It's almost unfathomable at this point. The Atlanta Falcons are for real. The Atlanta Hawks seem to be too. What the heck happened? Is this really happening? It seems too good to be true. In the city where professional sports apathy runs rampant due in large part to the long term ineptitude of management, it's hard to believe both teams are headed in positive directions.
Having lost four straight games to the Saints, the Falcons waxed Drew Brees and Co. at the Dome yesterday. The Falcons offense continues to impress which isn't entirely surprising since the Saints defense is a mess. Still, week after week the Falcons offense looks better and better. At this point the shock of Matt Ryan is starting to wear off and we're starting to realize that this guy, a rookie, is just a damn good player. If you figure that this is the floor of what he can do in this league the future is brighter than anyone could have imagined.
The season has been a revelation in so many more ways. The offensive line has been mostly outstanding, Michael Turner has been worth every penny, Roddy White continues to emerge as one of the NFC's best wide outs leading the conference in receiving yards (until tonight when Larry Fitzgerald passes him again) and Michael Jenkins, the much maligned enigma, has been money the last few weeks developing into a legit number two option. The defense continues to get better. Everyone knows John Abraham, but the linebacking corps has been good and the defensive backfield is improving week to week. How the heck did the Falcons get Dominique Foxworth? Why did the league's 28th rated pass defense in Denver let this guy go?
Suddenly, the playoffs aren't such a pipe dream. The Falcons are part of an NFC log jam with a bunch of other teams and both division rivals Tampa Bay and Carolina have to come to the Georgia Dome where the Falcons have trailed for all of 11 seconds this season. If the Falcons can win these next two home games with Denver and Carolina that puts them at 8-3 going into a tough two game road stretch against San Diego and New Orleans. Even if they lost those, if the Falcons run the table at home that gives them no fewer than 10 wins and as this team has shown, anything is believable on the road at this point.
Meanwhile, across the street they're going to have to contemplate changing the name of the building from the Highlight Factory to the Win Factory. The Hawks are the lone unbeaten in the Eastern Conference as they moved to 5-0 with a sloppy win over Oklahoma City last night. The Hawks starting five is a known commodity, but there was a ton of doubt about the Hawks bench after Josh Childress bolted for the riches of Olympiakos. New Hawks GM Rick Sund didn't panic, he went out and signed Mo Evans and Ronald "Flip" Murray and both have been crucial, especially Flip. Flip is averaging 12.4 points per game and put the Hawks on his back and led the comeback last night. Furthermore, the Hawks have gotten good minutes out of Zaza Pachulia the first week of the season and Solomon Jones this week providing some much needed front court depth.
The Hawks are getting it done on both ends of the floor holding opponents to an Eastern Conference best 85.8 points per game while ranking 7th in the league in 3pt percentage on offense. Both stats are telling for a team that struggled in its commitment to defense and struggled shooting the three pointer in the past. The fact that they've improved in both areas is huge and even without Josh Smith for who knows how long with an ankle injury, this team should be able to persevere and look like they will be a formidable opponent for the long haul.
It's been a wonderful ride for the past few weeks and months with the teams in Atlanta. We can only hope the good times continue. If anything the future looks bright. Heck, even the Thrashers have won four straight. Things might finally be going their way....nah.
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