I guess it was bound to happen. Win a bunch of games, make the playoffs, and get rewarded with a difficult scheduled. It does not help that the NFC South is a very tough conference, making six games a year iffy propositions. I suppose this is better than the alternative; have a down year, get an easy schedule.
At this point the Falcons have 16-1 odds of winning the Super Bowl, which pretty much means Atlanta is not even in the preseason conversation, but it is still nice to not see “you are a dumb ass to even look” type odds. I like to call that progress. I guess it could also be a fool’s hope – Mezzanine Endzone season tickets will make a fool of you (or at least me).
The Falcons’ 2009 schedule is tough as nails:
-Week 1: Sunday, Sept. 13 MIAMI DOLPHINS 1:00 p.m.
-Week 2: Sunday, Sept. 20 CAROLINA PANTHERS 1:00 p.m.
-Week 3: Sunday, Sept. 27 at New England Patriots 1:00 p.m.
-Week 4: BYE WEEK
-Week 5: Sunday, Oct. 11 at San Francisco 49ers 4:05 p.m.
-Week 6: Sunday, Oct. 18 CHICAGO BEARS 8:20 p.m.
-Week 7: Sunday, Oct. 25 at Dallas Cowboys 4:15 p.m.
-Week 8: Monday, Nov. 2 at New Orleans Saints 8:30 p.m. ESPN
-Week 9: Sunday, Nov. 8 WASHINGTON REDSKINS 1:00 p.m.
-Week 10: Sunday, Nov. 15 at Carolina Panthers 1:00 p.m.
-Week 11: Sunday, Nov. 22 at N.Y. Giants 1:00 p.m.
-Week 12: Sunday, Nov. 29 TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS 1:00 p.m.
-Week 13: Sunday, Dec. 6 PHILADELPHIA EAGLES 1:00 p.m.
-Week 14: Sunday, Dec. 13 NEW ORLEANS SAINTS 1:00 p.m.
-Week 15: Sunday, Dec. 20 at N.Y. Jets 1:00 p.m.
-Week 16: Sunday, Dec. 27 BUFFALO BILLS 1:00 p.m.
-Week 17: Sunday, Jan. 3 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1:00 p.m.
For starters, I think getting the bye in week 4 sucks; week 5, 6, or 7 would be a better check point. From a home schedule standpoint, I wish Atlanta picked up a different team than Chicago; saw them last year, and adding Cutler does not make the Bears any more compelling. Getting Miami, Philadelphia, Washington, and Buffalo is nice. I have never seen any of those teams in person, so I am looking forward to those games.
So where to from here? The Falcons have never had back-to-back winning seasons, so that has to be the first order of business. May as well get that monkey off their collective backs, and make the playoffs to boot. While Carolina is always strong, I do not see them winning the division. Tampa Bay is rebuilding. New Orleans will bounce back this year, making the South a tossup between the Falcons and Saints. At least that is my early predraft guess.
