Atlanta Falcons are a team that will surprise the league in 2020

Atlanta Falcons are a team that will surprise the league in 2020.

In 2018 and 2019, the Atlanta Falcons left a lot to be desired. While it’s easy to point fingers at this excuse or that, it all comes down to the players on the field and their performance. It hasn’t been up to par and this must change in 2020. Bleacher Reports Maurice Moton hints at such change.

Off the bat, the Atlanta Falcons are given the short end of the stick, in terms of league projections. This is mainly due to the never-ending glorification of New Orleans and the NFL’s greatest hype-train, 43-year-old Tom Brady, joining the Tampa Bay Bucs.

While Brady has most certainly earned the hype that follows him, it’s tough to assume he will have that same success in 2020 due to the limitations that have presented the league this offseason.

Without having played a down in Tampa, you can’t put them over the Falcons just yet, but maybe that’s just the homer in me.

The Atlanta Falcons added Todd Gurley to reignite the Falcons ground game that has been wildly disappointing in recent years. In 2019, the Atlanta Falcons boasted a 25th ranked red-zone offense, in terms of touchdowns scored. The Falcons hope to improve upon this with Gurley as all 14 of his rushing touchdowns in 2019 came from within the 15-yard line.

Another note on the offensive side of the ball, ESPN listed Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley as the best wide receiver duo in the league, but this isn’t news to Atlanta Falcons fans. The Atlanta Falcons are not short of pass-catchers behind the two stars.

Russell Gage has proven to be up to the challenge and newcomer Hayden Hurst brings forth major promise as he is asked to replace the productivity of Austin Hooper. If you’re a fantasy football player, Hurst might be a hot pickup with very little notoriety.

Moton also echoed that having a healthy Keanu Neal is important for this Atlanta Falcons defense to improve in 2020. The addition of both Neal and Dante Fowler will greatly improve how aggressive this defense will become and has the potential to pick up where 2019 left off.

With regards to the improbable turnaround late in 2019, the Atlanta Falcons ranked seventh in points allowed for the final four weeks, all the while facing two of the NFL’s best scoring offenses in Tampa and San Francisco.

If the Atlanta Falcons do in fact want to shock the league in 2020, they will be tested from the start as the Falcons will have to endure a gauntlet of several tough games to start the season. That’s before playing four divisional games in seven weeks to end the season.

In addition to those divisional games, the Atlanta Falcons will have to face off against the defending Super Bowl champs Kansas City, Las Vegas Raiders (whom Moton slates as the league’s number one surprise team), and the Los Angeles Chargers (Moton’s third team to shock the league in 2020) all within the final seven weeks of the season.

As 2020 is rapidly approaching, although it really doesn’t seem like such, scenes from training camp have been pretty positive. However, it has been tough to gauge how much improvement there truly is as not many outsiders can have a look as to what is going on during the day. So it’s all really just speculation at this point.