The Atlanta Falcons have as many or more pro bowlers on their roster as every team not from Indiana. This is mostly what I would have expected to see from the Falcons coming into this season, and especially after a week 1 victory over the Eagles, which should have been the anointing of the Falcons as the class of the NFC. However, the performance of the team as a whole has been a serious disappointment and with these six guys (Vick, Dunn, Crumpler, Brooking, Coleman, and Hall), the Falcons should have a record that leads them to a playoff spot, rather easily.
There is a quarterback, a running back, a tight end (receiver/blocker), a defensive linemen, a linebacker, and a defensive back. Only the offensive linemen is missing (however Dunn's and Crumpler's blocking ability nearly makes up for that) and Kynan Forney could not have been far behind in the voting for OL.
Sure, Vick maybe doesn't deserve this trip to the pro bowl, but fact is, he has the ability to dominate any game, any week. The performances he showed in the Falcons first four primetime games earned him quite a bit of votes, as did the early season start for the Falcons.
So, if the Falcons have six pro bowlers on their roster, why are they a lock for a playoff spot? Easy answer is they are underachieving. This team was thought to be the NFC's elite team after knocking off the Eagles on Monday night to start the season, but things just haven't quite clicked for them. Sure, there have been injuries on defense (Ed Hartwell, Brady Smith to name a few), but this team has loads of ability. On both sides of the ball, youth is seen all over the field. But, each of those players were on the roster when this team was 6-2, and each of those players played in the games that lead the Falcons to lose 4 of their next 6 games. Simply, they are underachieving.
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