Let’s set the
scene. It’s February 5, 2017 in Houston, Texas. The Atlanta Falcons have a
25-point lead in Super Bowl 51 midway through the third quarter against the
juggernaut of a team known as the New England Patriots. Falcon’s owner Arthur
Blank is in his press box suite dancing in jubilation with his general manager,
Thomas Dimitroff, by his side. Have the Falcons started a new dynasty in the
NFL for years to come? The quick answer to that question is no, but I will give
you the longer answer.
The Falcons, in
a year with the highest scoring offense in the NFL led under an MVP quarterback
in Matt Ryan, had the Patriots on the ropes for three quarters. But, no lead is
ever safe with Tom Brady at the helm for New England. As many probably know by
now, the Patriots overcame the largest super bowl deficit in Super Bowl history,
beating the Falcons in overtime on their first possession. The team that had
given a whole city hopes for something great, instead let down thousands in
heartbreaking fashion yet again and caused forever-long embarrassment to the franchise
as a whole. 28-3, the lead the Falcons had over the Patriots midway through the
third quarter of Super Bowl 51, would forever live in infamy.
The following
season in 2017, the Falcons had to answer to all skeptics that they have
forgotten about the Super Bowl, and have moved on. Many believed Atlanta would
suffer from a Super Bowl hangover, and in a way they did. Reigning MVP
quarterback, Matt Ryan, had admitted that he was still struggling with the
thought of losing Super Bowl 51. He even said he would be in a grocery store,
and think, “how did we lose that game?” The memories left in Houston would
haunt Atlanta forever. The Falcons moved on to a new offensive coordinator,
Steve Sarkisian, in 2017 after Kyle Shanahan left for the head coaching
vacancy in San Francisco. Sarkisian was an interesting hire to many,
considering that he was essentially blackballed as Head Coach of USC in 2015
after struggling with alcoholism. He was known to be an offensive genius, but
instead, Atlanta went from being the highest scoring offense in 2016 to one of
the league’s worst in 2017. The defense, ranked top-10, led the Falcons back to
the playoffs. But, the Falcons choked away another late game lead against the
reigning Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles in the divisional round of the
NFC playoffs.
Now, we’re in
2018. The Falcons are 4-8 heading into week 14 of the season. The offense is
anemic, and the defense is lifeless. Ranking worst in the league in almost
every category defensively, and having the worst rushing offense in the NFL,
the Falcons can’t do anything right. You can blame injuries, because Atlanta
has lost several key starters on both sides of the ball. But, injuries aren’t
the problem in Atlanta. Key veterans that they rely on, as well as their
coaching staff led under Dan Quinn, have failed them. Whether they want to
admit it or not, they have never been the same since 28-3. Changes are on the
way for the Falcons, and for the fans in the city of Atlanta, all they can do
is sit back and wait. In the meantime, with a roster full of talent, the
Falcons have utterly disappointed the NFL as a whole. We all expected better
from this team. From being at the top of the NFC in 2016 to being one of the
worst teams in 2018, life has come full circle for Atlanta. With four games
remaining in the season, we will be able to learn a lot about this team.
-Allen Perez
(Senior at Kennesaw State University, Sports Director of KSU Owl Radio, radio
play-by-play announcer for Kennesaw State Men’s basketball and sports talk show
host) (Twitter: @therealATLfan, email: allenperezsports@gmail.com)
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