MVN - Most Valuable Network

Scantily clad cheerleaders under hot lights

Before you plunk down your hard earned money for Atlanta Falcon season tickets this season make sure you have an understanding of what to expect.  Odds are that the most exciting thing you will see are the aforementioned cheerleaders and not anything that resembles playoff contention football.

Now I’m not advising you to stay at home Sundays during the upcoming football season.  Actually I suggest the opposite.  Support of this team is crucial and it would be fantastic if this team could see  several sell-outs this season.  I just hope that expectation is set at a realistic level and that the mediocre play you will see on the field doesn’t resort to premature cries for the head of Arthur Blank on a plate or the resignation of Head Coach Mike Smith.

You see, I started to get sucked up in the post-draft hype.  Looking back over the draft it’s easy to get excited.  A quality draft combined with projecting possible starting lineups and depth charts can give one a real sense of excitement…at least on paper.  Looking at these lineups is what gave me an early case of Falcon Fever but it didn’t take long for my temp to come down and return to reality.

Looking over the names on the roster got my adrenaline pumping.  Abraham, Norwood, White, Turner, Brooking…..this is one helluva team I thought to myself.  Then as I moved starting lineups around I found one word being repeated over and over to myself.  It was becoming the team mantra and it sums up everything about the Falcons in 2008.  That word is “If”.

If Jamaal Anderson has a breakout season, the DLine should be Ok.  If Turner or Norwood can handle 25 carries a game the RB’s will be fine.  If the OLine can protect our QB we should be good.  If the Ryan/Redman can playaction then the team will move the ball.  If our corners can adapt to the cover 2, then our secondary will be great.  If Dimitroff knows his stuff, our rookies should be great.  If Mike Smith can bring this team together then we will be fine.

If, if, if.  Not the word you want for your team mantra.  Now I realize it is May, which is very early to be writing a team off, but give me a chance to explain my thought process here.  First and foremost, I am all for supporting this team in any variation.  I think that the right steps have been taken towards building a strong nucleus from which the team can grow.  I believe that Coach Smith and TD are the right guys for this job and I believe that with time, this franchise will become a formidable force in the NFL for many seasons to come.

That being said, our ride to glory as Falcon fans is going to take a little bit longer.  While most NFL teams could handle a crisis involving their starting QB and probably rebound the following season, it wont be that simple for the Falcons.  The loss of the starting QB to a felony conviction combined with the fiasco that was Bobby Petrino has set the Falcons back to the stone age in football terms. 

A couple of months ago I wrote a piece about the rebirth of the Falcons and I spoke about the lean times ahead and said that the fans have to be prepared for some bad football and even worse win/loss records before we tasted glory.  I reiterate those statements today and hope that the fans come in droves to see the Falcons play but do so only with the understanding that Rome wasn’t built in a day nor will the Falcons be built with one good draft and a lot of “ifs”.  Just remember that even if the football on the field is sub-par, you always have those cheerleaders to put a smile on your face.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 9th, 2008 at 4:28 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.