Falcons lose, but announcing made it worse...

By: Mark A. Kirkley

It was a night to remember, but not for the Atlanta Falcons (9-6). Coming in to last Monday night's contest with the New Orleans Saints (12-3) in the Superdome, the Atlanta Falcons had already earned a spot in the playoffs with at least a sixth spot in post season play. But if the Falcons would have won the last two games of the season, and the Saints lost the last two, the Falcons would have won their second straight NFC South title, and moved to the third spot in the playoffs. But because of the 16-45 lost to the Saints, that idea flies out the window, and the Saints win the division. The Falcons could move back to the fifth spot with a win this Sunday versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-11) in the season finale at the Georgia Dome and a loss by the Detroit Lions (10-5).

By no means was I upset that the Falcons lost last Monday. If they would have won I would have been surprised and the team is just hot at the right time. I was expecting a loss, but I saw that the team didn't quit. Starting QB Matt Ryan had to throw the ball a lot due to falling behind in the game early. He ended the game going 34-52 for 373 yards. Wide receiver Julio Jones led the team with 128 yards and WR Roddy White added 127. But could only punch it into the endzone once with a TD catch by Jones.

The one thing that I notice whenever I watch MNF on ESPN when the saints are playing is the announcing is always for the Saints, even some of the commercials are about the Saints or something pertaining to New Orleans. Now of course, the Falcons didn't play well to get a lot credit, but they should still get their due. I'm not bitter or upset by any means, I just believe the announcing and the tv station needs to be fair for both teams.

So the Falcons have had a pretty good season and even if Tampa Bay wins Sunday, the Falcons still make the playoffs as the sixth seed. The one thing I am most happy about is the consistency. All four seasons that Head Coach Mike Smith and General Manager Thomas Dimitroff have been in Atlanta, the Falcons have had a winning season. That had never happened, not even two straight winning seasons before this coach and GM duo. Here is to earning that fifth spot.