By Don Stone - Football Atlanta
Throughout the city, fans are talking Falcons
football. As they look ahead with anxious anticipation to Sunday's home
playoff game with Seattle, they are not all saying the same thing. Around
the office water cooler, in sports bars and on radio sports talk call in
shows, there is a bubbling sense of apprehension. A lot of fans are excited
about the matchup but have concerns filled with anxiety. Cautious optimism might be a way to
describe it. Nervous dread might be another way. On 790 The Zone's Mayhem in
the AM, they described it as the most important game in franchise history.
Not the biggest. That was the Super Bowl appearance in the 1998 season. But,
the most important.
Why is it so significant? Of course, it's a playoff game. That
alone makes it so. But, there is a monkey to be thrown from the team's back...one created by three playoff appearances in four seasons and three losses.
The first one is really irrelevant. It was the first season with the Falcons
for Matt Ryan and Michael
Turner. They went on the road and lost 30-24
to a hot Arizona team that went all the way to the Super Bowl.
The one that carries the most significance is the 2010 loss to
Green Bay. Like this season, Atlanta had the best record in the NFC and home
field advantage throughout the playoffs. It didn't matter. Almost two years
ago to the day the Packers were also on a roll. A Wild Card team, they had
just beaten a good Eagles team on the road. Aaron Rodgers
continued his dominance in the Georgia Dome throwing for three touchdowns
and rushing for another in a 48-21 embarrassment. If you want to read how it
went down,
Click Here.
The
Dome crowd had started the night with nothing but confidence. It carried
through most of the first half with an occasional frustration as Rodgers
evaded one defender after another to extend plays into big gains. A Ryan
interception that turned into a pick six just before the half deflated the
fan base. As the second half began, you could sense a different feeling in
the stands...a resigned feeling that this
great season was coming to an inevitable end.
The Pack would also go on to the Super
Bowl and win it all.
Last year, the pessimism among fans continued into the postseason
as Atlanta had to travel to New York. Nothing in that game went right except
two points from a second quarter touchback. The Falcons would not score
again as the Giants ran off 24 unanswered points in a stomping on the way to
their own Super Bowl win.
The consolation in all three appearances was that they lost to
eventual Super Bowl teams with two winning the championship. But, when you
lose three straight in anything, confidence is harder to come by in the
fourth attempt.
Supporters say that this team is different. They're more mature.
They've learned from past failures. There is more of a determination this
time around. All appear to be true. But these Falcons have some other things
going for them in this matchup. If this game were being played in Seattle, it
might be a different story. There, the home team is unbeatable going 8-0 in
2012. But, on the road, they were 3-5. The win last week at Washington was
their first road playoff win in three decades. They got behind early 14-0 to
the Redskins. But a gimpy RG3 at QB was unable to do anything else on
offense. Matt Ryan will not be disabled. And in the game, the Seahawks lost
their best pass rusher, former Bulldog
Chris Clemons,
to a torn ACL.
"Chris has been a great football player and
just a symbol of consistency in the years that we've had him, but he's been
a great leader for us, too, and a tough dude and a guy we've become very
comfortable playing with, and we'll miss the heck out of him," said head
coach Pete Carroll. Clemons lead the
team with 11 sacks and 37 hurries.
RB
Marshawn Lynch is a beast rushing for 187
yards. He will definitely be a problem. But in the Falcons 25-20 win vs.
Seattle last season, Lynch was held to just 24 yards. And he may not be at
full strength missing Wednesday and Thursday practices this week with an
injured foot.
Defensive backs Jeron Johnson
and Byron Maxwell have also missed
Seattle practices with hamstring problems.
The kicking game can be crucial in the playoffs. The Seahawks have
problems there too. They had to place Steven Hauschka
on injured reserve after the kicker suffered a calf strain at Washington. To
fill the void, they signed 38-year-old retired kicker Ryan Longwell,
who has not played in the NFL this season. Longwell had success with
Minnesota over the years but stepping in to make pressure filled kicks with
the season on the line in the playoffs is a lot to ask.
One other advantage is jet lag. The Seahawks had to travel 2823
miles across country last weekend to play in DC, then go back to Seattle,
then five days later go back across country again another 2184 miles to
Atlanta. That's nearly 7000 miles of travel in a six day span after playing
a tough game with the Redskins. That may come into play late in the game as
fatigue sets in.
My sense is that the supporters are right and that the pessimists
will be assuaged...at least until next week. And with three wins in these
playoffs, the postseason score will be tied, the Super Bowl will be won and
no one will care about what happened in those other seasons. Falcons win
27-24. Here's hoping...
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