After leading the Falcons to an 11-5 bounce-back season and a playoff berth in his rookie year two years ago, Matt Ryan was considered by many to be the savior of the franchise. Now, after a mediocre 9-7 finish last year that was plagued by injury for Ryan, he’s looking to bounce back once more.
Keep in mind, in the NFC South in the last 10 years, no team has won the division in back-to-back years. Every team has a chance to win it each year, except for the Bucs who aren’t going anywhere fast. Ryan’s Falcons have an excellent chance at winning the division this year, given the prospect of good health. Michael Turner, who was also injured last year, has the opportunity to return to the form that he showed two years ago where he rushed for 1,700 yards.
Wide out Roddy White has shown that he can be a reliable go-to guy. Tony Gonzalez is still in the mix. Although he is getting up in years, he has shown he can still produce with the best tight ends in the game as evidenced by his 867 yards last year.
I’m also interested to see if defensive end John Abraham can return to form from two years ago where he recored 16.5 sacks.
It seems like everything was mired in mediocrity for the Falcons last year. This year presents a very good chance to snag a wild card spot, if not the NFC South. I look for them to win the division, going 11-5.
By Josh Delp of the Sports Fan Blog Network
