Is This Team Truly Better Than The 2010 Falcons?

Today was supposed to be my recap video day, but, as is the norm around these parts, I forgot about it. It'll come in the next day or two. Sorry Dave!

So a quick discussion post for you all this morning.

Step away from the stats and math for just a moment.

We've gone back and forth about whether or not this team is really better than the 2010 Falcons, who went 13-3. We see a lot of the same issues in this team as we did back in 2010, namely 3rd down woes and especially not playing a complete game.

Were it not for the heroic effort from the defense on Thursday, the Falcons most assuredly would have lost the game. I'm not sold the Saints' defense is the "worst in the league" anymore. The stats may suggest otherwise, but you don't stop the Falcons' O if you're a bad defense. You just don't.

If anything, it just reinforces the idea that everybody in the NFL can play ball, and maybe the gap between the best and worst teams isn't as big as you think! Hence the phrase, "Any given Sunday".

I'm sure the lot of us remember the fate of that team.

The 2010 Falcons had nine games decided by one possession, two of which were losses. That includes the Monday night game in Week 16 against the Saints, which had us all frothing at the mouth at every glaring issue the team had.

All of a sudden, the same Saints have potentially exposed a glaring offensive problem - pressure up the middle. Now, to be fair, pressure up the middle will get to nearly any quarterback, but it's certainly a concern for our quarterback, who will likely end up facing a defensive line akin to the 49ers, Giants, or Seahawks. They can all wreck our day.

The 2012 Falcons, to my knowledge, have had seven games decided by a touchdown or less. Seven of 12 games. It is somewhat alarming, if only because we know what happened last time.

The 2010 MNF Saints game was a 17-14 loss. Our defense, much as we hated it at times, held the Saints to 17 points that game. That's pretty good! But our O had spurts where it could do nothing which continued on into the playoffs, and ultimately lead to the demise of the whole team.

The Falcons keep finding ways to win, which is great. It's great to know that if one part of the team falters, another part of the team will step up.

Problem is, we've seen this before.