After some promising seasons with some intriguing talent, a new head coach and starting quarterback makes the Falcons dark-horse contender. Welcome back to another edition of ‘The Super Bowl Race In The Perspective of Chase’, and today we will preview the Atlanta Falcons 2024 season!
2023 Season
The Falcons came into a year as a team with some talent but with terrible QB play and coaching. And we were all right. That’s exactly what made Atlanta fall apart. Rookie running back Bijan Robinson had a fantastic season, and proved he is one of the top running backs in the league already. And the Falcons made a decision for their running game to run through Robinson, as Tyler Allgeier and Cordarrelle Patterson went from key contributors to hardly making any contribution. Drake London also impressed. While he didn’t turn into the elite player we thought he could be last year, he still had just under 1,000 yards receiving. And Kyle Pitts disappointed slightly as well, as he has not returned to his 2021 form or anything close it since his rookie year. Overall, inconsistent defense, shaky quarterback play and a coaching scheme that didn’t prioritize their stars saw Atlanta fall behind early and never fully recover.
Offseason Additions and Losses
Going into the offseason, Atlanta knew Arthur Smith was not the long-term answer and immediately replaced him with former Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris. Morris had formerly been with the Falcons, and was their interim head coach before they hired Smith in the first place. After he won a Super Bowl with Los Angeles, Morris looks to fix some things and change the culture in Atlanta. Part of that culture change was bringing in Kirk Cousins to be their starting quarterback, as his eight games before injury in 2023 was good enough to give him an $180 million deal. They also signed Darnell Mooney to add to the receiving core. The shocking move was that Atlanta took Washington QB Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth pick after signing Cousins to a four year deal, which is the length of Penix’ deal. The late offseason moves though were huge, as the Falcons upgraded their defense by adding Matthew Judon and Justin Simmons. It’s safe to say they’re going all-in!
X-Factor: Tyler Allgeier
This may sound strange. Robinson has taken over the running game with his ability, and even though Allgeier is talented, he probably won’t get enough touches to be a true difference maker. However, I disagree. I think the Falcons are going to want to get him involved. He’s one year removed from being a 1,000 yard rusher with great cutting and explosiveness that made him one of the league’s most underrated backs. I think Bijan will take a large role in the receiving game, but Allgeier will find a way to get his fair share of touches in the running game. And his explosiveness will make him a dangerous threat when running the football.
Reason for Concern: Inconsistency with Offensive Playmakers
I mentioned how talented London and Pitts are, but both have seemed to ‘stall out’ after their first few seasons. Both possess decent speed and athleticism, but neither have the ‘it’ factor that has elevated their play and made them more dominant as they’ve gotten older. In Pitts case, he’s only gotten worse. Those are the two guys to be concerned about. Even Mooney was very inconsistent and unreliable in Chicago. So Cousins will have to rely on the running game more than he would like, and that will theoretically make it harder for Robinson and Allgeier to dominate. The offense has to be more consistent.
Reason for Promise: The Coaching Change Will Be Huge
Part of the inconsistency on the offensive end, though, was because of Arthur Smith. His schemes didn’t make much sense, and he would prioritize the value of secondary options as opposed to London and Pitts and other primary offense options. With Morris that will change. Atlanta will run a much more sterol and basic offense now with Cousins under center, and it makes sense. Cousins thrived in Minnesota because he did his job: get the ball to Justin Jefferson. Cousins has the arm talent and ability to elevate his teammates, and he can do that in Atlanta.
Prediction
As talented as they are, I don’t view Atlanta as a Super Bowl contender or anything close to it. They’re a talented team who can make some noise and maybe win a weak NFC South division, but Atlanta is not ready or consistent enough to contend.
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