NFL Schedule Preview: Atlanta Falcons

It’s 36 days until the new NFL season begins but for a football mad guy like me that’s just too long so I’ve taken it upon myself to go over each NFL schedule and try and predict for all of you what may happen once the season rolls around.

Today it’s time to conclude our tour of the NFC South with the Atlanta Falcons who went 10-6 in 2011. Here’s how I think their season will go:

• Week 1 at Kansas City Chiefs – Win
• Week 2 vs Denver Broncos – Win
• Week 3 at San Diego Chargers – Loss
• Week 4 vs Carolina Panthers – Loss
• Week 5 at Washington Redskins – Loss
• Week 6 vs Oakland Raiders – Loss
• Week 7 BYE
• Week 8 at Philadelphia Eagles – Loss
• Week 9 vs Dallas Cowboys – Win
• Week 10 at New Orleans Saints – Loss
• Week 11 vs Arizona Cardinals – Win
• Week 12 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Win
• Week 13 vs New Orleans Saints – Loss
• Week 14 at Carolina Panthers – Loss
• Week 15 vs New York Giants – Loss
• Week 16 at Detroit Lions – Loss
• Week 17 vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Win

Overall record for the Atlanta Falcons in 2012: 6-10

The first thing I notice is a rather rare statistical anomaly in this schedule – for the entire season the Falcons alternate between home and away games and at no point in the entire 16 game schedule do they have home or road games back to back. This is something that does not occur very often at all and probably shouldn’t as they constant travel will no doubt have an effect on the team’s performance. Usually you can count on at least one three game stretch at home and the lack of this will no doubt be a challenge to this team – one I do not believe can be overcome.

Three crucial stretches in this schedule – the opening three games against the Chiefs, Broncos and Chargers; the three games after the bye against the Eagles, Cowboys and Saints; and the three games to close out the season against the Giants, Lions and Buccaneers. It is my belief that in the tough NFC conference the Falcons must win at least six of these nine games to make the playoffs and cannot at any point lose all the games of any of those stretches. This may be a team on the rise but this schedule does not bode well for a return to the postseason to improve on Mike Smith’s 0-3 record.