2009 NFL season in review: Atlanta Falcons

A 9-7 record isn’t all that bad, but for the Atlanta Falcons coming off an 11-5 2008 it is somewhat of a step back. It seems the main problem for this club was its inability to bounce back from a loss. All the teams losses in 2009 came in bunches. Of course they did not follow up their loss to the New England Patriots with a loss, but they did head into the bye week on that down note. Those stats suggest this is a team that just barely missed the playoffs, and that seems to hold up. What this team needs is a tweak to the defense, and they should be just fine.

The Falcons scored 363 points in 2009, or 22.7/game and that was good enough for the13th best offense in the NFL. QB Matt Ryan completed 58% of his passes, and threw for 2,916 yards, 22 touch downs. The bad side of that was he also threw 14 picks, not terrible but still a little high. On the ground they gained 1,876 yards with Michael Turner leading the way with 871 yards.

The defense wasn’t terrible but they did give up 325 points or 20.3 points/game. Their point differential was +38 so they out scored their opponents on average by 2.4 points/game. Their take away differential was +3, so if Ryan can throw a few less INT’s and the defense can actively attack the ball that number can come way up. Since they recorded 28 sacks and gave up over 4,000 passing yards the work that needs to be done is clearly of the defensive side of the ball.

It seems the plan should be to add a pass rushing Defensive end, and then some help in the defensive secondary. With the 19th pick in the upcoming NFL draft they should be in a prime position to address at least one of those needs. Once they add a few playmakers to their defense we should see them back in the playoffs.

Related Links:

•Atlanta Falcons news and notes
•2010 NFL Draft news, notes, and rumors
•2010 NFL Mock Drafts
•2010 NFL Free Agents