Following their hard-fought — and much-needed — road win over the Lions on Sunday, Falcons head coach Mike Smith announced that his players would have the week off to enjoy their Week Eight bye.
"We have been working extremely hard," Smith said Monday. "This has been a tough stretch, in terms of our opponents. Again, we got together July 28 or 29 ... so it has been a hectic 10 weeks to this point, and we feel that the rest is very important, not only for the players but for the coaches as well. Players will have a lot more time off than the coaches, but we're going to get some downtime as we get towards the weekend. I think it's very important.
"We'll have guys that are injured in here getting treatment, and I've got a hunch that we'll see a lot of guys even though they're 'off' that are going to be in the building this week. I just have that feeling."
The Falcons got off to a rough start, losing games to three NFC opponents that are contending for playoff spots — the Bears, Buccaneers and Packers — in the first five weeks, but they have won back-to-back games and their record is only one game off the pace they set last season heading into a Week Eight bye.
The PFW spin
The Falcons went on to win seven straight games following their bye last season and vaulted to the top of the NFC South, capturing a division title and the first seed in the NFC playoffs.
Unless the Colts, who were embarrassed by the Saints 62-7 Sunday night, make some drastic improvements, this year's Falcons will have close to two bye weeks before they have to play some serious competition. The Falcons will travel to Indianapolis after their bye, but they have three straight home games after that. The schedule sets up favorably for Smith's club to have another midseason surge.
Of the eight opponents remaining on the Falcons' schedule, only three have a record above .500 — the Saints, whom Atlanta will face twice before the season is over, the Texans and the Buccaneers.
Seven straight wins coming off the bye for a second straight season is highly unlikely, but the Falcons need a similarly outstanding stretch to be in position to win the NFC South or make the playoffs as a wild card in a crowded field of contenders, two of which (Chicago and Tampa Bay) have already defeated Atlanta.
Source: http://www.profootballweekly.com/2011/10/24/falcons-could-be-in-for-another-strong-second-half
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