The Home Field Advantage Question

One thing has been true over the course of Atlanta's rise to NFC relevance: They've had the Dome field advantage.

This season, that advantage has been a bit overstated. The Falcons have won all six of their games at home, which is nothing to sneeze at. They're 5-1 away, but the points differential tells a slightly different story. Let's take a look.

HOME: 146-114
AWAY: 172-115

The Falcons have given up one more point on the road than they have at home, but they've also scored 26 more points. This could be a total fluke, but it's an undeniable split that has fueled a real concern about how this team plays at home. They've certainly won by narrow margins at home this season, considering at least four of their home games in 2011 were blowouts. But this has been the story all season long.

I know there are considerable concerns from Falcons fans about how this team will perform at home in the playoffs, but I think we don't need to spend an undue amount of time of worrying about their fortunes in the Georgia Dome. These Falcons have won heart-stoppers, yes, but you're not talking about such a massive difference that they're clearly at a disadvantage. Compared to playing a road game in the cold in hostile territory in January, as a matter of fact, it sounds downright appetizing to be home.

The Falcons just need to win two more games this season to definitively lock up homefield advantage. I, for one, will be hoping they get there.

Talk it out. Do you believe home field advantage is a true advantage?