By: Tim Childers (@1788sports, @childers1788)
After an agonizing seven months for Falcons fans, the NFL season is upon us. While the Falcons were able to keep most of their 2016 NFC Champion squad together, there was some new faces at a few key spots. After Offensive Coordinator Kyle Shanahan went to take the head coaching job at San Francisco, former USC and Washington head coach Steve Sarkisian was trusted to handle the Falcon's explosive offense. The other position with a major change was at right guard. Following the retirement of Chris Chester, Wes Schweizer won the starting right guard spot out of preseason. While the defense showed that they had built off of the improvements of last season, the offense struggled to get into a rhythm. The game was closer than it should’ve been, as the falcons hung on for a 23-17 win. Here are the five biggest talking points from the Falcons win on Sunday.
After an agonizing seven months for Falcons fans, the NFL season is upon us. While the Falcons were able to keep most of their 2016 NFC Champion squad together, there was some new faces at a few key spots. After Offensive Coordinator Kyle Shanahan went to take the head coaching job at San Francisco, former USC and Washington head coach Steve Sarkisian was trusted to handle the Falcon's explosive offense. The other position with a major change was at right guard. Following the retirement of Chris Chester, Wes Schweizer won the starting right guard spot out of preseason. While the defense showed that they had built off of the improvements of last season, the offense struggled to get into a rhythm. The game was closer than it should’ve been, as the falcons hung on for a 23-17 win. Here are the five biggest talking points from the Falcons win on Sunday.
Bears Front Seven Much Improved
This game featured two very explosive young defenses, but it was the Bears that was most surprising. Anchored by the play of defensive end Akiem Hicks, the Bears defense was able to get some pressure on Matt Ryan including two sacks by Hicks. Chicago's Defense also made it almost impossible for Atlanta to run the ball, limiting both Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman to a combined 53 yards on 20 rushing attempts. While Atlanta was able to get much going for short yardage, they gashed the Bears defense for some big pass plays including an 88 yard touchdown reception from second year tight end Austin Hooper, the longest reception by a tight end in the NFL regular season since 1974.
Falcons Pass Rush Comes Alive
Much was said about the Falcons defense after the Super Bowl loss. After getting gassed in the final quarter and a half, both Defensive Coordinator Richard Smith and D-Line Coach Bryan Cox were let go. There wasn't much change in style for the Falcons Defense; they still were as quick and physical as they were last season. The change in the defense came with the play of the new faces. Devondre Campbell excelled in his new role after switching from weakside to strongside linebacker in the offseason. Rookies Duke Riley and Takkarist McKinley looked good even though the latter got very few opportunities, mostly due to the fact that he's nursing a shoulder injury. Both free agency aquisitions Dontari Poe and Jack Crawford made an impact on the improved pass rush, which resulted in four sacks, two of which came from Brooks Reed. Reed’s play was especially surprising, especially when you think about how there was a pretty decent chance that he wasn’t going to make the final roster. Overall the defense was the star of the show, with a much improved pass rush and a solid secondary.
Falcons O-Line Struggles
One of the biggest reasons why the offense was out of sync was due to the poor play of the offensive line. The Falcons offensive line was a key part to their explosive offensive play last season, where they were able to create a lot of space for the explosive Falcons run game as well as protecting Matt Ryan. Wes Schweizer had a particularly rough day, as he was bullied by the Bears defensive line all day. While the Falcons and Schweizer have plenty of time to improve, if he doesn’t do it quickly, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Dan Quinn go to Ben Garland or Sean Harlow.
Hooper Comes Up Big in the Fourth
After being drafted in the third round of the 2016 pick, Austin Hooper came up big for the Falcons, especially after losing Jacob Tamme to injury late last season. The Falcons and Matt Ryan have been looking for a dependable receiving tight end ever since Tony Gonzalez’s retirement in 2013, and they seem to have found it in Hooper. The Stanford product came up big in the final quarter and finished with 128 yards on two receptions including the aforementioned 88 yard touchdown. If Hooper can continue to perform as the first choice tight end, the Falcons passing game can become even more dynamic.
Ryan Picks Up Where He Left Off
Following the Super Bowl loss there were many questions about Matt Ryan and how he would deal with the loss. There has been a somewhat wrong assertion that Ryan isn’t as mentally strong as some of his fellow quarterbacks. Well, any doubts about Ryan’s state of mind were put to rest with his play on Sunday. The reigning NFL MVP put together a solid game, completing 21 of his 30 passes for 321 yards and a touchdown. He also scrambled for a first down and showed very good pocket presence, even though he was under pressure for much of the game. As the offensive line gets in sync and Sarkisian gets comfortable with the Falcons offense, expect Matt Ryan to consistently put up numbers and performances that you would expect from the League's reigning MVP.
The Falcons Host the Packers at MBS in a Rematch of the NFC Championship Game.
All Stats via NFL.com
Photo credits to David Banks/Getty Images, Michael Conroy/AP Images and Nam Y. Huh/AP Images
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