Lowering expectations isn't easy, but like it or not, the Atlanta Falcons may be headed for a "hard reset"

It's a confusing time to be an Atlanta Falcons fan. I wrote about it last night in detail, but here's the cliff notes version: it may be time to tear it all down and start from scratch. If you just vomited in your mouth a little bit, don't dismay, that's natural. This is the reality we live in, and these difficult questions arise naturally.

The talented Aaron Freeman of Falcfans.com dropped a must-read piece earlier today raising some of the same questions. Here's one particularly poignant part of his article, though I strongly encourage you to go read the entire thing, if you haven't already.

Essentially what the Falcons might need more than anything is a hard reset. That's not referring to firing the coaching staff or gutting the roster as you see with an organization like the Browns. Instead the reset needs to be in regards to the expectations that are placed on this team moving forward. The prevalent post-2012 mentality needs to be scrubbed away and there needs to be an understanding that it may take a lot more time before the Falcons are in a position to compete for an NFC Championship Game again.

Freeman is putting pen to paper about a difficult reality many of us refuse to accept. Understandably there's some hesitance because a football "rebuild" is unlike a "rebuild" in any other sport. What's more, we've been stomaching a lot of mediocrity since 2012, and in many ways - new head coach, a lot of new personnel, revamped from office - it feels like we've already lived through a rebuild.

What we're specifically talking about here is expectations. Can we or should we temper our expectations in the immediate future? Given all we invest in this team, it feels like we shouldn't have to; but do we have a choice? Your thoughts?