Falcons fans confident in the direction of the team heading into Week 1

Week 1 is here, with the Atlanta Falcons taking on the New Orleans Saints this afternoon in the opening game of the 2022 NFL season. We’re all excited to see how the new-look Falcons in the second year of the Arthur Smith/Terry Fontenot regime fare against our most hated rivals in the Saints. The national media and sportsbooks aren’t currently too kind to the Falcons, as they’re 5.5-point underdogs to the Saints this week and have one of the lowest projected win totals in the NFL.

Falcons fans, however, are not deterred. This is the time of year where unbridled optimism rules, and there’s hope that the team can be or do anything. We’ll get the truth of it in the coming weeks, but mostly, I’d just like to see Atlanta knock off New Orleans in spectacular fashion to open the season.

Speaking of Falcons fans, our SB Nation reacts fan survey asked them about their confidence level in the team heading into Week 1.

It’s not terribly surprising at this point in the season, but Falcons fans are currently overwhelmingly confident in the direction the team is heading to start the 2022 season. Keep in mind that “confidence” doesn’t necessarily mean that fans think the team is playoff-bound or a Super Bowl contender, just that they feel good about how things are going.

I’d have to agree, as Atlanta had a better-than-expected preseason under new quarterback Marcus Mariota. This roster doesn’t look like a world-beater, but I think they’ve improved in enough areas to be competitive against better teams than last year. How that translates into a win/loss record remains to be seen, but I think we’ll at least enjoy the on-field product more than we did in 2021.

How do you feel about the Falcons heading into Week 1?

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