Falcons Slip 2 Spots to #4 in ESPN Power Rankings

Sep 8, 2013; New Orleans, LA, USA; Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan (2) gets sacked for a loss by New Orleans Saints linebacker Parys Haralson (98) during the third quarter at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

In the interest of full disclosure, “power rankings” of any sort are relatively meaningless. After all, they provide no tangible value in the NFL (a league that seeds/ranks teams based on win-loss record, in contrast to college football), and they are generally used for exactly this purpose.

To start discussion.

That’s where we find ourselves on Tuesday, as the Falcons have slipped (just) two spots to the #4 position in ESPN’s Week 2 power rankings. To be honest, I would have expected a more significant fall for the 0-1 Falcons, and Atlanta is the highest-ranked 0-1 team in the league according to the panel from the Worldwide Leader.

This shows some welcome optimism from the national media on behalf of the Red-and-Black, but they did take a minor shot at Matt Ryan with this blurb:

"“Matty Ice, what happened? Atlanta had possession in the last two minutes of each half, but failed to score. Matt Ryan was 4-of-9 with an interception in that span.”"

As we covered (at length) in the game recap, this loss falls on about 10 different shoulders before arriving at Matt Ryan. However, this is a quarterback-driven league, and shouldn’t be a surprise to see Ryan taking the blame despite a solid performance.

In the end, it doesn’t matter on the field, but the Falcons are still garnering some respect from the national media, and we should remember this before going to the mantra of  “Nobody Believes in Us!” (copyright, Bill Simmons).

Stay tuned for more as the Falcons prepare for the Rams in Week 2.