Number 1!

When I was considering what to begin my very first B&B post with it really wasn’t too hard, I mean who would have thought that Atlanta would have a number 1 play-off seed in 2010. Ok technically 2011. After pummelling the woeful Carolina Panthers 31-3 (I refuse to acknowledge the Panthers ultimate garbage time touchdown) the Falcons completed their best regular season since 2004 by clinching a first round bye in the NFL play-offs. They didn’t destroy the Panthers in the way teams like the Patriots destroy inferior opponents, but the Falcons aren’t like that, they just strangled the life out of Carolina in ways previously unseen in the Dome, maybe outside of the SEC Championship. The best thing is that this team, unlike previously successful Falcons teams, isn’t reliant on one or two star attractions and, before anyone invokes the names of Ryan, White and Turner; none of them are anywhere the level of stardom that old number 7 achieved in his time in the A. This is a team built on the likes of center Todd McClure, defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux and offensive guard Harvey Dahl, genuinely old school, hardnosed tough guys. Ryan, White and Turner simply provide a very big, very tasty cherry on the top.

Ryan however is the face of the franchise, one who one day may become a Brady or Manning but is still in the very early stages of what should be a very long career. Early in his career he has most often been compared to the former Volunteer currently residing in Indianapolis and on his way to the Hall of Fame, the Manning brother whom people actually call Manning. In Peyton’s first 3 years in the league he was markedly similar to our own Matty Ice. In his rookie year Manning completed 56% of his passes compared too Ryan’s 61%, Peyton attempted about 140 passes more than Ryan which may be an early indicator of the type of quarterback number 2 will become. Matt’s third season also compares well to that of Manning; Ryan’s rating currently sits at 91.0 with 3705 yards, a 62.5 completion percentage, 28 touchdowns and 9 interceptions, Peyton had a rating of 94.7, 4413 yards, 62.5 completion percentage, 33 touchdowns and 15 picks. Again less yards from less attempts but as far as rating and completion % goes Thomas Dimitroff should be feeling very smug about his 2008 draft pick.

If the Falcons advance deep into the play-offs they may well have a chance to exercise a demon from the past in Michael Vick. Should the Falcons and Eagles advance in the manner they are expected too then the Dome could well be welcoming back the team’s fallen icon in the biggest game since the 1999 Super Bowl. Should this happen I think it would a pretty safe bet that a large proportion of the fans in the Dome would be sporting those old number 7 jersey’s that still populate large parts of downtown Atlanta on any given day. What Matt Ryan has given the franchise and the fan base is the opportunity to move on from those perceived halcyon days. Regardless of whether the season ends in Dallas or the Dome Falcons fans should remember the foundation that 2011 has built for the franchise. Some time before their first play-off game on the 15^th I will try and figure out exactly what the identity of this team is and exactly what it means to the city, but for now can’t we just enjoy the feeling of being the number 1 team in the NFC a position that all of us in Atlanta should start getting used to.

Last night I finally got to watch my first Hawks game of the season thanks, in a large part, because ESPN UK hasn’t found the Hawks that big of a draw; much like the fans at Phillips Arena. What I saw was that, despite winning a tough game on the road against a very spirited Clippers team, there are a whole lot of holes in this team that simply shouldn’t be there at this point in its development. There were so many mistakes made last night that are simple mental errors and moments of pure laziness. As much as Hawks fans would like to see the Atlanta Spirit out as owners nobody wants to see someone like Blake Griffin conducting such a hostile takeover like Blake did in the first quarter Sunday. They eventually managed to pull out a gutsy win thanks to a 37-24 fourth quarter that was a significant part of big second halves from Joe Johnson who had 17 second half points, Josh Smith who had 18 and Al Horford’s 18. The lack of focus and energy in the first half is something that I’m sure some of the players will blame on the travel but something that should be an increasing concern for Larry Drew.

The Thrashers also picked up a pretty big win on the road north of the border in the Centre Bell. Once again it was the new superstar in Atlanta Dustin Byfuglien that pulled out the big overtime goal for the Thrashers that moved them to 21-15-6 overall. Despite another huge goal from big Buff it was a game won on the back of another monumental effort from rising star goaltender Ondrej Pavelec. The fact that Pavs has conceded a few more goals in his last few games, raising his goals against average to a slightly more realistic 2.14 which is now only third best in the league, he is still the key to what Craig Ramsay and the Thrashers organisation are hoping to achieve in the long term. Pavelec made 47 saves in a game that the Thrashers were outshot 50-28, a ridiculous difference given the Thrashers position in the standings and one that really needs to improve. It might be a consequence of having Byfulgien on the defensive end or just an area that the team needs to work on, regardless of the reason Pavelec, who is 14-8-4 on the year, could easily be solely responsible for maybe 5 to 10 victories so far this year.

I apologise for not getting to as much Hawks and Thrashers at I would have liked but the Falcons had to take priority because of the nature of their success. I promise that come Wednesday I will go Thrash and Hawk heavy and should be able to stay that way until maybe the middle of next week.

In the absence of a catchy sign off I’ll just say if you are amongst the 4 people who will read this first go around; see ya Wednesday.