Why the Atlanta Falcon's are poised to make another playoff run in 2013

In this blog I will be looking at the chances of Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcon's chances in making an even deeper playoff run than they did last year where they were eventually stymied by San Francisco. With the continued development of Ryan and his impressive wide receiving partnership of Roddy White and Julio Jones the Falcon's seem set to return to the playoffs a second year in a row. There are a number of reasons why I think that they will manage to do this even though some may argue that with the departure of Micheal "Burner" Turner they are even weaker.

However I believe that the departure of Michael Turner has in some way strengthened the Falcon's offensive versatility, they will be able to incorporate the electric Jacquizz Rodgers into their passing game alongside Jones and White. Rodgers adds an element that Turner was unable to bring, he adds a change of pace and an elusiveness that brings a completely different dimension to their offense. This replacement should speed up an offense that tended to become rather stagnant when they relied on Turner to move the ball on the ground, this is a key concern for a team that was 29th in rushing in 2012 with a meager 87.3 yards per game on the ground. We did however start to see Rodgers getting more touches on the ground and in the air, he managed to compile 94 touches on the ground and an impressive 53 receptions, this is a large increase to his rookie season where he only managed to get 57 touches on the ground and 21 receptions. This already indicates to us that his potential had been realised and therefore a concerted effort was made get him the ball, whether this was on the ground or in the air. I think that therefore, we shall see a significant increase in his production next year, as he will be given an even greater number of touches and will hopefully be able to return the Falcon's running attack to the glory of only a few season's ago, when Turner was relatively near his prime and easily clearing 1000 yards.

Now to the next big issue for the Falcon's, Tony Gonzalez, this tight end who is undoubtedly going to be enshrined in Canton Ohio in the Hall of Fame is still apparently undecided as to whether or not he will return next year. Although he seemingly decided at the end of the Falcon's playoff run that it was time to step away from the game, however in the recent months it seems that Gonzalez has had time to think about this decision and is unsure whether he will actually stand by it. This has led to most people assuming that Gonzalez will eventually decide to return to the Falcon's for one more season, if so then Ryan will have one more chance to try and help earn one of the greatest tight end's to ever take the field a Super Bowl ring. Questions will undoubtedly arise however about his health and whether he can stay fit, though many people will point to his continued health throughout his 15 year career, thought there has been an obvious decline in his production due to his age he is still a major touchdown threat in the redzone due to the phenomenal hands and body control that he possesses. This means that he is still a viable threat to score and will be able to take some of the pressure off Julio Jones and Roddy White when the Falcon's are trying to punch in those vital scores in big games. Whatever decision he makes it will definitely impact the Falcon's chances next year as they try to make another playoff run, he provides veteran leadership and skill to a team that otherwise lacks leaders on either side of the ball.

The next most important factor for the Falcon's in establishing themselves as a constant threat to reach the playoffs is there dominating wide receiving duo of Julio Jones and Roddy White. This pair can stake a claim to be the most feared duo in the NFL because of their size, speed and catching ability, all of these attributes that they hold helps to threaten defenses in a multitude of ways that ranges from passes down the field to short passes across the middle that when caught in stride can gain huge amounts of yards. This gives Matt Ryan a various number of ways in which he can beat a defense and helps to increase the threat that the Falcon's offense poses. With this the Falcon's should be able to move the ball effectively in the air, Jones seems to be poised to continue to keep improving at a tremendous rate, and this should help to draw some coverage away from Roddy White which he will surely face because of his outstanding year in 2012 (92 receptions, 1351 yards and 7 touchdowns). Jones will have to play a much more prominent role on the offense of Gonzalez does retire, he did show that he will be able to do this by improving his catches by 25 (from 54 in his rookie year to 79), however he will need to improve again if the Falcon's hope to return to the playoffs for the second year in a row. However at the tender age of 24 we can easily expect to see Julio Jones improve throughout the next few years and emerge as one of the best receivers in the NFL. Roddy White is continuing to produce incredible numbers and I expect him to for at least 3 to 4 years until age starts to slow him down and force him to become more of a possession receiver. All in all the wide receiving group for Atlanta looks set to be one of the very best for the foreseeable future.

The only other concern and one that I believe is relatively minor is the continued high performance of Matt Ryan, he needs to be able to consistently put up the numbers that he managed to post in the 2012 season, he managed to post 4,719 yards through the air and compiled an impressive 32 touchdowns. This paired with his first ever trip to the postseason has helped to finally silence some of the doubters that have been present in the past few seasons, with all of this pressure finally removed from Ryan's shoulders he should be able to play as he wishes without fear of any criticism. I have the personal opinion that all of the criticism that he has had, has been slightly undeserved, I thought he was eventually going to lead his team to the postseason and then win a game. I was finally proven right last year when he managed to engineer his team to a win against Seattle in the Georgia Dome. This showed us that Ryan does have the poise and leadership required to win in the playoffs, and will undoubtedly go on to win more in the future.

All of these factors that I have discussed in this brief blog manage to show how and why I believe the Atlanta Falcon's are poised to make a playoff run in 2013, as long as they can keep all of these under control then there is no doubt that they will  repeat their performance of last year. This should help to quell any criticism that may arise of Ryan and the Falcon's performances in the ensuing years.

Why the two games between the 49ers and Seahawks are going to be the two best games of the season

This year the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks will face off twice in heated divisional clashes. These two games promise to give viewers a preview to what many analysts believe may be the NFC championship game in January. Both teams had great seasons last year, with the 49ers losing narrowly to the Baltimore Ravens in the Superbowl, and the Seahawks being overcome by the Atlanta Falcons just weeks prior. Both of these teams have showed a huge improvement from just a few years ago, when many said that not only were they part of the worst division in football, but that maybe they shouldn't be participating in the playoffs at all, because they were so paltry. Since then, there has been a dramatic turn around in both of their fortunes.

For the 49ers, the turnaround came when they decided to turn to their young quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, to lead their dismal offense. This upgraded them from a conservative west-coast offense that relied heavily on Frank Gore and check-downs, to one that now boasts on option run attack and a quarterback who can make all the short throws as well as being able to push the ball further down the field, which was something they lacked with the below average arm strength of Alex Smith.

Another factor that improved their offensive threat was the continued emergence of Michael Crabtree, who posted over 1,000 receiving yards for the first time in his 4 year career, as well as hauling in a career-best 9 touchdowns. The dramatic rise of Crabtree was, in part, orchestrated by the promotion of Colin Kaepernick, which suddenly gave the 49ers extensive room to move the ball vertically. This change forced Crabtree into becoming a greater part of the passing attack and took some of the workload off veteran tight-end, Vernon Davis. This amount of player depth allowed Kaepernick to not only have two premier targets in the passing game, but also threaten defenses with his ability to take off and run with the ball when the play broke down.

When you pair this with one of the most dominant defensive units in the league you have a team that can utterly dominate their opponents. Their defense boasts the frightening linebacking group of Patrick Willis, Navarro Bowman, Aldon Smith, and Ahmad Brooks. This fearsome group is arguably the best in the NFL, not only can they put a stop to the run game but they also have the flexibility to play extensively in nickel packages and stay on the field for three downs. Not to mention that Aldon Smith is one of the emerging pass rushers in the NFL, consistently applying tremendous pressure on quarterbacks. All of these factors contributed to San Francisco ranking 4th in yards allowed in rushing at 94.2 per game, and 4th in passing yards allowed per game with 200.2. They also ranked 2nd in the league in points conceded per game, only conceding 17.1. This was backed up even further by the sacks and interceptions they compiled; 38 sacks and 14 picks. With all of this in the same unit you have a truly dominating defense that can take the ball away as well as forcing opposing teams to punt frequently. This gives Kaepernick increased opportunities to run his offense and develop as a player. Next year promises to be a truly outstanding one for the 49ers with all this talent on both sides of the ball.

On the other side of this equation are the Seattle Seahawks, until recently a relatively weak team with a dysfunctional offense and a defense that was mediocre. However, over the past year they have established themselves as one of the powerhouses of the NFC through their excellent defensive performance and efficient offense run by the talented Russell Wilson. Wilson managed to transform their offense into one that boasted multiple threats on the ground and in the air.

The dramatic change to their offensive fortunes was powered by the arrival of Russell Wilson and the continued dominance of running back Marshawn Lynch. Wilson posted exceptional statistics for a rookie, even managing to rival the sensational performances of Andrew Luck and RG3, and actually provided some competition in the rookie of the year vote (claimed by Redskin's standout Robert Griffin III). He did this by posting 3118 yards, 26 touchdowns and only 10 interceptions, an outstanding year for someone who was originally charted to be the back up for Matt Flynn, and, even after claiming the starting job, was heavily criticised for his diminutive stature. This didn't stop him from taking Seattle by storm and leading the Seahawks easily into the playoffs, where they were unfortunately ousted by Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons. Although many said this was a disappointing end to a Cinderella season, they should be extremely happy with how their season played out, and look ahead to improving over the off season to aid their efforts to reach a Superbowl.

Marshawn Lynch had an outstanding year. Running for 1590 yards and 11 touchdowns, he has steadily improved over the past few years in Seattle and managed to establish himself as one of the top 5 running backs in the NFL. As a player he consistently wears down defenses with his brute force and physicality, whilst also possessing the ability to run past them with his deceptive speed (especially for someone of his size). This creates an effective tandem with Russell Wilson when they employ the option offense, as Wilson possesses the speed and agility to get past defenders, while Lynch just bowls right through them. With the addition of Percy Harvin from the Vikings, they have managed to upgrade their receiving core even more and take some of the defensive attention away from their other major threat, Golden Tate. This means that Wilson now has even more potential weapons with which to work with and continue to vertically stretch opposing defenses.

On the defensive side of the ball the Seahawks have possibly the most impressive secondary in the NFL, led by Richard Sherman, Brandon Browner, Kam Chancellor, and Earl Thomas. Sherman and Browner have the ability to shut down any wide receiver in the NFL due to their ability to play one-on-one man coverage. This means that no extra defenders are needed to help defend the receiver, allowing for exotic defensive schemes and blitz packages to be used to create pressure on the quarterback. Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor are arguably one of the best pairings at the safety positions in the NFL. Chancellor roams around the line of scrimmage and provides vital run support with his superb tackling ability. Combined with his impressive hitting power that forces fumbles and creates turnover opportunities, he is a force to be reckoned with. He also possesses the ability to drop back in coverage and defend the deep ball, which adds another aspect to his game and makes him even more versatile. On the other side of the field, Earl Thomas provides the ball-hawking ability from the free safety position. As well as being a proficient tackler, he is the safety that I believe can be most like the iconic Ed Reed. He has all the abilities and just needs to improve his knowledge of how offenses work in order to be able to read the quarterback and anticipate his throws. If he can do this, it should lead to him being able to improve upon his rather underwhelming tally of 3 interceptions in 2012.

However, the undisputed leader of the Seattle Seahawks "Legion of Boom" defense is the controversial Richard Sherman. Best known for his post-game dispute with Patriots star Tom Brady, he has become even more divisive due to his off the field antics. However, he has nevertheless continued to showcase his worth with his exceptional coverage ability. Combined with a knack for reading the quarterback, showcasing this effectively in 2012 with 8 interceptions, he is a force to be reckoned with, even managing to post an impressive number of tackles for a cornerback, 64. If this abrasive superstar can continue this level of performance in 2013 we should expect to see the Seahawks secondary continue to be one of the most feared units in the entire NFL. Another factor that contributed to the Seahawks dominant defense, which coincidentally allowed the least points per game in the regular season (15.3), was that they managed to create pressure on opposing quarterbacks, racking up an impressive 36 sacks. This was mainly due to the solid play of Chris Clemons, who racked up 11.5 sacks, and the impressive rookie year by Bruce Irvin, who contributed a modest total of 8 sacks. An interesting comparison can be made here; when totaled, the sacks of these two players combine for 19.5 sacks, the same number that Aldon Smith tallied in 2012. With this staunch defense leading the way, the Seattle Seahawks should expect to have an even better year, and challenge the 49ers for the NFC West division crown.

With all of these different factors and outstanding players being piled onto the same pitch twice a year fans should see some truly memorable moments. Whether it is Kaepernick being pursued by a ravenous Seahawks defense or Marshawn Lynch bowling through Patrick Willis and Navarro Bowman there is much enjoyment to be had for any fans of the sport. All the hype surrounding these two games, as well as the rivalry between the teams, combined with the possibility that they may ultimately decide who clinches the division title and avoids a wildcard game adds up to make these games ones that fans will definitely not want to miss.

Can Adrian Peterson actually reach 2,500 rushing yards in a single season?

In this post I will attempt to answer whether or not Adrian Peterson can live up to his statement claiming that in the 2014 season he will aim to rush for 2,500 yards. These are big words from an athlete who, just a year ago, was recovering from a torn ACL. Even with last years inspirational season in which Peterson only fell 9 yards short of breaking the single season rushing record set by Eric Dickerson in 1984 with 2,105 yards. Peterson now aims to obliterate this record by the minimum of 395 yards which seems unthinkable due to the fact that the NFL is become increasingly a league in which the QB creates the most yardage and the athleticism and speed of defenses can now easily shut down the majority of running backs.

Peterson is a physical anomaly, he is the one of the few of a dying breed in the NFL, his dual threat of speed and power repeatedly punishes defenses. Nowadays it is rare to see a back with the kind of talent and physicality that Peterson possesses. It is likely we will never see one like him again, the only current backs in the league that can draw comparisons are Arian Foster of the Texans and Maurice Jones-Drew of the Jaguars. Both of these backs possess similar qualities and also are major pieces in contributing to the success of their respective offenses. This then brings the obvious comparisons between the three players, however Peterson just seems to stand taller than either with his violent running style and the way he consistently punishes defenders attempting to stop him. He is one of a kind, this means that we take his comments seriously because he has the ability and drive to push himself to greater boundaries and maybe even reach his lofty goal.

However Peterson will face some obstacles during the following season. With the departure of Percy Harvin to Seattle the Vikings seemed to be lost in the pass catching department, however they managed to salvage the situation by signing long time Green Bay Packer Greg Jennings. This has allowed them to replace their speedster with a veteran who still remains a legitimate deep threat, a great pair of hands and still can make plays over the middle of the field. Arguably he strengthens the Vikings passing attack because he has the experience and skills to be able to do more on the field than Harvin, however he doesn't appear to possess the big play potential anymore that Harvin brought to Minnesota. Instead he brings constant mid range threat over the middle that will help them to move the ball easier when the box is being stacked to stop Peterson. But it no longer means that defenses will drop their safeties back in order to prevent any deep threats, instead their safeties will be free to roam down near the line of scrimmage the majority of the game and help to stop Peterson. However this will all hinge on whether or not Jennings can establish himself as a deep threat every time that he is on the field, if he can then defenses will still have to account for the deep throw, and consequently give Peterson more room to run.

Also Peterson has to be able to consistently gain big yardage against every team that he faces (he will need to average 156.25 yards per game in order to reach his target) even if they are stacking the box repeatedly, the Vikings need to find some other way to seriously threaten defenses if they are to aid Peterson in his conquest.  They have to re-establish their deep threat with Jennings and ensure that Kyle Rudolph can still remain a consistent threat in the red zone and improve upon the 9 touchdowns he managed to snag last year. If their offensive line can consistently open up holes when the box is stacked we should expect to see Peterson improve upon his yardage total from last year and inch closer to his goal of 2,500 yards. This is because a large amount of Peterson's big plays are made from his own improvisation and talent, if he can run through the holes created for him by his offensive line then he should only be expected to gain more yards. If he can manage to do this then we should expect to see Peterson smash Dickerson's record and power towards the 2,500 mark.

We have now come to the conclusion of this blog, and seem to have shed some light in this statement. Adrian is a supreme physical being who is undoubtedly the only one who has a remote chance at reaching this lofty goal. He does however need to have the support of Christian Ponder and his passing game in order to ensure that defenses aren't constantly stacking the box against him. The continued support of his offensive line is also necessary for him to be able to achieve big gains on the ground consistently if they can manage to open up the required holes. Overall he might be able to achieve this lofty goal if these factors are present throughout the majority of 2014, however he needs to be exceptionally lucky and have a few games in which he rushes close to his single season record of 296 in order to come close to 2,500 yards in a single season.