The Flacons made it to the NFC Championship Game in 2004, but they regressed to third in the division while missing the playoffs last year, and we look for a carbon copy this season.

For all the talent that quarterback Michael Vick has, he is simply a terrible fit for the West Coast offense that Atlanta employs. There are rumblings that the reason that the Falcons have turned down trade offers for backup QB Matt Shaub is that they expect him to take over the starting job possibly as early as 2007! Unfortunately Vick also led the team in rushing last year by a wide margin, which does not say much about the Atlanta running backs. While Warrick Dunn averaged an impressive 5.9 yards per carry, he is simply not durable enough to shoulder a heavy workload. The Falcons did select a speedball in the third round of the draft in Jerius Norwood of Mississippi State, but he will not supplant Dunn this season. Furthermore Vick will be without one of his favorite targets early in the year as tight end Alge Crumpler has been slow to recover from shoulder surgery.

The defense, which was so dominant in 2004, slipped all the way down to 24 th in the NFL last year. This unit should be better this season however with the additions of veteran safety Lawyer Malloy and first round drat pick cornerback Jimmy Williams. Keep in mind however that Williams has some off-the-field issues that have t be resolved before he reports to training camp.

2006 Prediction: 3 rd Place NFC South