Who's closer to returning, us or ATL?

[Randolph Panther]

Philly and SF that is...

[Snake]

Just now, shaqattaq said:

Now if only we could lose our OC!

Yea right we would probably replace him with Dorsey if we did. How scary is that.

[shaqattaq]

1 minute ago, nctarheel0619 said:

I would rather not see Mike Remmers anymore, unless it's absolutely a must.  

Yep, that's why i listed him behind Williams. and I think that we definitely need to keep them both away from the left side.

[Cyberjag]

Atlanta had remarkably few turnovers, and didn't get hurt much by injuries (unless you're a big Jacob Tamme fan).  The balls will inevitably bounce the other way next year, and they have to deal with the psychological hangover of choking like they did.  Every game that's close in the 4th next year will be in their head.  It's not going to go away overnight.

The Falcons will be good again, but it won't be next year.

[SOJA]

There is ZERO guarantee either of us get back. It takes so much luck with your teams injuries + timing of playing well + injuries to other teams

Biggest key for us is being able to rush the passer better. When we were dominating Atlanta, we were hitting Matt Ryan. This year he had all day to throw and they made us pay

[d-dave]

Just now, Cyberjag said:

Atlanta had remarkably few turnovers, and didn't get hurt much by injuries (unless you're a big Jacob Tamme fan).  The balls will inevitably bounce the other way next year, and they have to deal with the psychological hangover of choking like they did.  Every game that's close in the 4th next year will be in their head.  It's not going to go away overnight.

The Falcons will be good again, but it won't be next year.

It's just that!  The ball will bounce the other way.  That happened to us, big time.  When things go your way in the NFL, they really do go your way.

As far as who stands a better chance?  Toss up.  You have to be healthy, and you have to be good.  I think we can be good, but we need more weapons on offense and pass rush.  Atlanta's pass rush was quite effective this year, and that helped set up their defense.  

As a homer, I'd like to say us.  If we can get Cam playing well, run the ball well, and our WRs can play to their sizes, then we should do a lot better.  But that remains to be seen how that will work out.

[t96]

Well when ATL hires Chip Kelly, Wilks is gonna be licking his chops getting ready to go up against that fool twice a year/

[gorillamilitia13]

Falcons offense is set they just need to fix a couple things on defense, but man that super bowl loss might fug up their psyche depending on the type of players theh have. Like everyone's been saying losing their OC will hurt them. We need to get our o-line straightened out, bring in a safety and we should be OK. And despite what Falcons fans want to believe, we have the better quarterback as well.

[Mvp2014]

On paper ATL is.  Reigning MVP, best WR in league, 2 runningbacks better than anything we have, better secondary..   And they have those thingsss.. uhh.  oh yeah offensive tackles

 

Please NFL let them open up in Boston week 1 next year.  That will be one worth watching

[outlaw4]

37 minutes ago, Cyberjag said:

Atlanta had remarkably few turnovers, and didn't get hurt much by injuries (unless you're a big Jacob Tamme fan).  The balls will inevitably bounce the other way next year, and they have to deal with the psychological hangover of choking like they did.  Every game that's close in the 4th next year will be in their head.  It's not going to go away overnight.

The Falcons will be good again, but it won't be next year.

There's a reason why a Super Bowl run is so hard to make. One can be the best with the factors one can control but even one bad break in something out of your control and it all falls apart. The Falcons had everything lined up for them and they lost in an utterly devastating matter. They can say all they want that the loss won't affect them next season but to some extent, it will. At the least, it's one advantage we'll have over them.

[top dawg]

All of this "Matt Ryan melted down," is B.S.  The Patriots D began to get legitimate pressure, and considering the circumstances Ryan did well. That loss isn't on him. The Pats' D responded to the circumstancs at hand, where the Falcons D could not, and they got carved up by the GOAT.

The Panthers have a legitimate defense that can and will respond when the time comes. Don't let inexperience and injury of the secondary cloud your overall perception. Our defense will be top 10 again, if not top five, and we're arguably only a safety away with free agency and the draft coming soon. The draft is also deep at edge rushers, so we'll add another DE to the mix from the draft (even if Addy somehow gets away, which I don't believe he will), not to mention adding someone in FA to at least hold serve. Our defense will be fine, and that's the main reason why we'll retake our spot atop the division next year, provided that the offense gets back on track.

Offensively, we need one good OT and one good TE to put us back in contention. To excel and put us on top, adding an additional playmaker at RB and WR should worry our division.  Anything else we add on offense (or defense really) should be gravy. 

Julio is the only player on offense that is clearly a cut above what we have. Don't tell me that Sanu, Gabriel and Hardy are that much better than Funchess, Ginn and Brown.  Throw in Freeman or Coleman if you like, but I still think Stew has something in the tank. And don't let us add another RB, I just don't believe the Falcons RB stable would be that much better than ours. Sure Ryan is playing damned good ball, and he may end up better than Cam, but I think that's up to Cam. 

All this being said, I don't think we're that far away from reclaiming our top spot. It's certainly doable with the money that we have for free agency and the spots that we have in the draft. Again four pieces minimally to be in contention, and more to grasp our division by the throat in 2017.

Our biggest problem may be the offensive play calling, but if we get the right pieces even Shula can't screw that up.

 

 

 

[Nails]

17 minutes ago, Mvp2014 said:

On paper ATL is.  Reigning MVP, best WR in league, 2 runningbacks better than anything we have, better secondary..   And they have those thingsss.. uhh.  oh yeah offensive tackles

 

Please NFL let them open up in Boston week 1 next year.  That will be one worth watching

Yeah, a top 10 LT pick prodigy that sucked donkey d*ck on the biggest stage last night.

[General_Purr]

Looking at it age wise they have more younger players who start. We have young players at corner and guard. I would say they are because they still have Julio, 2 stud running backs and Alex Mack coming back to man the line. Just about all their linebackers and safeties are young. 

I think it comes down to coaching. And we are on the back slide on that part.

[*FreeFua*]

They're building one hell of a defense in Atlanta.

Vic Beasley / Keanu Neal / Desmond Trufant / Deion Jones

Fast and athletic. Add in all the weapons on offense they have and I don't see how we're closer. That's why DG and co. Need to realize the opportunity they were just handed last night to bury this team mentally while they're down.

Time to do work this offseason