Atlanta Falcons 2015 review: The Season That Could Have Been

Atlanta Falcons fans are tired of being disappointed and are
demanding better results in 2016

The Atlanta Falcons ended the 2015 season in a disappointing fashion. After starting the year 5 - 0

the Falcons ended this season in a limp. The Falcons only significant win late in the season came in a dominant defeat of the undefeated Carolina Panthers. The Falcons seemed to not be able to get their offense going after the fifth game of the Season. New offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan looked like a genius for the first part of the year. Little did we know that players on the offensive side of the ball we're having trouble grasping the schemes and concepts of the new offense. Wide receivers Roddy White and rookie Hardy hardy both had slight issues with the playbook and their struggles showed early on in the year. 


The one beneficiary of the new scheme was second year running back Devonta Freeman who subsequently had a Pro Bowl season and to the delight of many fantasy football players he was the deciding factor in their seasons. Wide receiver Julio Jones was another bright spot on. Falcons offense this year putting up some good numbers and proving to believe that he is a top 5 wide receiver and also garnering a Pro Bowl selection. Quarterback Matt Ryan may have been the most disappointing part to the Falcons season. For the first five games the Falcons defense and some explosive plays from the offensive side of the ball made the Falcons look like a clear playoff contenders. 

Julio Jones made one of the best catches of 2015 as the
Falcons handed the NFC south champs their lone defeat of 2015 

However after a few losses and some crushing late interceptions by quarterback Matt Ryan the Falcons looked very vulnerable as the season went on that Ryan continued to make costly errors as he begins to get beat up behind a makeshift offensive line. Going into 2016 the Falcons clearly need to show up there offensive line and on the defensive side they are looking at a full makeover. The Falcons have let long time veteran safety William Moore go due to his lack of being able to stay healthy and contributing on the field. The Falcons also had no pass rush whatsoever this season. Rookie Vic Beasley show signs of rookie jitters but not being able to make a lot of game changing plays. There's literally no one on the defense that stood out except for Trufant  at corner back position. The Falcons will need to  hedged  their bets in free agency and fine veterans that can help this team out immediately. The front office is shown that they are not the best at drafting players and with a city like Atlanta that wants to win now the best shot at turning the team around and becoming competitive is through free agency. There are a few players on the market that the Falcons may be able to get at a discount such as Mario Williams who was just released by Buffalo today and Hardy who was released by Dallas earlier in the off-season. The Falcons have had a long history of wanting to put Character guys on their team which is fine however character guys don't win Super Bowls. You need a collection of personalities and talents ultimately creating a close locker room and the strong units on the field. What moves will the Falcons make going into the off-season? No one knows at this point however with the front office changes and the collection of former GM and scouts on the Falcons staff it should be a pretty interesting 2016 off-season. Stay tuned, feel free to comment and leave your pain.