2008 Atlanta Falcons Season Preview

2008 Atlanta Falcons preview from MadduxSports.com. The NFC South is a very difficult division to forecast on a year to year basis and the NFL lines makers often put up some soft numbers that sharp nfl handicappers pounce on. In 2008 be on the right side of games with the help of Maddux Sports handicapping team.

2008 Atlanta Falcons Predictions
By Adam Barone

Rundown
The Falcons have been the biggest mess in all of sports over the past couple of years.

Michael Vick and Bobby Petrino have basically left them standing on the side of the road in their boxers trying to hitchhike to respectability.

Former Jags’ defensive coordinator Mike Smith is the new head coach, and former Patriots’ director of college scouting Thomas Dimitroff is the new GM. Most of the key names from the recent era (the dog murdering era, that is) were dumped—Warrick Dunn, Alge Crumpler, DeAngelo Hall.

Don’t think that the trend of worst to first in the NFC South is going to continue this season, but in a mediocre division it’s not impossible.

Yes, running back Michael Turner did sign as a free agent, and former Bronco kicker Jason Elam also came to hot-lanta. However, there’s a ton of work to do on both sides of the ball.

The offensive line will need to develop as a unit and allow first round draft pick Matt Ryan time to throw. Ryan will need to adapt quickly to the pro game and find a go-to receiver.

Unfortunately the receiving corps consists of Roddy White, Laurent Robinson and rookie Harry Douglas. Free agent tight end Ben Hartsock will start and could be a player to watch.

Mike Smith’s defense shouldn’t be anything complicated. Linebackers Keith Brooking and rookie Curtis Lofton will be staples. Quality tackle play to eat up blockers will be essential, but the talent just isn’t there yet.

There’s some young talent in the secondary, which is led by veteran safety Lawyer Milloy.

This will be a rebuilding year in the A-T-L, but it probably won’t be quite the hideously disgusting disaster many are expecting.

Draft Analysis
Needs? Well…an offense—quarterback, running back, receiver, tight end, offensive line—all of them. And depth on defense.

Atlanta used the third overall pick on the consensus best quarterback in the draft, Boston College’s Matt Ryan. Ryan is NFL-ready and will become the new face of this franchise.

Falcon fans better hope he doesn’t run some sort of drug ring or molest little boys in his free time.

Atlanta also picked at 21 overall and chose USC offensive tackle Sam Baker. Add second round pick Curtis Lofton, a linebacker out of Oklahoma, and three third round picks including Douglas, and the Falcons had themselves quite a draft.

With eleven picks overall, Atlanta did a great job of jumpstarting the rebuilding process. They’ll need to find playmakers on offense in order to take the next step.

After viewing the Atlanta Falcons preview read up on the rest of the NFL Southern Division division teams including the Buccaneers, Panthers, and Saints.

Related Pages:
Falcons Official Site
Wagering Explained