Debunking Falcons Flaws

Week 1 of the regular season was an impressive display for the Falcons. Their 40-24 win on the road at Arrowhead Stadium marked what is expected to be a strong campaign in 2012. However, critics are already finding flaws to point out about Atlanta's squad.

Mr. Martin Bater from Bleacher Report wrote an article discussing "potential issues exposed" for the Falcons after their matchup with the Chiefs. It's tough to really breakdown significant issues going forward after just one game, but he managed to find some.

Let's take a jump and look at these so called "issues", and I'll explain to you how accurate each claim truly is. Prepare for somewhat of a rant.

1) An Unbalanced Attack: Bater explains how Matt Ryan completed as many passes as the Falcons had carries in Kansas City. Ryan also had just seven fewer yards rushing that Michael Turner. "That doesn't bode well for a team that never trailed in the entire game at Kansas City," said Bater. Huh? Having a relatively unimpressive run game, leading throughout the entire game and winning by 16 points doesn't bode well? I'm not quite sure I follow that logic.

Would it be nice to see a little more productivity out of the ground game? Sure. Am I panicking? Not even close. Turner and Quizz weren't anywhere close to stellar, but the passing game was clicking and that's what they stuck with. While the Falcons would like to get things going with their running backs, Ryan's arm/arsenal can be relied on this season.

2) Depth in the Secondary: Obviously the loss of Brent Grimes is crucial, so this was really Bater's only valid point. I'll leave it alone.

3) Defense Must Improve: That's about as generic as you can get with criticism. Hey Falcons, you need to play good defense to win. That's just solid insight.

The Falcons allowed a team that was 29th in the NFL last season in points per game with 13.3 to score 17 points in the first half against them.

I guess this guy forgot the Chiefs lost Jamaal Charles and Tony Moeaki for the majority of 2011, saw Matt Cassel miss seven games and didn't exactly mesh with their head coach Todd Haley throughout the year. He was fired after 13 games. Atlanta's defense didn't shutdown the Chiefs right out of the gates, but after allowing just one touchdown in the second half, it's safe to say Mike Nolan knows how to make adjustments.

4) Converting Turnovers into Touchdowns: The Falcons finished with three takeaways and 13 points off of turnovers. Bater argues that team's must put up six points on the scoreboard after turnovers, but scoring after all three isn't anything to be ashamed of. The Falcons finished with 103 takeaway points in 2011, ranking seventh overall in the league. This should not be a concern after one game.

5) The Screen Pass Must Not Become an Obsession: This was actually a concern he raised in his article. Ryan threw three screen passes against Kansas City, total. All of the sudden that's an obsession? When one out of three screen plays turns into a touchdown, I say keep 'em coming.

I'm sure we'll see plenty more articles like this as the season progresses, but don't worry until there's actually something to worry about. The only valid concern here is the Grimes injury, which is out of their control. Otherwise, the Falcons looked impressive in Week 1, and will have a chance to show how good they are on a national scale Monday night.