It has been years since i released a before season record prediction! I am going glass half full here (as i always do) because talking about a scenario where the falcons play their best ball and have a few things break their way is more fun than the alternative.

Week 1: home vs the only people crazy enough to live in a US city below sea level. I hate New Orleans, crab legs is an absolute joke and SP and Brees are not there to keep the walls from caving in. 1-0

Week 2: @ Rams. If we play the Rams 100 times we probably lose about 90 of those games. 1-1

Week 3: @ Seahawks. Drew freaking lock? Yeah right. 2-1

Week 4: home vs Cleveland. Thank God they got Watson. What happened to the falcon filter? I CANNOT believe we pursued someone with such a horrible backstory and character concerns. Pursuing watson is the dumbest thing any falcon GM has ever done. Even minus the character concerns and bad history, the litany of picks made it an uneven trade even in a scenario where Watson has never hurt a fly. Thanks for making us look so stupid Terry. Anyway, its the Browns. 3-1

Week 5: @ Tampa. I do not think we have beaten Brady since he arrived to be our collective new dad. 3-2

Week 6: home vs SF. We have not had a good shanny beat down in a few years. When we took them by surprise and beat them up and down the field for 60 minutes during their SB year it felt really good and reminiscent of when we beat the Chiefs on their way to the big dance. Philosophy wise both teams should lean heavily on the ground game. The passes that do get completed should be big downfield play action fakes that generate some pop. The ferocity and understanding of what it means when we play shanny may be lost to most players now that Ryan is gone. I still expect a nice punch to the mouth for shanny in this one.

4-2

Week 7: @ Cincy. I feel the same way about this game as i do the game against the Rams. 4-3

Week 8: home vs Panthers. Matt Rhule is not the guy. Carolina is in disrepair. CM's first injury derails their whole season. 5-3

Week 9: vs Chargers. They have a great QB and defense with playmakers everywhere. Seemingly like the falcons of the West they still find a way to lose games all the time. 6-3

Week 10: @ Carolina. Its Carolina. 7-3

Week 11: home vs Chicago. The Bears are perpetually in disarray. Others have mentioned that internally some Bears Organization members may want Fields to fail. It would take a Herculean effort from the talented and cerebral fields to lift this skeleton of the bears out of its grave. 8-3

Week 12: @ WAS. The skins have always been trash. Ok that is not true. They have been trash for decades though. Wentz makes things interesting. Can he stay healthy? 9-3

Week 13: home vs Steelers. Nice to not have to travel to Pittsburgh. They have so many moving parts and question marks. This is one of the easier games on the schedule. 10-3

Week 14: BYE BABY (well positioned)

Week 15: @ NO. STINKYTOWN AINT GOT NOTHING ON US. 11-3

Week 16: @ Ravens. Jackson will be banged up and Brown will be out for the season. Baltimore has very murky waters to try to fight through and may be ready to cash it in. 12-3

Week 17: home vs Cards. Arizona has a great squad and plays very well during the regular season. The falcons have just won many games in this scenario and could be caught off guard. We also play terribly at home. 12-4

Week 18: home vs Tompa. If we are sitting at 12-4 this one might not matter much. Or it might mean everything depending on Tompa's record. 12-5