NFL Power Rankings: No Respect for Falcons?
The Atlanta Falcons have had three straight losing seasons, and the overhaul began last year when head coach Dan Quinn and general manager Thomas Dimitroff were fired.
Arthur Smith was brought in from the Tennessee Titans as head coach after a successful stint as offensive coordinator. Long-time New Orleans Saints executive Terry Fontenot was hired as general manager to oversee the front office.
Great. But ...
Touchdown Wire's Mark Schofield doesn't see much improvement being made by that duo as he placed the Falcons 26th in his pre-training camp power rankings.
Schofield writes of the Falcons,
As someone who loved Justin Fields as a prospect, and salivated at the idea of him in an Arthur Smith offense, it was still exciting to see the Atlanta Falcons draft Kyle Pitts in the first round with the fourth overall selection. Based on his film and athletic profile, Pitts looks the part of the “unicorn,” the matchup nightmare of a player who can operate against cornerbacks, linebackers and safeties alike.
But the the Falcons traded away Julio Jones, sending him to the Tennessee Titans. Sure, Atlanta was in a somewhat difficult place with the salary cap, but if the team was going to make such a trade, then perhaps looking to the future with a quarterback might have been the right move.
So the question facing the Falcons is this: Are they rebuilding, retooling, or in franchise purgatory, somewhere in the middle?
Discounting the fact that purgatory by definition means somewhere in the middle, Schofield isn't alone with his doubts about Atlanta's direction.
ESPN doesn't think much of Atlanta's chances of improving over the next few years, either. They ranked the Falcons 26th on their futures list which takes a look at the next three seasons.
While Fontenot and the Falcons won't use the term "rebuild,'' and to be fair, it's hard to rebuild with no room under the salary cap, we'd suggest this isn't a roster built to win now.
New defensive coordinator Dean Pees should be able to improve the Falcons 29th ranked defense. But that will be all on Pees as the Falcons have done little to improve the personnel on defense in the offseason.
Smith will bring better balance to the offensive attack. Calvin Ridley has proven to be a No. 1 receiver, and rookie tight end Kyle Pitts should be able to at least replicate Jones' numbers from last year.
READ MORE: The Falcons have a Slate of Winnable Games
A marginal improvement on offense and defense could prove to be a massive improvement on Atlanta's 4-12 record last season. The Falcons started the season 1-6 in 2020 and five of those losses were by less than a touchdown, including several almost statistically impossible blown leads.
If Smith can win some of those games that Quinn blew early in the season, the momentum could swing a different direction. A still very talented offense could help carry the Falcons up these power ranking lists out of the twenties and into the teens.
It might be tougher to get higher than middle of the pack with this defense, but 26th should be considered a failure in 2021.
