2026 Atlanta Falcons Preview

There were some positives for the 2025 Atlanta Falcons but the fact that they came out of the season without a true #1 quarterback was huge.  Michael Penix was hurt and went 3-6 in the nine games he started.  Kirk Cousins wasn't the answer.  They could rush the ball and were able to get interceptions.  Outside of those two areas, they struggled and went 8-9 in a weak division.  

They brought in Tua Tagovaila but he doesn't inspire confidence moving forward.  There are some weapons on offense in Bijan Robinson and Drake London but without a stable and good quarterback they'll go to waste.  Kyle Pitts had an excellent year and received a big contract.  Atlanta was in a tough spot.  He hadn't performed before 2025.  It was either give him the extension or let him go.  

I do think there is talent on the roster.  Unfortunately, it hasn't equated to wins.  Unless Tua or Penix step up, I don't think they get back to 8 wins.  The schedule is tough as they'll have to face the AFC North.  Receiver Johan Dotsan was maybe their flashiest move in free agency and doesn't move the needle.  Unless the team makes major advances at QB and on defense, it could be a miserable season. 

2025 Atlanta Falcons Preview

The Atlanta Falcons came off a year filled with turmoil after taking Michael Pennix in the first round of the draft and alienating starter Kirk Cousins, whom they had just signed to a big contract.  Cousins went on to a horrible season and was benched.  Somehow Atlanta won 8 games and was very close to winning a very bad division.  But they were not good.  Let's make no mistake.

Their defense, in particular their rushers, were bad and they hopefully addressed that through their offseason free agent pickups and the draft.  Atlanta gave up a lot to draft James Pearce in the second round so a lot is riding on the moves.  It's a lot to ask for but they gave up the 23rd most points per game in the league (31st in touchdowns given up).  I do think they can make a leap forward but I'm not sure how much.

The offense now belongs to Michael Pennix.  We only saw him in three games as a starter and so far I haven't seen anything that makes me think he's the guy to take us to the next level.  I hope I'm wrong.  They still have a great running game, but the receiving corps isn't excellent.  I like Drake London but I'm not sure the rest of the receiving corps is consistent enough to help out the young QB.  The team has made the offensive line a priority which is always a good thing.

Atlanta has to beat bad teams which is something they didn't do consistently last season.  Maybe Pennix can get them to the next level.  That said I don't see them making the playoffs.  Too many teams better than them and I expect the Bucs don't falter this season like they did in 2024.  Looking at the schedule I see 7 wins.  That could really fluctuate based on the play at QB.  It all begins and ends at QB.  If that isn't figured out, they'll struggle.

2022 Atlanta Falcons Preview

 Atlanta Falcons:  The Atlanta Falcons struggled last year and that was with Matt Ryan.  Now they have Marcus Mariotta under center with third-round draft pick Desmond

Ridder waiting in the wings.  Neither make you think this will be a high

flying offense even with stud tight end Kyle Pitts.  Cordarrelle Patteson

had a great season as a hybrid RB/WR.  He provided some spark to the offense

and rushing capability to a team that didn't seem to have a good RB option

to start the season.  Losing Calvin Ridley for the year is a huge loss

(suspension).  The o-line might be better so that is always helpful.  Some

good weapons on offense but I don't know if it makes any really strides.

That will boil down to Marriota who is capable but no one thinks he is the

long term solution.

The defensive line could be better with some top draft picks being used on

that side of the ball.  The linebacker corps has been revamped.  The

defensive backs are anchored by excellent corner A.J. Terrell and newly

signed Casey Hayward Jr.  This gives Atlanta the best corners they had in

years and they have some depth to lean on.  So the defense could be better and that 

is a good thing as they were horrible on defense last year.   

Some folks are high on the young talent Atlanta has but I doubt that

translates to much this year though they could be more competitive in games.

That's what this year will be is seeing what some of those young guys bring

to the team.  Will they give them hope for the future?  While Atlanta fans

can't expect much in the win column this is all about the future.

1992 Fleer Football Team Sets - Falcons and Bills

1992 Fleer:  I'll kick off the return to NFL football by showing off some team sets of my Falcons and Bills I picked up last year.  Today is 1992 Fleer.  We'll kick it off with an all-time Bills great Pro Visions card which looks pretty good.  Lots of color and nice art.

So this was one of those great 90's Buffalo teams but somehow there is no Jim Kelly or Bruce Smith in the set.  I'm lost.  How does that happen?  A grudge against Fleer?  Exclusive contract?  hmmm  At least we still get plenty of other greats from the team.  I'm a big fan of James Lofton starting when he was a Packer so him joining the Bills was great for me.

The '92 design is good but not great.  Simple and plenty of room for the photos.  The backs are fine with a different phot taking up the entirety of the background which I like.  These three were all known as really good players "doing the little things" that help great teams win.  The 1992 Buffalo Bills would to on to lose their 3rd straight Super Bowl...<cries quietly>

The Falcons on the other hand would have the first of two consecutive 6-10 seasons which would cost coach Jerry Glanville his job.  Still some all-time Falcon greats on this team to include Jessie Tuggle and Bill Fralic.  Michael Haynes was a favorite of mine who was a speedster on the outside.

Bob Whitfield would go on to a long career with Atlanta while Chris Miller could never take the next step in his career as a Falcon.  

Mike Kenn is another all-time Falcon great who probably has a Hall of Fame candidacy to be made.  Same could be said for Hinton who is primarily known for his time with Indy.  Pritchard and Rison helped anchor an excellent receiving corps.  A shame this team couldn't do more. 

2021 Atlanta Falcons Preview

 

The Falcons were just bad last year.  And the defense was horrible.  Just horrible.  The offense was average but had no running game leaving everything to Matt Ryan.  He can only do so much and the offense struggled to score when it needed to.  Outside of taking TE Kyle Pitts with the #4 pick in the draft Atlanta did go defense heavy the rest of the draft.  It's hard to see there being major improvement this year but they can't be as bad as last year.  I hope.  Ryan is 36 this year so you have to wonder how much longer we have of him.  I get he's not an elite quarterback but it's not like there are better options readily available.  I see them getting to six wins this year but anything past that would mean big improvements over last year.  It can happen but we'll see.  Right now I just hope for improvements.  The Falcons have to give us hope.  Go Falcons!

Atlanta Falcons Fire Coach and General Manager

The 0-5 Atlanta Falcons fired coach Dan Quinn and GM Thomas Dimitroff.  I'm not a fan of firing coaches mid season but Quinn was already on the hot seat coming in to this season.  Add in five straight losses to start the season including two fourth quarter collapses and you knew it was coming.  As a Falcons fan this is tough.  Quinn took Atlanta to the Super Bowl before collapsing historically in the second half of that game.  The mental torture that was that second half <shudders>.  Since Kyle Shanahan left to be the 49ers coach the Atlanta offense hasn't been close to what it was in that Super Bowl year.  Atlanta hasn't made the playoffs since 2017 and it seems they have plenty of weapons on offense to be better.  Yes they have dealt with injuries on defense but honestly I think the failure of the offense is what doomed him - and of course the lack of wins.  It looked promising after a late surge in 2019 but it couldn't have started much worse this year.    

Dimitroff had hits and misses as GM but honestly he has to take blame as well.  Atlanta never could take advantage of Matt Ryan's prime after getting to the Super Bowl.  Sure players must take blame as well but looking at the roster as constructed, especially on defense there were too many issues and no depth.  I'm happy this happened but I am hoping the team can turn it around.  I think there are plenty of weapons on offense when healthy but the defense is a hot mess especially in the secondary.  Thanks to both of these guys for that Super Bowl.  Like most fans I just wish there would have been more success after that.

 

Merry Christmas! ...and Cards, Star Wars, Comic Books and more!

Merry Christmas to all and I hope Santa Clause was good to you.  He was to me...  First off were matching "I Want My MTV" for me and the wife from the kids.  I love this shirt and when MTV started it was right in my wheelhouse as I was soon to be a teenager.  Great fun.  Overall I'm extremely happy.  I received quite a few gifts I've wanted for a while now and my gifts were quite varied to keep me happy on many different fronts.

A 2015 Score football box which you'll see the results of sometime soon.  These are cheap options for football cards and a great fit for me. There is one auto or relic in each box.  I look forward to sharing my pull.

From our youngest daughter some Star Wars coffee mugs.  This won't be my last Stars Wars related gifts and you can't go wrong with Star Wars and me.  

The Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith steelbook.  I like the steelbook editions of some movies and I've been trying to complete the Star Wars series so this is a great present.  I've also needed some CD's to catch me up on bands I listen to so this of Beauty and Rage album from the band Red was a perfect gift.  I really enjoy their music and I'm hoping I can catch them in concert sometime soon.

Another daughter picked me up these:  Volume 1 of the Darth Vader canon comics.  This series has gotten very good reviews and I'm looking forward to some fun reading.  That crazy looking guy is an Atlanta Falcon pillow.  There is Velcro on the bottom that, when undone, helps it turn into a 13" pillow.  Pretty cool pickup from K-Mart before it closed.

Last but not least are the trade paperbacks of Green Lantern: Rebirth and Green Lantern: Fear.  I'm a big comic guy and Green Lantern is my favorite hero, but my comic reading has been at a standstill for a long time for me.  I'm hoping to catch up some on the great stories I've missed.  Geoff Johns did a great job in his reboot of Green Lantern and I can't wait to catch up on his books.

Again Merry Christmas to everyone.  I hope you had a great day.  

2018 Atlanta Falcons Season Preview

The 2017 Atlanta Falcons were able to parlay a 10-6 record into a playoff berth and upset the Los Angeles Rams before losing to the eventual Champion Philadelphia Eagles in the Divisional Round of the playoffs.  There's no reason to believe this team can't post double digit wins again as well as compete for the division title.  The offense which already has stars Julio Jones, Matt Ryan, and Devonta Freeman added star Alabama receiver Steven Ridley to the mix.  There is too much talent on this team to think their offense won't keep them in most games.  Despite 4,000 yards passing Ryan wasn't the player who won MVP in 2016.  Devonta Freeman fought through injuries and didn't put up big numbers and Julio Jones just couldn't find the end zone consistently. This offense is too good to struggle again or second year offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian may find himself looking for another job.

  The bend but don't break defense played admirably.  I can't really fault them for the Falcons issues.  They need to get after the quarterback more and improve on getting turnovers.  The Falcons didn't invest heavily on defense in the draft nor pick up any major players for that side of the ball so they'll need to scheme better to see any real improvement.  

I like coach Dan Quinn and based on the team's ability to reach the Super Bowl two years ago I have faith this team can turn it around.  The offense was historically good in 2016 but changing coordinators on that side of the ball seemed to make a huge difference to the negative.  I can't see that trend continuing.  The Falcons are in a tough division but I can see 11 wins for this team and a playoff berth.  Hopefully this season will see a team that is again worthy of a Super Bowl appearance.

2007 Atlanta Falcons Topps Team Set

This 2007 Topps set showcasing the 2005 Atlanta Falcons is not one of my favorites.  The black borders really don't do it for me.  The edges show wear, the names in foil are hard to read, and the border as a whole seems to take up way to much space on the card.  A team logo really could have served Topps better here as opposed to the the name centered at the top.  Faux signatures also don't do anything for me.

  As for the '06 team they had a disappointing 7-9 season.  Michael Vick had an outstanding year but somehow didn't make the Pro Bowl.  He rushed for 1000+ yards and two touchdowns while throwing 2400 yards against 20 TD's and 13 interceptions.  Warrick Dunn had just over 1100 yards and four rushing touchdowns.  Alge Crumpler again led the team in receptions and receiving yards.  While I know Crumpler was a good tight end I think his leading the team these three years was more a product of Michael Vick checking down and not able to get the ball down the field.

Four RC cards in this set.  No Pro Bowl cards this year. It would have been nice if they'd at least put the annotation on the base cards.  

No Matt Schaub this year. So what do they do?  They give us a Joey Harrington card.  Joey didn't play for Atlanta in '06 but would go on to start 10 games the next year.  It really makes you shake your head and wonder who had the job of picking players for each team.   

2006 Topps Atlanta Falcons Team Set

This 2006 Topps team set of the 8-8 2005 Atlanta Falcons.  Michael Vick wasn't quite the force on the ground as he was in 2004 and Falcons were not a playoff team.  Warrick Dunn rushed for over 1400 yards but only had three touchdowns on the ground.  Alge Crumpler once again led the team in receptions and yards receiving.  Both were selected to the Pro Bowl.  Star linebacker Keith Brooking was once again a Pro Bowl selection as well.    

Another "All-Pro" card here.  Ugh.  Still I'll be happy just having Pro Bowl cards in the set.  I like this Dunn card.

Overall this is a solid design and I will probably look for a few more singles from this set.

Pro Bowler Roderick Coleman was left out of this set.  He led the team with 10.5 sacks.  The backs are a bit bland but I won't complain any.  I've seen much worse.  Of course Matt Schuab gets another card and threw for a whopping 495 yards.  

2005 Topps Atlanta Falcons Team Set

The 2004 Atlanta Falcons are stylized on this 2005 Topps team set.  In his fourth year, Michael Vick led this team to an 11-4 record and to the NFC Championship game before falling to the Philadelphia Eagles.  Vick made the Pro-Bowl throwing for 2300 yards and rushing for just over 900 yards accounting for 17 touchdowns.  Warrick Dunn, an all-time favorite of mine, led the team with 1106 yards receiving and nine touchdowns.     

  I really like the design of these cards. which marked the 50th anniversary of Topps football cards.  These particular cards say All-Pro but they actually mean Pro Bowl.  Huge mistake by Topps since there is a very big difference between the two.  Still I enjoy Pro Bowl cards and I like these which star with in-game photos.

This set also shows Roddy White who was selected in the 1st round of the 2005 NFL Draft.  Alge Crumpler led the team in receptions and receiving yards while Allen Rossum was a standout return man.

For a team that threw for under 3000 yards they really focused in on the quarterbacks and receivers.  The defense didn't get much love.  An Schaub?  He only threw for 330 yards on the year which makes him an odd inclusion.  The backs are nice even if they aren't spectacular. Maybe they could have added Patrick Kerney who also made the Pro Bowl.  Definitely a set in which I'll search out more singles due to the nice design.

1988 Atlanta Falcons Topps Team Set

Catching up on some the team sets I've picked up over time.  This 1988 Topps Atlanta Falcons team set documents a 1987 team that won't be remembered for much other than their 3-12 record.  I do like the design here.  Incorporating the team helmet and denoting All-Pros is a big plus.    

Scott Campbell was the best of a rag tag group of QB's going 2-7 as a starter.  Gerald Riggs was solid with 875 yards on the ground averaging 4.3 yards per carry though he only scored two touchdowns.  Floyd Dixon led the team with 36 receptions, 600 yards receiving and five touchdowns.

Back when punters got cards.  He did average 44 yards per punt.

Tony Casillas was the #2 overall pick in the '86 draft but vastly underwhelmed before winning two Super Bowl Championships with the Cowboys.

Riggs was about all the Falcons had going for them so "Carries Heavy Load" wasn't a stretch.

1985 Atlanta Falcons Team Set

More team sets as I add the 1985 Topps Atlanta Falcons team set to my collection.  The team showcased here went 4-12 in '84.  Williams Andrews, my favorite Falcon of all-time, has a card here but did not play in '84 or '85 due to injury and would only play one more year (1986).  Gerald Riggs took over the rushing duties in a big way gaining over 1400 yards scoring 13 touchdowns and pulling in 42 receptions.  

 Atlanta great Steve Bartkowski shown here as is Stacey Bailey who led the team in receptions and receiving yards.  

We get a Kenny Johnson card but no Billy "White Shoes" Johnson card?  Fail.  Nothing against Kenny who led the '84 team in interceptions.  Greats Mike Kenn and Gerald Riggs show here.  Again action shots are rare in this set but I will say these cards showcase that great red Falcons uni.  The lack of the player's position is also a head scratcher. 

1983 Topps Atlanta Falcons Team Set

Not a bad design on these cards though they won't exactly wow you.  As always you'd love to see some action shots but that wasn't an option here.  Bartkowski (I have his jersey), Andrews and Alfred Jenkins are three of my all-time favorite Falcons and it is always nice see cards of those guys.

This team won it's division in '82 before losing in the first round of the playoffs.  There were some nice players on this Falcons team but I wouldn't say it was dominant.  

Fifteen total cards here counting the team leaders card.  This showed the players and stats from the '82 season shortened by the strike.  A guy like Andrews was hurt by the strike.  His career was cut short by an injury and seven more games could have meant another 700 yards to his total.  Definitely one of those guys we talk about differently if he had stayed healthy.  As is he'll always be loved by Falcons fans.  

Atlanta Falcons Lose to the Philadelphia Eagles in Divisional Playoff Game

Atlanta's offense has been shaky all year and it really played out that way against an Eagles defense that was able to get pressure and wouldn't let the Falcons convert on third down.  It was a frustrating game to watch as Atlanta just never looked comfortable or like they'd take the game over.  They should have beaten the Eagles but hats off to Philly.  Their defense played very well and their offense did what it needed to to win.  That last offensive play by the Falcons for the touchdown was not pretty to look at.  I'm not a fan of that fade play especially when you roll out.  It takes all the defenders to that side of the end zone.  Still Julio Jones had a shot at it and can make that play.  It just didn't happen.  Too bad as the defense played well.  Would have loved to have see Atlanta in the NFC Championship game but as poorly as the offense has played I wouldn't have much confidence they could have won.  Here' to next year and hopefully a better offense. 

Atlanta Falcons @ Philadelphia Eagles - Divisional Playoff Game

No one saw it due to my lack of posting about it but I had a good feeling about the Falcons-Rams game.  While it is hard to say Atlanta had been hot but they had won six of their last eight to end the season and make the playoffs.  The offense still isn't the 2016 "on fire" version we all fell in love with last year.  The good news is their defense is good and was very good against the run which helped them shut down the Rams.  This also bodes well going to Philly who will start their backup quarterback and will probably not want him having to throw any more than he has too.  Atlanta should win this weekend.  That isn't cockiness but Philadelphia isn't the same without Carson Wentz.  They do have a great run defense but the passing defense is average.  Hopefully the Falcons can exploit that.  So all that said this could be a trap game.  A few lucky bounces or turnovers and Atlanta could be wondering what if - again.  Either way I'll be watching come Saturday.