As Pro Football Talk slowly unveils its preseason NFL Power Rankings, the Atlanta Falcons were finally revealed on Thursday to be the site's No. 12 selection overall. With the turmoil in New Orleans, the NFC South is suddenly a lot more open than realized and the Falcons are well-positioned in 2012.
However, Darin Gantt is right to point out that as much talent as the team has on offense especially and as great as they will likely be throughout the regular season, the team's inability to come up big in any postseason contest will come back to haunt them again if they can't focus with the veteran core they've established.
"This is the year to do it, as players such as Tony Gonzalez, Michael Turner and John Abraham are at or near their functional end, and because of the aggressive moves they've made such as draft-day trades, the roster skews old," writes Gantt. "If Sam Baker can play again in a contract year, and the line settles itself, it's the kind of team you can see making a run. But if the pieces don't fall into place on both lines, the Falcons could again the watching someone else make the postseason push."
The Falcons finished 10-6 last season.