Falcons still have to prove they are a contender

The Falcons pulled out a clutch victory over the Philadelphia Eagles at the Georgia Dome on Sunday night. The offense scored 5 touchdowns and the defense forced 3 turnovers. Even with the win I think the Falcons still need to prove that they are a legitimate Super Bowl contender. The Eagles secondary shut down the entire Falcons wide receiver group. Roddy White and Julio Jones only had a combined 5 catches, and as a game big as this your star players need to have better games. The other problem I had with the Falcons is the offensive linen, particularly left tackle Sam Baker. Baker was being handled by Trent Cole all game long, and Baker has had a history of being inconsistent with his play, and it showed Sunday night. Trent Cole just basically bull rushed him all game long and Baker had no answer for him. With that said I blame that more on the coaching rather that Baker, because the Falcons coaches did nothing to do to help Baker. They did not keep the running back in to help Baker or even a tight end to help them, and I do not get that move by Coach Smith. I thought even though the Falcons won the game Mike Smith was outcoached and he needs to do better.

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The secondary I still think is an issue for the Falcons. They did play better by not allowing Jackson and Maclin to beat them for long touchdowns, but the Eagles threw for over 300 yards passing. That is now the second straight game the Falcons have allowed the quarterback to throw for over 300 yards and that has to change, because they still have to face Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees twice. The secondary has to prove that they can step up to the challenge, and shut down receivers in important situations.

I don’t think the Falcons played well in the game against the Eagles. They did a better job of getting touchdowns in the red zone, and capitalizing on the Eagles turnovers, but I know the Falcons can play better. They definitely need to improve, because they do not have an easy schedule this year, and they face tough competition. This week they have the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and that won’t be easy. We are still waiting to see the real Atlanta Falcons play, because this is not them.

By: Steven Virden
ProFootball-fans.com Atlanta Falcons Correspondent