The Atlanta Falcons are looking to rewrite their history.
The top-seeded Dirty Birds face the red-hot Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Divisional playoffs today Jan. 13. Atlanta’s playoff history under head coach Mike Smith has been disappointing to say the least, with the team going 0-3 in the playoffs over the previous four seasons. And in 2011, they were the top seeded team in the NFC when they suffered a 48-21 playoff loss to the Green Bay Packers.
But all of that could change today.
“We’re a much more mature team because of our experiences,” Smith told ESPN. “I think you learn from your previous experiences in the playoffs. This is a team that has been very focused from the very beginning of the season and we’ve got a lot of guys who have experienced the playoff atmosphere. They’re going to be able to help some of the younger guys who haven’t.”
The Falcons were sixth in the NFL in passing this season, with 281.8 yards per game. They were seventh in scoring (26.2 points), and their potent wide receiver tandem of Roddy White and Julio Jones combined for 171 catches with 2,549 yards and 17 touchdowns. Quarterback Matt Ryan set franchise records with 4,719 yards passing and 32 touchdowns, and completed 68.6 percent of his –another record.
They’ll need their offense to be clicking against a Seattle team that has size and a formidable combination of corner backs in Richard Sherman and Brandon Browner. The Seattle defense allowed the fewest points in the NFL this season.
Sherman, however, acknowledged that shutting down White and Jones would be a tall order. “They’re two of the best in the league. They’re two of the best out there right now as individuals. For a tandem, they’re probably the top tandem out there,” he told Pro Football Weekly.
The Seahawks also have Pro Bowl running back Marshawn Lynch, who averaged 116.8 and 6.9 per carry while topping 100 yards during the previous games of the team’s six-game winning streak.
But the Falcons will have the emotional push of playing in the Georgia Dome and the confidence that comes with coming off of a stellar season in their favor. And Atlanta’s defense, with 31 takeaways, tied for fifth in the league with Seattle and Washington this season.
The Falcons also have the desire to change their own misfortune and forge a new destiny. They’ve won their last three games against Seattle, and White believes that Ryan, in particular, is ready to meet the challenge and win a playoff game.
“He knows we have to win a playoff game,” White shared. “Everybody knows that, and not to put any pressure on him, but I just think that at this point in the season, everybody knows they have to play their best football right now.”
“To me it’s no different than any other game,” Smith said. “It’s 100 percent on our football team to go out and play our best. We feel like we accomplished what we needed to accomplish to get here and we are looking forward to playing against Seattle.”
– stereo williams
