Take the "easier" in the title very lightly. A lot of our remaining opponents lost last weekend (save those on a BYE) but don't be fooled. Each and every last game of this season will be a fight. The injuries are mounting and the competition, though looking less scarier by the week, will want a win against us. The time for complacency has passed. The Falcons either fight until not a man is left standing or they can go ahead and look to next year.

No real changes to the trend of the graph, but the records are getting worse. As far as I can tell, none of our remaining opponents (that were not on a bye) won last weekend save those dastardly Saints.

The real change is in my projected week-of-game opponents' records. Check this out.

Notice how the number of projected winning record opponents has dropped from four to three. After the Jets managed to lose to the Jaguars, I had to change my line of thinking on them. We still get a 1 loss Saints team (thanks to the New England Patriots) and we're still having to face a Philly team that will come into the Dome after winning against the Bears and Redskins. 

After we face the Giants, we get three straight Dome games. I'm holding out for the crowd to be a key factor in our wins against the Bucs and Eagles. That Saints matchup, though, I dunno. I swear I think we should wear something different for them. The throwback, the all-black alt, maybe just the red helmets. Something to signify the importance of it...

by Tim Roske - AP

Tom Coughlin would like the Falcons to kick their own butts, thank you very much. (AP Photo/Tim Roske)

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Those of you who tuned in for my chats with Saintsational from Canal Street Chronicles will have a basic idea of how this goes. A couple nights ago I sat down to talk with Ed Valentine, the head blogger over at Big Blue View, our network's Giants blog, in an effort to find our more about our erstwhile opponents.

Strictly football for this dialogue, which features two grown men transformed into statues of negativity. Will we each pick against our own team because of the recent woes of the Falcons and Giants? You'll just have to read through to find it, so join me after the jump.

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Everything is now Serious Business. If we want a winning season, we have to become a consistent team.

New York Giants
Where: Giants Stadium
When: Sunday November 22nd, 2009 @ 1:00pm
Network: FOX
Why: To be the best, you have to beat the best, which seemingly no longer pertains to this contest.

Importance: Serious Business. Both teams are 5-4 and looking for redemption.

Notes: Falcons are 1-4 on the road. Think about that long and hard. Now look up. See this matchup? Are you scared? Me too. 

The Falcons win if: No more injuries occur and Norwood is back and Ryan settles down and Michael Turner somehow miraculously heals in one week and our defense suddenly all grow three or four extra arms and

The Giants win if: The team that won five in a row at the start of the season shows.

Prediction: The Falcons lose.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 
Where: Georgia Dome
When: Sunday November 29th, 2009 @ 1:00pm
Network: FOX
Why: Divisional Game

Importance: Serious Business.

Notes: At least it's in the Georgia Dome, where the Falcons are 4-0.

The Falcons win if: they get healthier and don't make too many mistakes.

The Bucs win if: they take advantage of any and all opportunities Falcons mistakes give them.

Prediction: Falcons win.

Philadelphia Eagles
Where: Georgia Dome
When: Sunday December 6th, 2009 @ 1:00pm
Network: FOX
Why: Because Eagles and Falcons are natural enemies.

Importance: Serious Business. Let's avenge 2004's playoff loss.

Notes: The Eagles are looking so wishy-washy I doubt they can come into the Dome playing their strongest ball. And hopefully, we'll have a calmer Matt Ryan and a healthy Jerious Norwood.

Prediction: Falcons win.

New Orleans Saints 2: The Season Definer
Where: Georgia Dome
When: Sunday December 13th, 2009 @ 1:00pm
Network: FOX
Why: Divisional Game

Importance: Serious Business. 

Notes: I just don't see us winning here, even in our own Dome.

Prediction: Falcons lose.

New York Jets 
Where: Giants Stadium
When: Sunday December 20th, 2009 @ 1:00pm
Network: FOX
Why: Because New Yorkers couldn’t get enough of us the first go round against the Giants.

Importance: Serious Business

Notes: The Jets are, as Don Banks has said, imposters. Hopefully our Falcons aren't.

Prediction: Falcons win.

Buffalo Bills
Where: Georgia Dome
When: Sunday December 27th, 2009 @ 1:00pm
Network: CBS
Why: The Bills aren't looking too good. Uh oh...

Importance: Serious Business

Notes: Even hampered by injury, I think we can win this one.

Prediction: Falcons win

Tampa Bay Buccaneers With a Vengeance
Where: Raymond James Stadium
When: Sunday January 3rd, 2009 @ 1:00pm
Network: FOX
Why: Divisional Game

Importance: Hmm...

Notes: Tampa may have more to gain from this game than we would, and it's in their stadium to boot. We better bring our A game.

Prediction: Falcons win, barring any miracles for the struggling Bucs.

Current season record: 5-4 (Wins against MIA, CAR, SF, CHI, WAS; losses against NE, DAL, NO, CAR)

Current season prediction: 10-6 (Wins: MIA, CAR, SF, CHI, WAS, TB, PHI, NYJ, BUF, TB; Loss: NE, DAL, CAR, NO, NYG, NO)

tlozwarlock's Current Prediction record: 7-2 (The pitfall came. And it sucked.)

More photos » by Chuck Burton - AP

Let's hope Turner's able to go Sunday, even if I doubt he will be. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

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There's a lot of reports swirling around about just what's going to happen to Michael Turner this weekend, and almost all of them are a cause for concern.

Pretty much everyone seems to agree that Turner has sprained his ankle, but the severity of that sprain seems to be in doubt. If you listen to Dr. Roddy White, Turner will play this weekend. Listen to Mike Smith and that's a little less specific "confident" that he'll play again in 2009. And everything in between.

I would personally put the likelihood that Turner plays this week at like 25%, which leaves us to sort through our remaining options and figure out who we'll be trotting out against the Giants. The obvious choice for a feature back is Jason Snelling, who runs like an angry bull and can even catch a pass or two. Given the health and talent level of everyone else on the roster, he's pretty much the default. It's also a really cool thing to see a former seventh round pick who has battled epilepsy his whole life getting ready to start for the Falcons. Here's hoping he has a good week.

Beyond that, health really is going to play a role. Aaron Stecker has been re-signed and is available to go, but he's not exactly an elite option and will chiefly be useful for spelling Snelling. If Jerious Norwood is healthy, he could easily get ten touches and make an immediate impact with his speed, but I'm not sure he's going to be up for the game on Sunday. Unless we're willing to drop someone else off the roster to make room for another back, we really don't have any other options.

Now that we've established that, feel free to take a crack at predicting how this will all go down and how well our rushing attack will fare against the Giants.

Ever sat there in your licensed Falcons easy chair, wearing your throwback Jamal Anderson jersey, pondering just how well the 1998 Falcons could do against an opponent on this year's schedule? Have you, like I'm sure reader orang3b has, sat there with your voluminous notes and play charts and stat sheets, dreaming of a chance to actually use the numbers you so lovingly analyze? Well, dream and ponder no longer. What If Sports has partnered with your favorite Falcons blog to bring you some awesome features.

What If Sports is, at its heart, a fully-functional fantasy simulator. You can build a "dream team" in any sport, drafting the players you choose from any year on any team or you can simply take, say the '76 Steelers, and pit them against the '07 Patriots. Or, if you're feeling particularly mean spirited, you can pit the '07 Patriots against the '07 Lions 10,001 times. If What If Sports can get away with simulating the Browns-Ravens MNF matchup 10,001 times, I'm sure you won't have any conflicts of conscience.

With all of this simulation, you're probably wondering where the "playing with the numbers" part comes in. You fantasy football nuts should zoom in right here -> What If Sports lets you build a fantasy sports team with your favorite players from any era, any team, any style of play and then puts your personal all-time pro bowl team in a league to play against up to 24 other stat mavens' perfect teams. The gurus at What If call this feature SimLeague.

Now, onto business. I plan to introduce a few new features on the site utilizing What If Sports' snazzy technology. First and foremost, I'll either be taking some classic teams of Falcons lore and pitting them against modern day foes, or taking our new look Falcons to battle against older foes that deserve a spanking or, in some cases, a re-spanking.

Also, What If was nice enough to provide us with a free 24 slot Falcoholic SimLeague. Yes, we now officially have a fantasy fantasy football league. Dave and I take up two slots, so that invariably means that 22 of you will be the lucky winners of some hot, free SimLeague action. You're welcome in advance. I'll run the raffle soon.

To kick off this day of forces joining, I decided to pit our 2008 surprise playoff team against our 2004 surprise playoff team. Both teams went 11-5, both went into the playoffs. Of course, the '04 Falcons made it all the way to the NFC Championship while our newer Falcons lost in the Wild Card. Apparently, that doesn't matter. Ryan and company completely demolished 'em 48 to 21. What a difference four years makes, eh? Check out the full boxscore

More photos » by Rick Havner - AP

Apparently, trying to rip a runner's head off is not a penalty in the NFL. (AP Photo/Rick Havner)

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I decided to break in my new HDTV with a Falcons win. Unfortunately the football gods continued their quest to see if the Falcons can make it through one whole season with little to none of their starters still upright. I don't know what kind of bad ju-ju is going on, but with Michael Turner out just as he was storming back to prominence, the Falcons are running out of winning options.

What Had Me Screaming:

• Michael Turner, pre-injury. It was looking like 200 yards for Mr. Turner was going to be a lock before he went down. What a first quarter performance.
• Eric Weems continues to be clutch in the return game. I don't know how things are going to work with Harry Douglas coming back into the fray next year, but suffice it to say, there will be a major battle for the backup WR spot in camp.

What Made Me Boo:

• The Defense. No pressure. No sacks. No hurries. To beat Delhomme, you must pressure him. Our line looked completely anemic out there, even after their starting LT went out of the game. Oh, and on third and five, with the game on the line, you simply do not give up a 35 yard touchdown run. 
• Matt Ryan. The only thing consistent about his performance was the interceptions and overthrows. Matty Ice looked more like Matty Anxious. Ryan's road performance is getting out of hand. In the Dome, he seems...I dunno, better. That's something he'll have to look into fixing immediately. The Giants are not going to be as welcoming as the Panthers. Scary, huh?
• Red zone play calling. Seriously, after Turner rumbles for 30+ yards into the red zone, you dial up three pass plays? Why do we so often get away from what works so soon? Field goals are not going to win games. And the 2pt conversion with 11 minutes to go in the 4th? Just wrong.
• Speaking of field goals... Why is Elam having such an issue with them? Is it the timing (as evidenced by the multiple hitches made before the shank) that's getting off? Seriously, if it's that bad, just take a timeout. Sure, we'll get ticked but when the points come into play, we'll forget all about it.
• We left at least four points on the field yesterday.

What Ya’ll Seem to be Forgetting:

• Ryan is the future of this franchise. Get over it. Deal with it. Learn to live with it. Welcome to Falcons football. With time, some maturation, and lots and lots of film review, Matt will turn into the best quarterback to ever don a Falcons jersey. This is a fact, not an opinion. Every, and I mean every quarterback not named Brady has had a few horrendous years. And ya know what? They grew with what they learned and got better. This is the NFL. Hall of Fame quarterbacks are made, not drafted.
• This Falcons team is not a Super Bowl team. In my opinion, this Falcons team (especially after the multitude of injuries) is not even a playoff team. I've driven all of that out of my mind. This Falcons team is, however, a winning team (even at 5-4). This team can make it to two back-to-back winning seasons. After that, the sky's the limit. Baby steps, my friends. Baby steps.

Some Pep for your Step

This is all I got for ya. Sorry.

It's not a huge sophomore slump at this point, but Ryan's accuracy isn't up to his 2008 standards. - Don Banks via his Snap Judgements.

tlozwarlock's Fan of the Game

My neighbor, who upon witnessing Matt's second interception, let out a stream of curses I believe is still making its rounds somewhere in north Georgia.

by Mike McCarn - AP

Oh crap! You mean I'm the only healthy running back left on the roster? (AP Photo/Mike McCarn)

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Man, there's something going on up here that ain't right... —Brother Ali

Normally I'd say something semi-inspiring or vaguely profound here, but I've found that I don't have the energy. I climbed a mountain of woe following this game, fighting off the forces of terrible football, and then I just fell off the other side of said mountain and into a pit of despair and beer. So forget that noise.

No, this was the kind of loss that you can't run from and can't make excuses for. It makes you truly doubt the strength of your beloved football team during a time when you'd hope your faith would be reinforced. It really, really sucks, is what I'm getting at. With a critical injury and poor play all the way around, a playoff spot seems more like a distant possibility than an immediate one, and now we've got the New York Giants coming off their bye week. It's not getting any easier, folks.

Buckle up and let's head over this waterfall.

Continue reading this post »

by Chuck Burton - AP

Jake Delhomme, playing the role of kryptonite. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

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Stink, stank, stunk.

Even good teams have games like this—heck, the Saints almost blew it against the Rams—but this was a game that was painful across the board. The Panthers are a better team than they were last time we met, but there's no excuse for the way the Falcons repeatedly shot themselves in the foot. Overthrown interceptions by Matt Ryan, an inconsistent defensive effort and another crucial missed field goal by Jason Elam spelled D-O-O-M for our beloved Birds.

Is there a bright spot here? There was Michael Turner being Michael Turner, but now he's injured and it's tough to say how long he'll be out. The defense made zero big plays. Tony Gonzalez was very good again, so I guess he qualifies. I dunno. Right now all I see are little storm clouds hovering over my head. I'll have a better handle on it tomorrow.

For now, here's a few choice thoughts:

• Please, please, don't turn this into a witch hunt for Matt Ryan. Half the teams in the NFL would murder us all in our sleep to have a quarterback with this much promise. He was truly awful for long stretches of this game and something's way, way off, but it's not a permanent state. Give him some time.
• Without Turner, the Falcons either have to get Jerious Norwood healthy immediately or sign our speedy new acquisition off the practice squad. A little lightning with Snelling's thunder could save our bacon in the weeks ahead.
• Tye Hill and Brent Grimes could be switching all year. I'm not sure that's good news for the cohesiveness of this secondary.
• Jason Elam shouldn't be threatened or anything following this, either, but it might be time for a change. There are a couple of options on the free agent market to at least try out. It's not so much missing the kicks as missing such crucial ones, in my opinion.
• The divisional race just got a whole lot tighter. We're going to have to make some serious noise to hang in there and get that elusive winning season.

by John Bazemore - AP

TACKLED! (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

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Rematches are always fun.

After we put a whuppin' on the Panthers earlier this season, you can bet they're going to want to return the favor in this one. With talented linebacker Thomas Davis gone for the year and noted Atlanta Falcon enemy DeAngelo Williams questionable, however, there are some holes we can exploit. The trick will be to slow down whichever of Carolina's approximately 25,000 running backs suits up and plays, while avoiding letting a declining Jake Delhomme pass all over us. On offense, it's just a simple matter of making use of a conservative passing attack against one of the league's finest secondaries and letting Michael Turner run for eight bojillion yards. No biggie, right?

Let's take a look at a few stories leading up to Sunday's game, shall we?

• A whole mess of questionables again. Everyone seems to expect Roddy White to play, but he's been limited in practice all week. Ditto Jason Snelling and Thomas Johnson. Also, is there any way we could stop putting Jerious Norwood on the injury report as a questionable when it's absolutely crystal clear that he's not going to play? Kthxbye.
  
• For all the ups and downs, hand-wringing and general panic at times here, we're still sitting at 5-3 at midseason, the same record as 2008. Take a look-see at where we are so far through a fresh set of eyes.
• Thomas Davis really was an anchor for the Panthers, and though Landon Johnson is a capable replacement, we've got to take advantage of his absence on Sunday. Methinks we will.
• I sure do stink at fantasy football.
• Let's wrap this up with a Panthers mention, again. Frankly, I think that while Delhomme clearly deserves some of the blame for the way the passing game has suffered this season, they need better wide receivers. Steve Smith is the only guy over there that strikes any kind of fear into my cold, black heart.