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Let’s say we lose Saturday (and so do the Falcons Sunday), just what will you make of the season? For me, it would still be a success, though one with some question marks. The potential of making the playoffs feels more like a culture leap than anything else; Despite beating great teams, I don’t think 99 percent of us have any expectation of making a run to the Super Bowl.
This season has been wildly inconsistent, but has left a lot to be happy with.
– T-Mac is surefire hit, and not only that, Scourton has only improved throughout the season, and seems to be developing his pass rush while already being a significant contributor against the run. We’ve picked up quality players in the later rounds, too, with Mitchell Evans, Lathan Ransom, and Jimmy Horn Jr.. It’s too soon to say, but this appears to be one of our best classes in some time.
– COACHING. Sure, it’s not been flawless, but Canales has seemed far more comfortable, and Ejiro Evero has shown what he can do with some real players on defense. Also, how about the fact that we’ve basically been dealt a different configuration of the OL 85 percent of our games, and held up remarkably despite that?
– Culture and resiliency may just be the biggest thing. The team looked young, and even looked awful some weeks, but never have they looked like they don’t care, and have demonstrated the ability to bounce back week to week, no matter how discouraging the circumstances.
I’ll be disappointed if we miss the playoffs, but I won’t be broken. I’d just like to hear some of your takeaways from the season and what has made you the most hopeful. — Derek, Hickory, NC
I love that Derek drove his stake in the ground pre-Week 18. And I largely agree with him.
But my main takeaway from the season is that it isn’t over, and that’s monumental news.
This year has been all about development, about stabilizing the roster and the culture. Last year was a good first step; this year, they put some more meat on the bones.
They’re not where they need to be yet; they need more people and more time.
But man, the difference between where this team was and where it is now is ridiculous. This is now a competent professional football team in the NFL’s big middle, and once you add to that, results should improve.
At a certain point, they’ll have to get better at some concrete things (like winning more than one game in a row), and the Saints are improving, the Bucs are the Bucs, and the Falcons have a lot of young talent on defense for a new coach, so you never know how that’s going to turn out.
But this year was a win regardless of last week’s results, and regardless of Saturday’s.
The credit for that goes to Canales and Morgan. It’s easy to talk about process, building, and being patient. It’s a lot harder to walk that walk, and they’ve done it.