great sense. William Moore is a good strong safety. Thomas DeCoud unaccountably went from All-Pro to amateurish and was cut. Free safety could fall to Dwight Lowery, the former Jacksonville cornerback, but the long-term answer needs to be Dezmen Southward, the third-round pick from Wisconsin.

Con: Stephen Jackson mightn't have much left. Signed in 2013 as a presumed upgrade over Michael Turner, Jackson dropped a pass on the goal line that might have won the opener in New Orleans and got hurt in Week 2. He missed four games and rushed for only 543 yards. (Turner's worst yield in five seasons as a Falcon was 800.) Jackson turns 31 Tuesday, and backs – big backs especially – don't age well. Devonta Freeman, the 5-foot-8 fourth-rounder from Florida State, could be starting by season's end.

Pro and con: Remember how the Falcons' watchword used to be "urgency"? Things are really urgent now. It sounds odd that the best coach in team history could have been placed on notice by one down season, but that's the reality. Mike Smith might not get fired if this team goes 7-9; then again, he might. (Jim Mora got canned after going 11-5, 8-8 and 7-9.) Never a passive man, Arthur Blank gets less patient with time. The owner's postseason assertion that the Falcons weren't "tough" was an indictment not just of playing but of coaching.

Such a nudge from above could serve as a needed jolt. It could also undercut Smith in the eyes of his players. If this season starts badly – and with the first two games against the New Orleans Saints and the Cincinnati Bengals, it might – it won’t be pretty for Smitty.

But why be all gloomy in July? Let’s say the Falcons split their first two, win five of the next seven and finish 10-6. Let’s say the hardest knock this team takes is the whiplash from bettering 2013’s record by six whole games. How’s that for a little training-camp cheer?