Atlanta Falcons: NFC Power Rankings, Week 7
By John Buhler
Previous: . Seattle Seahawks. 8. team. 36. .
How far are the 2015 Seattle Seahawks going to slide? At 2-4, it’s almost painful to put this football team that cannot close games in the top half of the NFC. What is it going to take for me to feel comfortable about calling the Seattle Seahawks are pretender?
A loss to arch rival San Francisco on Thursday Night to fall to 2-5 would do the trick. The offensive line of Seattle is one of the most porous in football. I’m starting to question if the Legion of Boom is any good any more. Losing DC Dan Quinn to the HC job with the Atlanta Falcons hurts, but falling to the 49ers on the road on Thursday is so much worse. The NFC Champions could find themselves at 2-5 by Friday morning.
Minnesota Vikings. 7. team. 60. . . Previous:
Even at 3-2, I don’t have a clue if the Minnesota Vikings are a good team or not. Beating Detroit, San Diego, and Kansas City isn’t doing much for me other than it’s three wins. The defense seems like it’s getting there for HC Mike Zimmer. However, is QB Teddy Bridgewater ready to take a giant leap forward in Year Two?
This historically dome team may struggle playing lat season games at home in the frigid weather of the Twin Cities. Sure, the Vikings can always hand the ball off to Adrian Peterson and find success. However, for Minnesota to assert themselves as a serious playoff contender, it starts with Bridgewater becoming a Pro Bowl caliber quarterback. I still think he’s about a year away from being that type of passer for the Vikings.
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New York Giants. 6. team. 31. . . Previous:
Losing on the road badly to arch rival Philadelphia was a very New York Giants thing to do. While New York’s losses to Atlanta and Philadelphia aren’t bad ones, the Cowboys’ one isn’t looking great entering Week 7. Fortunately for the G-Men, they will get to redeem themselves from their Week 1 defeat at home against Dallas this weekend.
The receiving game will keep New York relevant in the NFC playoff mix for most of the season. However, that pass defense of the Giants needs vast improvement if they envision themselves playing in late January.
. Previous: . Atlanta Falcons. 5. team. 44.
A win over New Orleans and I might have actually put the Falcons in first place in the NFC. However, road Thursday Night games don’t turn out well for the visitor. I’ll give the Saints credit, they played a strong game against their biggest rival and I can respect that. Atlanta will take the road loss in stride and play great football the rest of the way.
On paper, their Week 6 game against the New Orleans Saints may stand as one of the Atlanta Falcons’ toughest games of 2015. Atlanta will have ten days to prepare for the Tennessee Titans, who may not have QB Marcus Mariota as he is suffering from an MCL sprain. Atlanta is a playoff team and so are the Carolina Panthers. It’ll be fun watching these two NFC South teams compete down to the wire in 2015.
Next: Tier I: Projected Division Winners