Eagles 24 Falcons 17

There's not much to say anymore. The season is over. The Atlanta Falcons finished the season at 7-9 following their loss on Sunday to the Philadelphia Eagles.

The first-team defense got shown up by Philly back-ups for the majority of the game. Michael Vick got hurt in the third quarter, but thankfully, it didn't look serious. The announcers sounded like they were already celebrating the New Year with a few drinks before they began broadcasting. It was a fitting end to the Falcons' season and to coach Jim Mora's tenure in Atlanta.

As of yesterday, Jim Mora is no longer the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. He started off great in Atlanta, going 11-5 in his initial season, with it ending in the NFC title game to Philadelphia. But, following 6-2 and 5-2 starts the past couple years, Atlanta has collapsed to 8-8 and 7-9 records.

Overall, the offense improved some in the three years, but there's been little to no balance. For the third consecutive season, Atlanta led the league in rushing, but they finished dead last in passing offense. They have been very inconsistent on the defensive side of the ball, as well. While I'm undecided on how I feel about Mora's departure (that'll depend on who they hire to replace him), I am content on seeing the likes of offensive and defensive coordinators Greg Knapp and Ed Donatell leave. Knapp looked decent at times, but more times than not, I had to wonder why in the world he'd call a certain play. Donatell was far too conservative defensively for the Falcons' quick and undersized unit. But, who will Atlanta get to replace the coaching staff is the big question now. Will Atlanta go in a new direction with and attempt to completely change a philosophy, and thus, their players on one or both sides of the ball? Will they just make due with what they have and attempt to maximize the potential of their current players? While they do have a very talented team, I don't believe they can be consistently successful going about things the way they have. They have far too small of an offensive line to be consistent offensively in the National Football League. If Atlanta truly wants to run a balanced offense, give Michael Vick time to throw the ball, give he and the receivers time to establish a rhythm, and open holes for the tailbacks, the Falcons will HAVE to dish the zone-blocking scheme and go for the more standard blocking method. In order to do this, they will need bigger linemen. Many want to blame Vick for the team's overall ineffectiveness inside the red zone. But, get this. The Falcons, as a team, average more yards per carry than anyone in football up to the red zone. They were LAST in the league in yards per carry inside the red zone. Why? With their smaller linemen and zone-blocking, it does not play into the tailback's favor in short-yardage situations. This was the case on third or fourth and shorts this year, as well. Atlanta may have gaudy rushing numbers, but when it counts, those small chunks of yards have not been attainable because of the problems I listed. Warrick Dunn averaged 5.1 yards per carry in his first five games this season. He averaged just 3.1 yards a carry in the remaining games. Atlanta did have some health issues at guard, so that may have dealt with the dramatic drop-off for Dunn, but that, to go along with the undersized linemen at the tackle and center positions, does not bode well for the Falcons. Warrick Dunn is a solid running back. Jerious Norwood is going to be a heck of a player. Michael Vick is as elusive as they come. The Falcons will still be up there in rushing yards at the end of the season if they go to a more traditional blocking method. They will also improve on their passing statistics. The Falcons' receivers have had issues in dropping balls, but I believe that with better pass protection, Vick and his wideouts will be able to establish better timing and chemistry with one another. It all starts up front. I don't care how great a quarterback, a running back, or a receiver is, if the linemen are small or not very good, then it's not going to matter. Edgerrin James has been one of the best and most consistent tailbacks for quite some time, when he was in Indianapolis, behind a steady line. When he came to Arizona, it was a completely different story with their atrocious line. Did James' abilities and talents drop off that much in one year? No, of course not. But, it's hard for a guy to consistently find holes that aren't there to run through in the first place. It's hard for a young quarterback (or any) like Matt Leinart to establish a rhythm when his back is on the grass half the time. It's also difficult for receivers to establish much rhythm when the quarterback is having to rush his throws. It all starts up front offensively and defensively, for that matter. A team will be more successful with a great line and average skill players than the other way around. If Atlanta doesn't fix this problem, they're going to be inconsistent. People wonder why Michael Vick gets sacked so much, since he's the quickest quarterback to ever play the game. Have you ever watched the Falcons? Ever seen their line perform? It's painful to watch. Atlanta has all the talent in the world everywhere else. With Vick at quarterback, Dunn and Norwood at tailback, Justin Griffith at fullback, Alge Crumpler at tight end, and Brian Finneran, Ashley Lelie, Roddy White, and Michael Jenkins at receiver, the missing piece of the puzzle on offense is the line, plain and simple. Could they use that one dynamite receiver? Yeah, of course. But, what's needed most right now is a line that can consistently protect Vick in the passing game and open holes for the running game.

Defensively, Atlanta needs help in the secondary, especially at one corner position (opposite DeAngelo Hall) and one safety position (opposite Lawyer Milloy). Chris Crocker did not play well this year and Jason Webster, when he was healthy, was about as certain a completed pass for the opposition as one could ask for. Rookie Jimmy Williams has potential, so we'll have to see how well and how quickly he develops. The Falcons could also use some help on the ends. John Abraham is a stud when healthy, but he wasn't healthy much this year. Patrick Kerney has also battled injuries in the past couple seasons, and he's not getting any younger. Key injuries on the defensive side of the ball has belittled the Falcons in games the past couple season. They can't consistently rely on their second and third stringers to keep them in ball games. Grady Jackson was a nice pick-up and helped Atlanta immensely against the rush. Michael Boley and DeMorrio Williams are appearing to be steals. Abraham is great when he's in there. Rod Coleman is a menace for opposing teams. DeAngelo and Lawyer are elite players at their positions. Brooking is still very solid. Ed Hartwell has yet to show me what he can do consistently when healthy. The talent is there on defense, but I've yet to see it all work cohesively as a unit. I'd much prefer the Falcons trade Hartwell in attempt to nab a decent safety or end, move Brooking to the middle and start Boley and DeMorrio on the outside. I'd rather Atlanta let go of Kerney and pick up an established and non-injury prone end to replace him and establish some depth behind Abraham, in case he gets hurt again. Whoever replaces Donatell has to attack the quarterback more often. Atlanta was supposed to be one of the most disruptive rushing teams this year, with a front four that consisted of Abraham, Kerney, and Coleman. Coleman started most of the year, but Abraham and Kerney were hardly in there, so the sacks had to come from elsewhere, and rarely did they come at all. If you give any NFL quarterback too much time, he's going to burn you and that's what happened far too often to the Falcons. Many liked to solely blame the secondary, but part of the blame has to go to the lack of pressure exuded on the quarterback.

I don't know where the Falcons are going to go from here, but I see things this way: Their defense needs a new philosophy and added depth to play to their strengths and the offense needs a new philosophy all together. I sincerely hope they undergo such changes, or else they'll be stuck in mediocrity, having to battle it out until weeks 16 and 17 to fight for a wild card spot.