Atlanta Falcons: After impressive victory, Falcons are becoming birds of prey
By Curtis Hobbs
There is no better feeling than the days after a win. The signs of change that has come with the new Atlanta Falcons season leaves all of us a little giddy. The return of an actual NFL defense has to be one of the biggest takeaways from the game with the Eagles. But how does the birth of this defense and reawakening of the high flying offense propel the Falcons for the rest of the year?
As said before, the biggest takeaway from the game last night had to be the defense who proved opportunistic for most of the game, serving as a the safety net to the offense. What was once a liability is becoming more of a strength, and it is at the perfect time heading into the forthcoming weeks against some teams that, in my opinion, should play into the strengths of the defense.
The reason why is simple: when the Eagles came out of the gate, they played the prototypical NFL offense where they tried to establish the run and working the sidelines for the deep threat. As you saw, it wasn’t until they changed their plan to the Oregon sweeps and dinks that the Philly offense began to move the ball. This shows the defense has finally turned the corner as there are only a few NFL teams that replicate what we saw in the second half offense from the Eagles… and they are not the teams on the schedule.
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If you are a fan of the first half defense, you can breathe a sigh of relief as there are no Darren Sproles or Ryan Mathews sweeps coming from the teams on the schedule, and the retooled secondary will continue to have to emerge against a group of better receivers scattered throughout the schedule (DeAndre Hopkins and Odell Beckham specifically).
With the defense finally shaking off the paralysis that had plagued the franchise for years, it allows this offense to showcase the supporting cast to the Julio Jones show with Tevin Coleman, Roddy White and Leonard Hankerson. And this will only prove itself more as the once-weak offensive line grows in strength and power against defensive fronts not up to the level of the Eagles who, as I have said previously, have a front seven that will extinguish most offensive lines and running games.
As we head into the forthcoming weeks, it is easy to feel excited, thinking that this is finally what every Falcons fan has hoped for so long. Yes, it is early, but there are signs that show this could be a very impressive season. The clouds of doubt are beginning to evaporate slowly after an impressive and solid victory last night by the Falcons.
There is still much to be answered, but if the Falcons were hoping for a sign of change, they have found it, and the somewhat easy schedule lying before the Falcons helps too. Remember what you thought at the end of the first half last night, and watch the wounded franchise become birds of prey the rest of the season.
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