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PAGE 8B
BARROW NEWS-JOURNAL
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2016
The Falcons as a Super Bowl team?
As a long-suffering Atlanta/
Georgia sports fan, it's hard to
feel bullish whenev
er one of those teams
emerges as a possible
championship contend
er.
I can barely remem
ber the Braves winning
a world championship
in 1995, but I vivid
ly recall being in the
upper deck of Atlan-
ta-Fulton County Sta
dium among a swarm
of Yankees fans during
Game 4 of the 1996
World Series. That's the night
when Jim Leyritz’s game-ty
ing home run off Mark Wohlers
changed the trajectory of the
series and the franchise’s post
season fortune during its decade
and a half of continuous winning
baseball that only resulted in one
world championship.
And I painfully remember sit
ting on the floor in dejection four
years ago when Georgia fell to
Alabama in the SEC champion
ship game after what would have
been Aaron Murray’s game-win
ning touchdown pass was tipped
and caught out of pure instinct by
Chris Conley, who was brought
down as time ran out.
At least as far as postseason
goes, the agony of defeat has
outgained the thrill of victory as
long as I’ve been a consumer of
sports.
For the most part, Atlanta and
Georgia teams have the uncanny
ability to melt in virtually every
key moment.
So that's why I hold
a substantial degree
of skepticism as more
and more people begin
to circle the bandwag
on and label the 2016
Atlanta Falcons as a
Super Bowl team.
It seems like forev
er ago when I was a
9-year-old kid running
around my house like
a maniac when Morten
Andersen's field goal
defeated the heavily
favored Vikings and sent Atlanta
to its only Super Bowl to date.
It seems like yesterday when
I was a 23-year-old yelling on
my couch like a maniac as the
Falcons blew a 17-point lead
against the 49ers and lost in the
NFC championship game.
The latter of those moments
embodied everything about the
franchise's history, which has
mostly been filled with medioc
rity. disappointment and inept
itude.
But admittedly, this year, for
some reason, feels different. And
the team has a different air hang
ing over it.
For the most part, the Falcons
were at best seen as a .500 team
in the preseason by the foot
ball pundits and prognosticators
while many others, including me,
pegged them as a 4-6-win team.
The rosiest of projections had
them as 10-6 Wild Card team
behind the Carolina Panthers, a
near-universal pick to win the
NFC South.
After the season-opening home
loss against Tampa Bay (which,
in retrospect, doesn't seem as
bad given that team’s decent
season), the Falcons have had
a surprisingly solid campaign,
developing into one of the NFL’s
most steady, consistent teams.
At 10-5, they have wrapped up
the division and can finish as the
No. 2 seed and earn a first-round
bye with a win Sunday against
New Orleans.
Paying closer attention to play
off seeding than draft positioning
is a welcome change.
As higher-profile teams (Cow
boys. Raiders) have enjoyed a
mini-renaissance this year, the
Falcons’ success has mostly gone
under the radar until now.
But it’s becoming harder and
harder for the national sports
media to ignore what’s happen
ing in Atlanta.
Matt Ryan is having one of the
best seasons by an NFL quarter
back in recent memory, leading
the league’s top-scoring offense
while building his case for an
MVP award. That’s combined
with the outstanding offensive
line play led by free agent acqui
sition center Alex Mack, super-
star receiver Julio Jones, the run
ning back tandem of Devonta
Freeman and Tevin Coleman and
a whole slate of new contribu
tors.
It seems a long way away
from the days of many believing
Ryan’s best days to be behind
him and half the fan base willing
to pack the U-Haul out of town
for offensive coordinator Kyle
Shanahan.
Ironically, there's a possibil
ity Shanahan's days in Atlanta
could be dwindling anyway as
his unit's success in 2016 will
undoubtedly make him a can
didate for the handful of teams
seeking to fill a head coaching
vacancy this coming offseason.
Something else in the not too
distant past? The days of many
fans, including myself, lambast
ing Falcons general manager
Thomas Dimitroff for his unwise
draft and personnel choices in
recent years.
One of the most frequent crit
icisms was that the team should
never have drafted Vic Beasley in
the first round of the 2015 draft.
All Beasley has done this season
is record 14.5 sacks and emerge
as a serious contender for Defen
sive Player of the Year.
Overall, the defense has left
much to be desired for most
of the season, but the unit has
come around as of late and is
led by a pair of rookies — safety
Keanu Neal (another first-round
selection who was viewed some
what skeptically) and linebacker
Deion Jones, who embodies the
passion of my all-time favorite
Falcon, Keith Brooking.
So do the Falcons have a shot
at this? Of course, though it’s dif
ficult to consider them a favorite.
Though it has shown some vul
nerability in recent weeks, Dal
las maintains home-field advan
tage throughout the playoffs and
seemingly got back on track with
a blowout win over the Lions on
Monday.
The Seahawks are a veteran
bunch that has been to and won
the Super Bowl and still has the
ability to shut a team down. If the
Packers are in the playoffs come
next week, it would be unwise to
discount Aaron Rodgers, and the
Giants have proven more than
once they have a knack for post
season heroics.
But again, something like
this year just feels different.
Maybe because the couple of
points during the season when an
implosion seemed to be impend
ing (blown game at home against
San Diego, the “pick-two” game
against Kansas City) the team
has held strong and come back
more fierce and determined.
It's a team that appears to real
ly and truly believe in each other.
That's the team that can be dan
gerous this time of the year.
So go ahead and jump on the
bandwagon. I've nearly talked
myself onto the hype train, but
for now, I’ll abide by second-year
Atlanta coach Dan Quinn’s phi
losophy.
One game at a time.
Scott Thompson is editor of the
Barrow News-Journal He can be
reached at sthompson@barrow-
journal.com.
scott
thompson
Basketball
Athens Predators ABA team to hold tryouts Feb. 12
The Athens Predators of East Athens Communi- The application dead- The ABA, a semi-pro- (NBA), was formed in starting a team in Athens,
the American Basketball ty Center, 400 McKinley line is Jan. 29. To obtain fessional league different 2000 and has 14 different The Predators will be run
Association will be hold- Drive, Athens. an application, email ath- from the former ABA divisions. by Shawn Self, a native of
ing tryouts Sunday, Feb. There is a $50 non-re- enspredatorsaba@gmail. that rivaled the Nation- Last month, the ABA Athens who has run other
12 from 2-5 p.m. at the fundable tryout fee. com. al Basketball Association announced it would be teams previously.
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