Friday Falcons Rant: Pro Football Focus dishes out some major disrespect

Pro Football Focus is usually an exciting read, but they missed BADLY with their 2020 Preseason offense rankings. The Falcons came in at 12, which is just an absurd spot for a team with an MVP caliber QB, one of the greatest WRs of all time, Todd Gurley, and an up and coming star in Calvin Ridley.

 

Chiefs at 1? good start.

Ravens at 2? have to agree.

Cowboys at 3? Top 5, sure, but I don’t have that much faith in Dink & Dak.

Bucs at 4? Seems a little overzealous, but that hype train has been chugging strong. Fournette helps a LOT.

Saints at 5? If they keep Kamara, they should be ahead of Dallas & Tampa.

Seahawks at 6? Stop it. Russell Wilson only takes you so far. DK Metcalf is promising, and Tyler Lockett is underrated, but their offensive line is putrid.

Lions at 7? This is where I almost stopped reading. I’m a big-time “Stafford is underrated” guy, but their offensive line is god awful. Kerryon Johnson & D’Andre Swift are an excellent back tandem, and Kenny Golladay is elite. Marvin Jones Jr. is also one of my favorite players, but let’s maybe pump the brakes on the team who won three games last season.

49ers at 8? I don’t hate it because Jimmy G is not an elite QB, and their WR core is barren. However, when you can run the football at will and have George Kittle, I think you should be slightly higher than this.

Cardinals at 9? Don’t hate it. Maybe a few spots too high, but I’m buying all the Kyler Murray stock. This could be too low at the end of 2020.

Titans at 10? AJ Brown is one of my favorite players, and Henry is a monster, but maybe pump the brakes with Tannehill at QB. 

Texans at 11? This is the first spot ahead of the Falcons, and someone has to be trolling. Deshaun Watson is immensely talented but is nowhere near Matt Ryan’s level. You replace D-Hop with Brandin Cooks and add David Johnson… so? Houston should barely be in the top 15. (I’m aware Will Fuller ate the Falcons defense alive, but that’s not the topic at hand)

Falcons at 12? Yeah, I’m out. Atlanta has a QB who gives you 4,500 yards with his eyes closed, the greatest WR on the planet, a guy who put up 30 rushing TDs from 2017-2018, and one of the premier secondary options in the NFL in Calvin Ridley. Hayden Hurst will be a top 10 receiving tight end too. Left Tackle and Center are locked down, and Chris Lindstrom will hopefully be playing a full season. If you want to knock coaching… on what PLANET is Bill O’Brien ahead of Atlanta? 

 

I’ll be pointing out some other talking points in the bottom half just for time’s sake.

 

• Packers at 18 feels disrespectful. Aaron Rodgers has turned chicken scratch into chicken salad before.
• Browns at 19 behind the Vikings, Rams & Colts? Stop it.
• I like the Bengals at 20 but with the Steelers at 21… ambitious.
• Broncos at 22 is DISGUSTING.
• Bears at 24 ahead of the Chargers at 25 is DISGUSTING.
• Bills at 27 behind the Giants? Did anyone let this guy know they added Stefon Diggs?
• I’m not a Darnold guy, but the Jets in dead last in a world where the Jaguars, Panthers, & Washington Football Team exist is mindless.

 

The Falcons are no worse than 6th on this list: The correct top 10 is:

 

1. Chiefs
2. Ravens
3. Saints
4. Cowboys
5. Buccaneers
6. Falcons
7. 49ers
8. Seahawks
9. Cardinals
10. Titans

 

These are all subjective, but the point remains — the Falcons have an upper-echelon offense. It’s just annoying seeing Atlanta continue to catch massive amounts of disrespect from the mainstream media. However, none of that will matter once the games start being played.