Atlanta Falcons: 5 Keys to this Super Bowl Trip

The Atlanta Falcons will play for the 51st NFL Super Bowl Championship. These 5 keys got them there.

No team, regardless of sport, reaches the pinnacle of their game without everyone contributing and everything working the way it was planned. Especially at the professional level, reaching a championship game requires both quality execution and an effulgent destiny. This is true for the 2016 Super Bowl bound Atlanta Falcons. Still, there are identifiable areas that point to drastic self-correction and improvement from recent history.

Good Matt Ryan vs. Bad Matt Ryan

. One doesn’t have to reach far into the memory bank to recall some of the poor showing from QB Matt Ryan. In 2015, “Bad” Matt Ryan threw for 16 interceptions on the year. In 2016 , Ryan threw 7 interceptions on the year, and none in the last 6 games. “Good” Matt Ryan is throwing touchdowns for his team, rather than the other team. It seems simplistic, but it is true.

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Offensive Line Consistency. Much has been made of the addition of Alex Mack (as it should), but the other 4-5 guys on the line have improved and have played all 18 games in 2016. Meaning, for the most part, they have stayed healthy. That is different than previous years. Jake Matthews has battled injury, as has Andy Levitre, and Chris Chester is, shall we say, not exactly a young player. Mack gets a ton of credit, but with the emergence of Ryan Schraeder, and the improved play and health of the line, “Good” Matt Ryan has time to shine.

Free Agency Home-run. The Atlanta Falcons, as a franchise, is not known for killing it in free agency. For every Andre Rison, you have a Dunta Robinson. But in 2015, Coach Dan Quinn and Company added names like Freeney, Mack, Sanu, and Gabriel. Every single one of those names has contributed, and continues to contribute on Sundays. These players aren’t here just for “depth”, they are integral parts of the team. The team can’t win without them.

Draft Home-Run. Any Falcons fan knows that NFL Draft Day might as well be April Fool’s Day in Atlanta. The pothole filled past for Falcons’ drafts is one of confounding embarrassment. In short, Pee Wee Herman could’ve done as well most years. 2016, on the other hand, was brilliant for the Falcons and their draft. Neal, Jones, Campbell, and Hooper are all rookies, and have all contributed. This, coupled with Brian Poole, who was undrafted, but signed, these five players , quite possibly, represent the best draft for any team in the NFL in 2016. Every single one was a home-run, and a perfect fit. The team can’t win without them.

Julio Jones.

You readers don’t need me to tell you what this man can do on the football field. But something should be said about his humility and “team first” mentality. Simply, most with his caliber of play, media attention, and notoriety, would be more like a Dez Bryant, Randy Moss, or Terrell Owens. Instead, he always talks about his team, and his brothers, and his Falcons’ family. As good as he is on the field, he might be better in the locker room. To underestimate the kind of effect this has on the team as a whole, would be to show that you don’t understand team sports.

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The totality and sum of these 2016 NFC Champion Atlanta Falcons isn’t reflected in these five areas. It takes an entire team and company effort to get to this point. But if one looks at these Falcon factions, one begins to look at the whole, and one begins to see something special. One begins to see something different. One begins to see a sharp Falcons focus coming into view…and that view has trophies in it.

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