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Atlanta is not quite an elite football team. There, I said it. I sat in the SportsBook at Aliante Casino and Hotel here in Las Vegas with other random ATL fans to watch this game. I watched their faces and reactions in the first half; I noticed that we all came to the same realization about the same time. We’re not elite, and there’s a lot more work that needs to be done. Admitting this will only make us better as a fan base. Falcons fans must not go the way of the Braves fans, in denial and believing that our team is comparable to those teams you see deep in the playoffs. The Dallas Cowboys shouldn’t have posed as much of a challenge for us on Sunday.

7-0 vs 3-4. I don’t need to apply logistic regression to make sense of these numbers. Record alone would show that Atlanta is a better football team. Dallas failed to take advantage of Atlanta’s poor run defense only running 18 plays on the ground versus their average 24. To make matters worse, the Cowboys struggled to convert on 3rd down, 30% versus their pregame average of 43%. Dallas didn’t turn the ball over, but as usual they found a way to lose the game on their own. Enough about Dallas, my focus is on Atlanta and its inability, dare I say refusal, to be an elite football team.

Statistically, Dallas and Atlanta are very similar teams. Yards per game, total yards, pass heavy offense, third down conversion, etc. The difference between these teams is Matt Ryan, clutch plays, and the schedule. Yes I said the schedule! Dallas has played 5 of 7 games against division leaders. Matty Ice threw for 342 yards, Turner ran for over 100 yards with a TD, and both Julio Jones and Roddy White caught for over 100 yards. So what the heck happened in this game? Why am I so furious?! The red zone efficiency in this game was lacking; 4 trips to the red zone and only 1 score. Come on Maaaaaaannnn!!!! I can’t deny that if Bryant had made those 2 missed kicks, the score would have been 25-13, and I wouldn’t be as upset. Elite teams take care of business in the red zone, bottom line.

At home this season the Falcons margin of victory is only 3.3 points per win versus 15 points per win on the road. Random items: Matt Bryant missed 2 kicks and Matty Ice broke his streak of consecutive games having thrown a TD. These close games versus NFL nobodies won’t cut it in the playoffs. Rise Up, seriously.

Given that Romo throws nearly 2 interceptions per game and Atlanta is 3rd in the league at intercepting the football, it’s probable that Dallas will run more with the ball. Throw in that Atlanta is 26th in the league at stopping the run, and ‘probable’ becomes ‘self evident.’ However, Dallas is 31st in the league with a mere 3.6 yards per carry. Bill Callahan will probably use the spread to supplement the lack of run production, but don’t be fooled, you’ll see some Romo play action mixed in with a few pitch-outs.

The Dallas corners have led the team to the 3rd best pass defense in the NFL, and Atlanta relies heavily on the passing talents of Matt Ryan. The Falcons will have some challenge throwing the ball, but it’s nothing Matty Ice can’t handle. Expect to see more of Michael Turner and Jacquizz Rodgers in this game, as the Falcons mix in the run to their up tempo offense. All said and done, 24-21 ATL and 8-0 Falcons.

Petrino announced his decision to the Atlanta players by leaving a laminated 4 sentence letter in the Falcons locker room. What kind of a leader leaves his post mid battle; a coward can, a pathetic excuse for a man, a frightened fool more concerned about his own pride than the men following him to whatever end may come. 2006 to 2007 were terrible years to be Atlanta fans, dark days of double digit losses. Like me, many of you stood by these dirty birds through the good and the bad years. What a difference a coach like Mike Smith can make for a team, a franchise, a fan base, and the great city of Atlanta. So maybe Karma has her good days too, maybe good things do come to those(fans) who wait, and maybe others get their come-up-ins. Bobby Petrino got his in 2012.

Petrino was involved in a motorcycle accident, but for some reason he gave merky details regarding the incident. As it turns out Petrino had a female passenger on the bike with him; the same particular passenger he admitted to having an inappropriate relationship with. Having lied to everyone, the Arkansas leadership, his team, and worse of all his wife and family Petrino couldn’t get out of this one; he was fired, embarrassed, and ashamed in a scandal of his own making. If a man can’t remain faithful to his own wife, you can be sure he can leave his football team as well. Let’s be happy to have a coach like Mike Smith on board. Rise Up.