The 2024 campaign has been a breath of fresh air for Falcons fans.
The Arthur Smith era was marred by poor quarterback play and questionable usage of the club’s top 10 picks. It was hard to watch at times. I mean, how could any reasonable person get excited about Marcus Mariota or Desmond Ridder?
All it took was Raheem Morris and Kirk Cousins coming to Atlanta. The lead man has already accomplished the most difficult task for a non-play-calling head coach — hiring the right offensive coordinator. Morris brought Zac Robinson from Los Angeles to Atlanta, and it’s worked out marvelously thus far.
He can only do so much, though. Kirk Cousins is the driving factor in the Falcons’ resurgence. He’s already thrown for as many touchdowns in nine games as Ridder and Taylor Heinicke threw all of last season. He ranks fourth in the league in passing yards (2,328), fourth in touchdowns (17), ninth in completion percentage (69.2%), and ninth in passer rating (101.9)
The offense is finally worth getting excited about, and the numbers back it up. “The Falcons are already 93 percent of the way toward their 2023 full-season total for yardage when targeting wide receivers,” Mike Sando of The Athletic writes. “They have 1,535 yards passing to wide receivers through Week 9 after having 1,650 all last season, when Ridder started 13 games for them.”
The Falcons are fun again. It feels a little like 2016, which ironically is the last time the club swept their rivals, as they’re trying to do this weekend. The Falcons haven’t swept the Saints since their Super Bowl run, and they’ll travel to New Orleans to do just that.
A team that just fired their head coach is waiting for them, though. The firing of Dennis Allen has rejuvenated the Saints organization. Just as much as the Falcons want to dominate the NFC South, the Saints would love to ruin Atlanta’s season.
It’s going to be a fistfight in the Big Easy.
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Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire
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