WHAT THEY’VE SAID: The Falcons’ 2008 story as told by the media

Us media folks are always searching for the story, and there may not be a better story in the NFL this season than the Atlanta Falcons. Surely you’re familiar with the plot by now: A young Atlanta team headed up by rookies at head coach and quarterback took the league by surprise, going 11-5 and clinching one of the league’s more surprising playoff berths in recent memory. So without further adieu, here’s a quick synopsis of one of 2008’s best stories, and how it was chronicled by the national media.

THE BEGINNING

Let’s just say that no one saw this coming. Check out what the people at ESPN had to say way back in August. 

All of those 4’s (representing the prediction of a last-place finish from the ESPN experts) speak volumes. No one, and I mean no one, thought this would happen.

Perhaps Tim Graham’s comment best summed up the sentiments surrounding this team and organization in August.

“The phrase ‘rebuilding mode’ sounds too gentle for what’s going on in Atlanta. There’s a new head coach, a rookie quarterback, and enough problems to fill an SAT booklet.”

Even the most optimistic of the pundits were looking to the future.

“Coach Mike Smith and general manager Thomas Dimitroff will straighten this franchise out,” said Pat Yasinskas. “But that might take a couple of years.”

Turns out it only took a couple of months. 

MOVING FORWARD

It took some time to make people believe in a posteason appearance. But it didn’t take long to show why Yasinskas was positive about the future. The young Falcons quickly emerged as a formidable opponent.

Michael Turner wasted no time in getting to work on his new team, running for 220 yards on opening day against the Detroit Lions. Matt Ryan was showing signs of stardom, and Roddy White was beginning to stake his claim as one of the NFL’s top wideouts.

As Bill Ordline of the Baltimore Sun put it in early October (while the Falcons were 3-2): “What the Falcons have now is a sense of pride. They’re no longer suffering from the Michael Vick hangover and are moving forward.”

STARTING TO BELIEVE

The Falcons kept winning, and with every week there were more bandwagon jumpers. Somehow, some way, the team that was supposedly in rebuilding mode was now building towards a possible playoff berth.

Sitting at 8-5, the Falcons faced a crucial game with their most bitter rival in Week 15, the Tampa Bay Buccanneers. The Bucs had embarrassed the Falcons twice in 2007, and had their way with them in a 24-9 victory on Sept. 14.

But even before the two kicked off, it was clear that this game was going to at least be a competitive one.

As Leslie Visser wrote before the two faced off, there was no longer any reason to doubt a team that had continually defied the odds since they arrived at training camp. 

The Falcons took home a 13-10 overtime victory against the Bucs. They haven’t lost since.

THE CLINCHER

One week after their win over Tampa, Atlanta faced a difficult trip to Minnesota to face the now NFC North Champion Vikings.

Coming into that week, Atlanta still needed a loss from the Bucs or Cowboys to put themselves in a position to simply control their own destiny. What happened next was nothing short of amazing.

The Bucs were shocked at home by the San Diego Chargers, and the Cowboys looked lost in a 33-24 loss to Baltimore. Those results gave Atlanta the chance to not just control its fate, but to clinch a playoff spot in Minnesota.

Just as they had all year, the Falcons made good on their opportunity. They forced a multitude of Vikings turnovers to jump out to an early lead, and then held on late for a 24-17 victory to clinch the playoffs.  

Now the birds truly had the nation’s attention. But how did they pull it off? Mark Craig of the Minnesota Star Tribune hit the nail on the head when he stated that the success began with the hiring’s of two relatively unknown men.

“The Falcons hired Patriots director of college scouting Thomas Dimitroff as general manager. Dimitroff hired Jaguars defensive coordinator Mike Smith as head coach. And together they did just about everything right.” 

THE END?

Whether the Falcons can continue their improbable run remains to be seen. But no matter what happens, the culture has changed in Flowery Branch. An organization that was viewed by many as the biggest disaster in pro sports just over a year ago is now one of the NFL’s more stable franchises.

Just check out Yasinskas’s column this week. Just like most of us, he picked the Falcons to finish dead last. And also just like most of us, he had to change his tune.

“As they enter the playoffs, the Falcons just might be the most dangerous team in the NFC,” he wrote in his most recent article.

Even though they’ve come this far, the Falcons find themselves in a familiar place—as the underdogs.

And if the results of the 2008 regular season mean anything, they probably like it that way.

Bagriansky can be reached at jbagriansky@scoreatl.com.