It started off promising enough for you, Falcons fans. After going 4-12 in 2013, you started off 2-1 this season, with one of those wins being a 56-14 thumping of divisional rival Tampa Bay in a primetime Thursday night game.
But then reality set it and you proceeded to lose six of your next eight games. All that preseason talk from Mike Smith about being a "tougher team" was just that: talk. In the end, it ultimately cost Smith his job after seven seasons. As bad as it was that the team finished 6-10, what made it worse was that you still had a shot at winning the NFC South heading into the final Sunday of the season.
But an embarrassing 34-3 home loss to the Carolina Panthers not only ended Atlanta's season, but sealed Mike Smith's fate.
I know, it sounds like a litany of complaints against your team, but I promise you, there's reason for hope. Just look at your 2014 season as "Revenge of the Sith" where anything and everything that could go wrong did go wrong. 2015 will be "A New Hope."
Why? Let me tell you.
Quinn in control
First and foremost, you have Dan Quinn, the former defensive coordinator of the Seattle Seahawks. As devastating as that Seahawks loss was to the Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX, Quinn's unit played through numerous injuries and kept their team in that game.
Matty Ice and Mr. Jones
With all the defensive woes, it was easy to overlook the fact that the Falcons finished eighth in total offense this season and fifth in passing. Much of that had to do with Matt Ryan, who put up the second best passer rating of his career (93.9) and threw for nearly 4,700 yards. Ryan will be 30 when next season rolls around and still has plenty left in the tank. Julio Jones will be entering the final year of his contract, but it's hard to imagine a scenario where the Falcons let him leave; especially when you consider how much they gave up in the 2011 NFL Draft just to move up to get him.
Jones was an absolute beast this season. He set a single-season franchise record for receiving yards with 1,593, including a 259 yard gem against Green Bay in Week 14 at Lambeau Field. Having Jones and Ryan spearheading your offense puts you in contention every game. Couple that with a revamped defense, and the Falcons should be favorites to win the NFC South for years to come.
The Pinwheel
All right, so maybe this isn't going to happen for you in 2015, but it's still something to look forward. Your new stadium is going to be incredible when it opens in 2017. That means you only have two more seasons in the Georgia Dome! Not only will the new stadium be a state-of-the-art venue, but your retractable roof is going to resemble a pinwheel, which means you'll get to have this song playing in loop in your head forever. And be honest, who wouldn't be thrilled about that?
So, keep your heads up, Falcons faithful. Just remember, too, that in the NFC South, a losing record is good enough for first place. But given all the talent you have and the new head coach coming in, I don't think you'll have to worry about too many more seasons like 2014.
Colin J. Liotta is a Digital Features Editor at NFL.com. He's also a lover of comic books and a "Back to the Future" historian. You can follow him on Twitter @TheSportsHero.
