The Atlanta Falcons are clearly not Super Bowl contenders

The Indianapolis Colts made one thing very clear to the Atlanta Falcons Sunday, they are not a Super Bowl contender.

Atlanta Falcons players talked about it during training camp, Dan Quinn echoed his players’ thoughts. Owner Arthur Blank said in the preseason, nothing less than a trip to Miami would cost people jobs. After three weeks, the Atlanta Falcons clearly are not a Super Bowl contending team.

The good news is they do not have to be.

Playing at a high level in September for football teams is inconsequential and does not win any trophies or rings. Teams want to be playing their best football heading into December as they work toward the end of the year and the playoffs.

Peaking too soon and you are one and done in the playoffs. Peaking too late means you missed the playoffs and lost a lot of games you should not have. Championship level teams find the sweet spot in between the two and build.

The Falcons have to start playing good competitive football before finding themselves down three scores in games. We have now seen this team allow teams to jump out to huge leads and then have to fight back. This team is talented enough that there is a belief that they can, but imagine if they executed on both sides of the ball for four quarters.

Dan Quinn and this coaching staff have to do a better job of coaching and preparing this team. They have been outcoached and outclassed in all three games this season. They have to find an identity quickly and get their act together.

To say this team is incapable of winning a Super Bowl after three games would be stupid, but they are running out of time to start putting it together. The schedule does them no favors and is going to feature quarterbacks with more talent and experience than Jacoby Brissett.

The 2019 version of the Falcons has a lot of questions that have to be answered. Sadly, these are the same questions that have had to be answered for most of the last decade and questions that Dan Quinn was supposed to be able to answer.

The post-game rhetoric and excuses from Quinn, Matt Ryan, and Atlanta Falcons in house media has to stop and this team better get its act together before it is too late and another year of Julio Jones and Matt Ryan are wasted.