FALCONS post game report

despite a dismal draft and an aging group of veterans on both sides of the ball, atlanta still remains the unbiased pick to win the NFC south this year. as to whether or not they will be the same team as last year, we will have to see how well the offense is still able to run the ball as well as running sound defense in the first few weeks. with unanimously the most grueling schedule among the NFL, the falcons are looking at it as a chance to gauge themselves during the regular season to be better prepared going into postseason - which seems to a guarantee among the team and coaches.

"we may not play a perfect season, but we will get a chance to play the best teams in the league to help us focus on seeing them again in the playoffs' reports coach smith.

week 1 pitted atlanta vs a run savvy texans team coming off an impressive 14-2 season, although falling short in the AFC championship game. this would be a great test for the falcons to see if number 1 draft pick mlb dushun ivory could potentially fill the role as team captain to an aging jon vilma. with 4 key tackles on 3rd down he proved to be a worthy asset, as atlanta backed up its claim to playing stingy defense allowing just over 100 yards of total offense while holding houstons powerful running game to a meager 69 yards. the falcons secondary played flawlessly, not falling victim to playaction and making 3 key interceptions as tanard jackson was responsible for 2 of them.

overall it was a promising start for the falcons, they showed they havent aged a bit and even appeared more discliplined on both sides of the ball refusing to allow big plays. the offense, while maybe not as impressive...didn't need to be. as they did last year, atlanta compiled time consuming drives eventually wearing out the defense and controlled the tempo of the game. look for atlanta to be another contender for a super bowl ring, barring any drastic injuries. mike smith seems to have his team ready to play and looking forward to the challenging schedule ahead.