Could Falcons make the Super Bowl?

Since the cuts to reduce the number of players on the Falcons roster to 53 on Friday night, there hasn’t been a whole lot of news and/or notes out of Flowery Branch. I guess this is the calm before the storm that is the NFL season– not much is going on, everyone is keeping quiet, and rosters are mostly set before things get under way. The only news that I have to report is that the Falcons are going to go to the Super Bowl and lose to the Ravens.

Those are certainly not my predictions, but they are the prediction of Bill Polian, the former General Manager of the Indianapolis Colts. Polian engineered a Super Bowl champion Colts team, a team that was consistent contenders in the playoffs. It didn’t hurt that they had Peyton Manning in his prime leading those teams, but he wasn’t the only one doing positive things for those teams.

Here is the quote on why Polian believes it is likely for the Falcons to make the Super Bowl:

"I really think [quaretback Matt] Ryan is going to grow under new offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter, and I look for him to take a pretty big leap because of the nature of the offense. It will not be the run-heavy offense of the past. It will be more wide open, and Ryan will get a chance to spread his wings."

I agree with Polian that the offense under Matt Ryan is going to be a lot better, especially if he uses the no-huddle as much as we expect him to. He will take the big leap this season. I think the question is whether or not the Falcons can generate enough of a pass-rush to compete once in the playoffs.

It is a surprise to me that Polian believes the Falcons will make the Super Bowl. A team that is always talked about as a potential championship team is the Ravens. Polian has the Ravens beating the Falcons, but they would have to do it on the strength of Ray Rice and their defense. Joe Flacco is a fine quarterback and got screwed by the dropped pass in the AFC Championship game last year, but during the regular season he has some really miserable games, and only completed 57% of his passes on the season. He has the big arm everyone looks for, but I don’t think he is closer to an elite level than Ryan is. Add the fact that Baltimore is missing its premiere pass-rusher in Terrell Suggs, and I don’t think the Ravens have any better or shot than the Falcons of making the Super Bowl.

What do you think are the Falcons chances at making the Super Bowl?