Jan 20, 2013; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez (88) celebrates a touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers during the second quarter of the NFC Championship game at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

SI compiled a list of athletes that are most deserving of a title and Michael Rosenberg put Tony Gonzalez at the top of that list.

Catching 1,242 passes for 14,268 yards and 103 touchdowns is great Hall of Fame numbers for any wide receiver.  Considering that Tony Gonzalez is a Tight End is “outright ridiculous.”  Rosenberg noted that of his sixteen years in the league, he has only played with two noteworthy quarterbacks, Trent Greene who was only slightly above average and Matt Ryan who is probably the best Quarterback the Falcons have ever seen.  He was still able to amass an inconceivable amount of yards, touchdowns and catches.

Of course it’s not just his pure talent; it’s his great winning attitude.  He generally loves the game and never acts a fool.  He’s a man amongst men on and off the field and just a good person in general.  He is a first ballot Hall of Famer but until just last year, has never won a single playoff game.  In fact, he’s only made it to a few.

His work ethic is unbelievable.  He only missed a single game in his entire 16 year career.  He always shows up to work and you never hear any negativity from this guy.  There aren’t many people like that in the league nowadays.

But please, can someone think of a single player who deserves a championship more than Tony Gonzalez?

Oct 14, 2012; Atlanta, GA, USA; The Atlanta Falcons offense huddles around quarterback Matt Ryan (2) during the second half at the Georgia Dome. The Falcons defeated the Raiders 23-20. Mandatory Credit: Josh D. Weiss-USA TODAY Sports

First I want to apologize that I had not submitted any writing the last two days, I had some unexpected problems come up that made my access to a computer very limited.

But I wanted to bring up a topic that had been in my mind and I wanted some feedback from you guys.  With an outstanding offense, how important is defense?

Now don’t get me wrong, I would never suggest that you can do anything more than just get by with a bad defense. But in my last post, I pointed out that the Defense really isn’t all that bad.  They are one of the best teams to keep points off the board.  They had problems covering tight ends in the playoffs and had a hard time stopping the run along with the obvious pass rush problem.  However, except for a single game in Carolina, The Falcons actually fared well against rushing quarterbacks.  Michael Vick was a non-threat, Colin Kaepernick barely rushed at all and the only reason he looked any good statistically was the amount of times the tight end was so incredibly open.  Atlanta took Robert Griffin III out of the game, and was able to hold down Russell Wilson.  The defense is not bad, but it could obviously be improved upon and that’s why so much has gone into improving.  But how much better does it need to be to get the Falcons to the Super Bowl?

Matt Ryan had a career year and only shows signs of improvement.  He’s accurate at any point of the field and has a strong arm.  He has two number one receivers in Roddy White and Julio Jones.  He has a Hall of Fame tight end that rocks the red-zone with Tony Gonzalez.  Even Harry Douglas can catch all over the field.  On top of that, he has TWO running backs with great hands.  Steven Jackson will be the check down man along with Jacquizz Rodgers.  But with the Quzz and Jackson running the ball, the running woes the Falcons have faced in the past just won’t really be there, I don’t care how many miles you say Steven Jackson has on his tires.  He will stretch the field and has the ability to run past defenses.

Last year, Julio Jones made the “Pick your poison” argument that there were three great receivers that needed to be double-teamed to be taken out of the game and that that’s just not going to happen.  You can’t cover everyone at once.  Going 13-3 with a playoff win seems to show that argument was a pretty decent one.  But say hypothetically a defense could cover all three at once and still put pressure on Matt Ryan.  Guess who’s open now.  Steven Jackson will be there almost every time for a few yards.  The offense may be unstoppable.  The only thing Atlanta need is a defense that isn’t terrible and they have that with Mike Nolan making calls.  Take out a few risky throws that Matt Ryan makes and I dare you to name a defense that will be able to stop them.

I hate to say it (I actually love it) but I honestly believe the only way to beat the Falcons is to Outscore them while their defense just tries to hold on.  The biggest teams the NFC have a star-studded defense and some offensive weapons, but I don’t think Seattle and San Francisco can outscore Atlanta this year no matter how good their defense is.

Thoughts?

May 29, 2013; Flowery Branch, GA, USA; Atlanta Falcons running back Steven Jackson (39) takes a hand off from quarterback Matt Ryan (2) during organized team activities at the Falcons Training Complex. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Championship teams play football for 60 minutes…

Atlanta’s dilemma last year was that they only played for 30.

Finishing games is just as important as getting off to a hot start, but, I’m sure Mike Smith and every other head coach currently in the NFL knows this. It’s a philosophy heavily-preached in every locker room, and the top teams can get it done on a consistent basis. The Falcons set out to solve the problem by adding Steven Jackson to the offense; However, some think the acquisition is insignificant for a couple of reasons…

1. He will be 30 when the season starts.

2. He’s almost 30.

He will be 30 by the time the season starts, and even the best of running backs tend to fall off around that age, so most don’t see him as a upgrade to Turner who was also his 30′s before being released. But, what the detractors of this move don’t seem to understand is that Atlanta is not in dire need of a 2,000 yard rusher. Jackson is the starting back on a offense that features Matt Ryan and the strongest receiving core in the NFL… So Jackson won’t have to carry the team, just the ball.

Jackson also brings with him a work ethic similar to future HOF’er Tony Gonzalez. I’ve seen photos of him at the OTA’s and to say he looks ‘rock-solid’ would be a understatement. His blue-collar approach to the game fits in well with the Falcons and it’s safe to say he plans on being in top shape for the duration of his contract, which is more than what I could say for Turner. Jackson may not have the top-5 ability that he showed early in his career at St. Louis, but he brings with him a skill-set that will keep an aggressive defense honest.

He (still) has the power and shiftiness to create his own holes, which takes pressure off the O-line to create gaping lanes on every run play. The run game is key to winning the 2nd-half of football games and it pays to have a back that can get creative as the O-line wears down over the course of the game. He fights for every yard, which will be key for converting those 3-and-2′s or 1′s. He also won’t have to come out on obvious passing downs seeing as he catches and blocks well.

Also, lets not forget the experience he has against NFC West teams. The Seahawks and the Niners at the moment are the only two teams that stand in the way of a Falcons Super Bowl and he’s terrorized those two teams for years. Ask Patrick Willis how tough he is to bring down.

With that being said I still think Mike Smith will resist using Jackson heavily at the beginning of games in order to keep him fresh for the season and the playoffs, similar to what they did with Turner. As a matter of fact the game plan won’t change that much from when we had Turner…Jackson does open up the playbook and helps the team in more ways than one, but I’m sure Smith and Dirk Koetter will save their best for the post-season. Steven Jackson comes in with the responsibility of converting tough yardage and  keeping Atlanta’s defense off the field in the 2nd-half. Because while we have some Pro-Bowl talent on that side of the ball, this is far from the 2001 Ravens or Steel Curtain-type unit.

Does Atlanta need a 2,000 yard rusher to get to the Super Bowl? No, but a big year shouldn’t be out of the question. Curtis Martin and Ladainian Tomlinson are a couple of examples of backs who were productive their 10th year in the league. At best I expect a 1300/15 TD season from him. Like I mentioned earlier, we don’t need him to carry the team…

Only the football