Thursday, May 17th, 2012
The 2008 Atlanta Falcons were the surprise team in the NFC finishing with a record of 11-5 and qualifying for a spot in the NFC Playoffs. The team improved 7 games from their 4-win season in 2007 with a rookie head coach in Mike Smith and rookie quarterback Matt Ryan. But the Falcons #2 rushing game in the NFL behind Michael Turner set up a successful passing game for the Falcons in 2008. Sports betting oddsmakers have set the 2009 Atlanta Falcons regular season win projected total NFL betting line at 8 1/2 wins.
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Schedule:
The Atlanta Falcons compete in the NFC South so that will bring 2 games against the New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The NFC South must play the AFC East this season so the Falcons will hit the road against the New England Patriots and New York Jets while hosting the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins. The NFC South will play the NFC East this season so that will bring home games against the Washington Redskins and Philadelphia Eagles and road games to the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys. As the second place finisher in the NFC South in 2008 the Falcons must play the two other second place teams from the NFC so the Falcons will host the Chicago Bears and visit the San Francisco 49ers.
Offense:
Running backs Michael Turner and Jerious Norword provide a solid 1-2 punch in the running game for the Falcons. The running game made things a lot easier for rookie quarterback Matt Ryan last season. Ryan is blessed with talent in the wide receiver position with Michael Jenkins, Roddy White and newly acquired Tony Gonzalez at tight end. The Falcons offensive line allowed 30 less sacks in 2008 than it did in 2007 but with an outstanding running attack it makes it difficult for opposing defenses to pin its ears and blitz. So in this writers opinion the jury is still out on Matt Ryan because the question will be how good will Matt Ryan be when he has an average or below average running game. Heck guys like Kerry Collins, Dave Krieg and Trent Green all looked like multi million dollar quarterbacks when aided by an elite running attack but turned to mush when their teams were average or below average in running the football.
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Defense:
In a need to improve their run defense the Falcons indeed drafted for need in acquiring defensive tackle Peria Jerry with their first pick in the draft from Mississippi. The Falcons drafted defense in 7 of their 8 draft picks in 2009. The Atlanta defense under performed in 2008 giving up an average of 348 yards per game in 2008 and ranking 24th in the league. Defensive end Jamaal Anderson has been a disappointment with just 2 sacks in 31 games. The Falcons lost a couple of linebackers to free agency and signed veteran Mike Peterson from Jacksonville but will need to rely on youth with a second and third year man inserted into starting positions. The secondary is revamped after a poor effort last season. Young Brent Grimes and Chris Houston will start at corners.
And now to my Selection:
The Falcons will face a physical and demanding schedule in 2009. Both the NFC East and AFC East have good run stopping defenses plus the 49ers and Bears are getting much better defensively. Atlanta was able to win plenty of shootouts in 2008 because they faced much more inferior defenses than they will face in 2009. The AFC West was incredibly weak last year and the NFC North other than the Minnesota Vikings was weak defensively. This year the Falcons are no better than a .500 team because they don’t have the luxury of playing a last place schedule. That means instead of facing the lowly Lions and Rams like the last place New Orleans Saints have drawn the Falcons will face the Bears and 49ers from the NFC North and NFC West. That will be the difference between a 9-7 year and an 8-8.
Selection: Play the Atlanta Falcons under 8 1/2 wins for the 2009 NFL Season.
Tags: Atlanta falcons, football, football betting, football odds, football picks, free picks, matt ryan, Michael turner, nfl, nfl betting, nfl football, nfl free picks, nfl odds, nfl picks, nfl season win projections, online gambling, pro football, sports betting, tony Gonzalez
