As anyone who visits this site with any sort of regularity knows, this is an often-discussed topic.  What some 3rd string analyst on CBS or some sports announcer thinks of the Falcons.  Or, even worse, we worry about how the Falcons are ranked in Peter King's "Power Rankings."

To counter these opinions, let me remind of these FACTS so that your heads do not fall off in disarray:

1) The Falcons are TWELVE and THREE.  Still good for the best record in the NFC.

2) The Falcons are GUARANTEED a spot in the playoffs.

3) I already posted this on another thread, but I'll reiterate:  The only thing standing between the FALCONS and Home-Field advantage is this guy:

4) The FALCONS have 7 players starting in the Pro Bowl, plus 2 alternates.  STOP complaining that nobody respects us.

5) We have the #5 rusher in the NFL (Turner) the #2 receiver (White) and the #2 sack leader (Abraham) along with a host of other great, pro-bowl caliber players, including, but not limited to:

 Ryan, Snelling, Mughelli, Gonzalez, Blalock, McClure, Dahl, Babineaux, Peters, Biermann, Lofton, Grimes, Bryant.

6) Power rankings are meaningless.  When the Giants won the superbowl a few years back, nobody gave a you-know-what about them.  Everyone counted them out.  And they beat an undefeated football team.  Anyone can create a power rankings list.  Your wife/sister could, and you wouldn't know the difference between them and an "expert" analyst.

7) ESPN will always promote the "feel-good" story (i.e. the Saints) or the large market team.  Simply because there are more fans.  Numerically, it makes sense for them to take about the Eagles/Jets/Giants/Vikings/Pats all the time, even if they are worse than the Falcons.  They will also continue to talk about Favre for at least another year.
Get over it.

8) There will ALWAYS be smack talk and disapproval. I'm not talking about getting mad in the game thread.  That's part of football.  But when we're whining about off-the-field, childish incidents like who-peed-on-what-and-where it takes away from why we're all here:  the game of football.  FALCONS football.

9) The Falcons are damn good team.  I would hope you believe that by now.  If you don't, I feel sorry for you, and I hope you are prepared to be disappointed for many, many years.  Because this is almost as good as it gets.  I know I'm probably repeating what Dave has been trying to say all season, but I just want everyone to be satisfied with our team as it is right now.

10) If you're still worried about media approval, have no fear!  The playoffs are around the corner.  If you think the Falcons still need to prove themselves, they have another chance.  The Saints game is not the end-all be-all of the entire season. 

In response to these FACTS, I have created a decree that shall be voted upon by my highly respected fellow members of The Falcoholic:

Henceforth, thou shalt not engage in negative, reactionary posting concerning what an analyst thinks of our beloved Falcons.  Thou shalt not mention the names Peter King, Trent Dilfer, Jon Gruden, Terry Bradshaw or any other run-of-the-mill talking head.  Thou shalt love the game of football, embrace success when we acheive it, expect a little bit of disappointment mixed in with it, and most of all support your Falcons in all things. 

Vote "yay" or "nay" below.