{"id":23285,"date":"2022-07-23T23:16:24","date_gmt":"2022-07-24T03:16:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/?p=23285"},"modified":"2022-07-23T23:16:26","modified_gmt":"2022-07-24T03:16:26","slug":"atlanta-falcons-2022-win-prediction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/nfl\/atlanta-falcons-2022-win-prediction\/","title":{"rendered":"ATLANTA FALCONS 2022 WIN PREDICTION"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

BY ADAM GREENE<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In what turned out to be Matt Ryan\u2019s swan song with the franchise, the Atlanta Falcons limped to the finish line a season ago, somehow staying tantalizingly in the playoff race mathematically, while realistically seeming out of it after Week 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Big wins? There weren\u2019t any. The best you could hang your hat on in head coach Arthur Smith\u2019s first campaign with the team was a 30-28 victory over the Miami Dolphins. You could also possibly point to a 27-25 win over the New Orleans Saints on Nov. 7. Those were Atlanta\u2019s only victories over teams that finished with winning records in 2021. Neither the Dolphins nor the Saints made the playoffs and both will be fielding new head coaches in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smith was brought in to add a play action run\/pass attack to Atlanta similar to what he ran with the Tennessee Titans (and got the Falcons to a Super Bowl with Kyle Shanahan calling plays in 2016). It yielded poor results to say the least, with all-purpose weapon Cordarelle Patterson leading the team with 618 yards rushing. Mike Davis, the guy that was supposed to tote the load, averaged 3.6 yards per carry and gained a total of 503 yards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Figuring out how to use Patterson in the offense is a good thing. He added 52 receptions for 548 yards in the passing game and scored 11 combined touchdowns. They needed the help because their No. 1 wide receiver Calvin Ridley was injured and only appeared in five games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The true bright spot belonged to rookie tight end Kyle Pitts, who played as advertised and justified his draft position. He finished with 68 catches for 1,026 yards, but only got into the end zone one time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ryan\u2019s final season with Atlanta was far from his best and will only be remembered because he\u2019s not coming back. He finished with a 67 completion percentage, throwing for 3,968 yards, 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The defense was one of the worst in the league, finishing 30th<\/sup> on third down defense. Dante Fowler Jr. led the team with a piddling 4.5 sacks and, as a unit, they produced only 18 sacks on the season. Their -6 turnover differential was eighth worst in the NFL.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ATLANTA FALCONS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last season<\/strong>: 7-10<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Odds:<\/strong> Over 4.5 wins (-120), Under 4.5 wins (-110)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2022 NFL Draft:<\/strong> Drake London, WR, USC (Round 1), Arnold Ebiketie, Edge, Penn State (Round 2), Troy Anderson, LB, Montana State (Round 2), Desmond Ridder, Qb, Cincinnati (Round 3), DeAngelo Malone, Edge, Western Kentucky (Round 3), Tyler Allgeier, RB, BYU (Round 5), Justin Shaffer, OG, Georgia (Round 6), John FitzPatrick, TE, Georgia (Round 6)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2022 Additions:<\/strong> Bryan Edwards, WR (trade), Marcus Mariota, QB (free agent), Casey Hayward, CB (free agent), Lorenzo Carter, DE (free agent), Rashaan Evans, LB (free agent), Damien Williams, RB (free agent), Vincent Taylor, DT (free agent), Anthony Firkser, TE (free agent), Michael Ford, CB (free agent), Germain Ifedi, RT (free agent), Damiere Byrd, WR (free agent), Dean Marlowe, SS (free agent), Elijah Wilkinson, OG (free agent), Bradley Pinion, P (free agent), Beau Brinkley, LS (free agent), Auden Tate, WR (free agent), Khadarel Hodge, WR (free agent), Nick Kwiatkoski, LB (free agent), Cameron Batson, WR (free agent), Jalen Tabor, CB (free agent)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Projected Starters<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Offense<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

QB:<\/strong> Marcus Mariota<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RB:<\/strong> Damien Williams<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WR:<\/strong> Drake London<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WR:<\/strong> Bryan Edwards<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WR:<\/strong> Olamide Zaccheaus<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TE:<\/strong> Kyle Pitts<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FB:<\/strong> Keith Smith<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LT:<\/strong> Jake Matthews<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LG:<\/strong> Jalen Mayfield<\/p>\n\n\n\n

C:<\/strong> Matt Hennessy<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RG:<\/strong> Chris Lindstrom<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RT:<\/strong> Kaleb McGary<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Defense<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

LDE:<\/strong> Marlon Davidson<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NT:<\/strong> Ta\u2019Quon Graham<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RDE:<\/strong> Grady Jarrett<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WLB:<\/strong> Arnold Blake<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LILB<\/strong>: Deion Jones<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RILB:<\/strong> Rashaan Evans<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SLB:<\/strong> Lorenzo Carter<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CB:<\/strong> AJ Terrell<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CB:<\/strong> Casey Hayward<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SS:<\/strong> Dean Marlowe<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FS:<\/strong> Erik Harris<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Special Teams<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

PK:<\/strong> Younghoe Koo<\/p>\n\n\n\n

P:<\/strong> Bradley Pinion<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PR:<\/strong> Avery Williams<\/p>\n\n\n\n

KR:<\/strong> Cordarrelle Patterson<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PREVIEW<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a team that finished third in their division a season ago, the Falcons are stuck with a brutal schedule. There\u2019s plenty of talk, if not hope, that quarterback Desmond Ridder will see the field for Atlanta and it\u2019s possible. Not because Marcus Mariota plays poorly, but simply because Atlanta will probably be out of the playoff race after their Week 14 bye. That is very late in the season for a team with the Falcons\u2019 roster deficiencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The offseason wasn\u2019t kind. They moved Matt Ryan, per his request, in a trade to the Indianapolis Colts and added Marcus Mariota. That move was fine. What wasn\u2019t fine was losing their best wide receiver, Calvin Ridley, to a season-long suspension after he was busted gambling on NFL games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And while that looks like a huge hit to the team, there were rumors the Falcons were shopping Ridley in trades anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their first seven games are brutal. They open hosting the New Orleans Saints who finished 9-8 a season ago without Michael Thomas and starting Subway Sandwich artists at quarterback. Then they travel to the Los Angeles Rams, they\u2019re at the Seattle Seahawks, then host the Cleveland Browns, play at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, host the San Francisco 49ers and then play at the Cincinnati Bengals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that\u2019s all before they play the first game in which they\u2019ll be favored, hosting the Carolina Panthers, in Week 8.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Atlanta\u2019s not going to start 0-7, but 2-5 is very likely. I\u2019m thinking they can steal one early against the Saints in Week 1, then catch a Trey Lance reeling 49ers in Week 6, which is why I think they\u2019ll open 3-4 as they head into that Panthers game with a chance at .500 before November.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their final five games are at the Saints, at the Baltimore Ravens, hosting the Arizona Cardinals and hosting the Bucs. Atlanta can be feisty and steal a few they should lose, but there are just too many guaranteed losses to open and close the schedule for a winning campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Final record prediction:<\/strong> 7-10<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Follow Adam Greene on Twitter <\/em>@TheFirstMan<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Connect with us our socials on <\/em>Twitter<\/em><\/a> and <\/em>Instagram<\/em><\/a> for the latest sports news, viral moments, betting odds and the occasional memes.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BY ADAM GREENE In what turned out to be Matt Ryan\u2019s swan song with the franchise, the Atlanta Falcons limped…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":7165,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[129],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23285"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23285\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23286,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23285\/revisions\/23286"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7165"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}