The Atlanta Falcons wide receiver said earlier this week he believes his team has the “pedigree†to run the table and be undefeated. Hall of Fame coach and retired broadcaster John Madden isn’t quite as smitten with the Falcons, who travel to New Orleans on Sunday. According to D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Madden preferred the word “solid†to describe the Falcons in his weekly show on SiriusXM NFL Radio. Solid isn’t how you would describe a frontrunner or a favorite, is it? “I think they have solid players,†Madden said, according to the report. “They are solid on offense, solid on defense, special teams, the whole thing. They play very well as a group, as a team. But at this halfway point, I know they are undefeated. They have the best record. But I’m not really ready to say, ‘OK the Super Bowl is theirs. They are the World Champions.’†Madden isn’t alone in his opinion and that is probably because the Falcons, when they have reached the postseason in recent years, have flopped, they were beaten handily by the New York Giants last year and blown out at home after the 2010 season when they had secured the No. 1 seed in the NFC only to be trampled by the sixth seed and eventual Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers. “But how are they going to do in the playoffs?†Madden said. “At some point, with the Falcons I think you can be ready to jump into the playoffs and say how are they going to do there and that’s where I would start to have questions.†Source: National Football Post
well, i don't think anyone is really giving them much of a chance. in fact, NFL bettors have put 5 or 6 other teams ahead of them as favorites to win the super bowl. in my mind, i think the falcons have 2 major issues that are legitimate reasons to not believe they are for real: #1 -- this falcons group has never shown any ability to 'ramp up' their caliber of play from September to January and teams that are playing at the same level in January that they did in September typically lose in the playoffs. #2 -- the falcons are still struggling to stop the run and in a conference with the 49ers, Bears, and Giants as potential playoff match-ups, those would not be good match-ups for them.
Playoffs...I think if they win their divisional game, play well in the conference championship, they'll begin to build some "street cred." I don't think they have to win they conference championship, but they have to at least be competitive...if that makes sense.
