One doesn’t have to look very far to see why the Atlanta Falcons missed the playoffs last year. Yes, the team was banged up a bit, missing quarterback Matt Ryan and leading rusher Michael Turner for a good chunk of the season.

But no matter what that vengeful Falcon threw at the once “cursed” franchise that failed to post back-to-back winning seasons in its not-so-storied history, Matty “Ice” and the gang somehow rose above it to post a 9-7 record.

In previous years, the franchise, which had a coach quit on them and its franchise quarterback spend over a year in prison for his involvement in dog fighting, would have packed it in.

The fact that the Falcons fought to the bitter end when well out of the playoffs is a testament to coach Mike Smith and the organization as a whole. The organization went out and improved the team in the offseason to try to ensure that 2009 will be the only season the Falcons miss the playoffs in the years to come.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that Atlanta’s biggest deficiency was on defense last season. The club finished in the bottom 12 in total defense and was a putrid 28th out of 32 against the pass. The Falcons also finished with just 28 sacks, tied for fifth worst in the league.

GM Thomas Dimitroff quickly jumped into the free agent market, luring cornerback Dunta Robinson,

the self proclaimed “best cornerback in the NFL,” away from the Houston Texans hours after the free agent period opened. He also added LB Sean Weatherspoon with Atlanta’s first pick in the 2010 draft and brought in former Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants defensive coordinator Tim Lewis to work with the much maligned secondary.

Those moves alone should move Atlanta’s defense to the middle of the pack. Whether or not the D can make that next step will depend on what happens on the line.

One can only hope that age hasn’t caught up with 32-year-old perennial All-Pro John Abraham, who had a downright brutal 2009 campaign, recording just 5-1/2 sacks a year removed from a career-best 16-1/2 sack season. The D-line should also get a boost with a healthy Peria Jerry, Atlanta’s 2008 first round pick whose season was cut short after he suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 2.

But Atlanta clearly still has some work to do.

A recurring storyline will be who lines up on the opposite side of Robinson at the other corner position, which is turning into quite the fight between Brian Williams, Brent Grimes, Chevis Jackson and Chris Owens.

The Falcons also hope that Kroy Biermann will soar on the other side of Abraham at the defensive end and that Jamaal Anderson will somehow find his game in his new “swing” role as a defensive end/tackle combo. Anderson has been one of the biggest busts ever for Atlanta.

The eighth overall pick in the 2007 draft recorded just 1/2 of a sack last season and has 2-1/2 sacks in his three-year NFL career.

Sprinkle in an improved defense with a resurgent Ryan, who gets out of his sophomore slump, and add a healthy and in-shape Turner and the Falcons could reach new heights in 2010.

-- PHIL FOLEY
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