Atlanta Falcons Are in for a ‘Tough’ Season

The Falcons have one of the toughest schedules in the league this season and according to the oddsmakers, it’s going to be a rough one even with the changes they’ve made.

Oddchecker’s spokesperson Pete Watt weighed in on what the oddsmakers came up with.

“The Falcons odds to win their division, conference, and the Super Bowl are all slightly longer than last season, suggesting that oddsmakers’ believe that Atlanta are in for a tough season, said Watt”

Here’s what the oddsmakers are predicting:

MARKET	ODDS
To win opener against Seattle Seahawks	+106 (2F)
To win the NFC South	+1000 (3F)
To win the NFC	+2500 (9F)
To win Super Bowl LV	+5000 (19F)
Matt Ryan to win MVP	+5000 (18F)
Matt Ryan to throw the most passing yards	+700 (2F)
A.J. Terrell to win DROTY	+5000 (15F)
Season win total (over/under)	7.5

Watt added, “They also don’t think much of their rookie class, with A.J. Terrell the only new boy in with a chance of winning either award.

“Matt Ryan, however, is tipped to do some damage for Atlanta; his MVP odds may put him as a slight longshot, but only Dak Prescott is tipped to throw more passing yards than the Falcons QB in the league this season.”

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What’s So Tough?

The Falcons will get tested early on with the Seahawks at home, and then away the following week when they face the Cowboys in Dallas. It’ll be vital for the Falcons to come out of the gate early on this season if they want to defeat the divisional champs.

In the middle of the season, there’s some hope for relaxation, but it’s no tea party. Week 10 will be nice at least.

Seeing arch-nemesis, Drew Brees twice in two weeks wasn’t planned out very well but the Falcons are used to getting screwed by NFL scheduling anyway…just look at 2019.

The ending, oh the ending, this is what looks like it sucks on the outside looking in. The Falcons will play Tom Brady at home and then the reigning Super Bowl champs away and end with meeting Tom Brady again in Tampa.

The Chiefs are practically the same team as they were last season and already predicted to have another Super Bowl bid. Brady could be beatable if the team pulls what the Patriots did last season and solely relies on Brady to win games.

This season will be quite the test for Dan Quinn and Thomas Dimitroff—who are, very well, in the hot seat.

Week 1

The Falcons aren’t favored to win their season opener against the Seahawks this Sunday. This doesn’t come by surprise. However, the Falcons will need to do whatever they can to come out on top as an underdog in Week 1, if they want to be taken seriously in the NFC South.

Seattle tackled some quality additions the offseason adding Greg Olsen to the passing game, Cedric Ogbuehi to play tackle, and will have both Phillip Dorsett and Josh Gordon as effective receivers. They also have two new backs with Carlos Hyde and rookie DeeJay Dallas who add nice depth behind Chris Carson.

What will be interesting to watch for on defense is Bruce Irvin as their best guy, especially since Jadeveon Clowney is with Tennessee now. And that’s the catch…Seattle’s defense isn’t anymore upgraded than it is from last season, but Atlanta’s is.

A Revamped Defense for Atlanta

The Falcons defense revamping their defense isn’t talked about enough.

Last season, Atlanta ranked as one of the worst pass-rushing defenses in the league, finishing with just 28 sacks. You have to know though that 21 of those sacks came of the final eight games of the season.

To bolster the pass rush, the Falcons signed ex-Rams outside linebacker Dante Fowler.  They also added Terrell and defensive lineman Marlon Davidson.

Terrell will get his fresh start on Sunday after the LSU game blowout and hopefully have the oddsmakers rethinking themselves.

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