In one of the more bizarre fan fights that I have seen, a Green Bay Packers fan got into a fight with Atlanta Falcons fan over nothing more than a dropped hat.

The video itself dates back to the Falcons match-up against the Pack back on week five and starts when a cheese-head wearing Packers fan begins to jeer a Falcons fan.

The Falcons fan takes the jeering rather well until the other fan throws his Falcons hat down the nearby stairwell and causes a fan fight for the ages:

***

Cheesehead vs. Falcons Meathead In Battle Over Hats [Busted Coverage]

By PAULA PASCHE
Of The Oakland Press

ALLEN PARK — The similarities between the Detroit Lions and Atlanta Falcons might start with their young quarterbacks Matthew Stafford and Matt Ryan, but they don’t end there.

Both teams have strong defensive lines, wide receivers with size and playmakers in the secondary.

But the Falcons, who finished 13-3 last season, can boast something that the Lions can’t.

“We’re still a work in progress. That team’s been a playoff team and that says something that we aspire to do, so I don’t want to put ourselves in their category just yet, but I think there are some pretty obvious similarities,” Lions coach Jim Schwartz said.

That was last year though.

This is a different Lions’ team with the attitude and ability to pull out wins.

When the two meet Sunday at Ford Field, the Lions will be coming off their first loss of the season, 25-19 to San Francisco (5-1).

This season the Falcons (3-3) have lost-won-lost-won-lost-won. The teams they have beaten — Philadelphia, Seattle and Carolina — now have a combined 5-12 record. The teams that have beaten the Falcons — Chicago, Tampa Bay and Green Bay — have a combined 13-5 record.

Not a good sign for Atlanta.

Like the Lions, the Falcons have plenty of talent at the skill positions. Continued…

“Well, that’s a team that was 13-3 last year and it wasn’t just because of Michael Turner — Hall of Fame tight end (Tony Gonzalez) — one of the best receiving tight ends in the history of National Football League; Roddy White was, I think he was the leading receiver in the NFL last year, you know, he’s got size, he’s got great hands, he’s got great agility and things like that — can make a big play, but can also catch short passes. And obviously, they went very hard after Julio Jones in the draft to add another playmaker to that group,” Schwartz said.

“You have an outstanding quarterback, outstanding tight end, outstanding receiver, outstanding running back, and just added another receiver — we’ll see where (Jones) is with his hamstring and everything else — but, you know, that doesn’t change the fact that they’ve got a very, very good young core to go forward with,” Schwartz added.

Julio Jones didn’t practice all week and is listed as doubtful for Sunday due to his hamstring injury.

Another big difference between the teams is their records in the NFC. While the Lions have won four of their five NFC contests, the Falcons have lost three NFC contests, which could come back to haunt them when it comes to playoff tie-breakers.

“Any time you go through the up and down, win, loss, win, loss, win, loss — you feel like you’re on a roller coaster and you need to string some wins together,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said. “It’s such a competitive division that we play in, and it’s such a competitive league, and especially I think the NFC this year, it’s important to put a string of good performances together — and that’s something that we haven’t done in the first six games.

“We’ve been very inconsistent and on the flip side, Jim and his staff have had the Detroit team playing with a lot of consistency and a lot of confidence,” he added.

That could be the big difference on Sunday at Ford Field.

Paula Pasche covers the Lions. Follow her on Twitter @PaulaPasche. Read her Lions Lowdown blog at oplions.blogspot.com. Msg & Data Rates May Apply. Text HELP for help. Text STOP to cancel.

By PAULA PASCHE
Of The Oakland Press

ALLEN PARK — The similarities between the Detroit Lions and Atlanta Falcons might start with their young quarterbacks Matthew Stafford and Matt Ryan, but they don’t end there.

Both teams have strong defensive lines, wide receivers with size and playmakers in the secondary.

But the Falcons, who finished 13-3 last season, can boast something that the Lions can’t.

“We’re still a work in progress. That team’s been a playoff team and that says something that we aspire to do, so I don’t want to put ourselves in their category just yet, but I think there are some pretty obvious similarities,” Lions coach Jim Schwartz said.

That was last year though.

This is a different Lions’ team with the attitude and ability to pull out wins.

When the two meet Sunday at Ford Field, the Lions will be coming off their first loss of the season, 25-19 to San Francisco (5-1).

This season the Falcons (3-3) have lost-won-lost-won-lost-won. The teams they have beaten — Philadelphia, Seattle and Carolina — now have a combined 5-12 record. The teams that have beaten the Falcons — Chicago, Tampa Bay and Green Bay — have a combined 13-5 record.

Not a good sign for Atlanta.

Like the Lions, the Falcons have plenty of talent at the skill positions.

“Well, that’s a team that was 13-3 last year and it wasn’t just because of Michael Turner — Hall of Fame tight end (Tony Gonzalez) — one of the best receiving tight ends in the history of National Football League; Roddy White was, I think he was the leading receiver in the NFL last year, you know, he’s got size, he’s got great hands, he’s got great agility and things like that — can make a big play, but can also catch short passes. And obviously, they went very hard after Julio Jones in the draft to add another playmaker to that group,” Schwartz said.

“You have an outstanding quarterback, outstanding tight end, outstanding receiver, outstanding running back, and just added another receiver — we’ll see where (Jones) is with his hamstring and everything else — but, you know, that doesn’t change the fact that they’ve got a very, very good young core to go forward with,” Schwartz added.

Julio Jones didn’t practice all week and is listed as doubtful for Sunday due to his hamstring injury.

Another big difference between the teams is their records in the NFC. While the Lions have won four of their five NFC contests, the Falcons have lost three NFC contests, which could come back to haunt them when it comes to playoff tie-breakers.

“Any time you go through the up and down, win, loss, win, loss, win, loss — you feel like you’re on a roller coaster and you need to string some wins together,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said. “It’s such a competitive division that we play in, and it’s such a competitive league, and especially I think the NFC this year, it’s important to put a string of good performances together — and that’s something that we haven’t done in the first six games.

“We’ve been very inconsistent and on the flip side, Jim and his staff have had the Detroit team playing with a lot of consistency and a lot of confidence,” he added.

That could be the big difference on Sunday at Ford Field.

Paula Pasche covers the Lions. Follow her on Twitter @PaulaPasche. Read her Lions Lowdown blog at oplions.blogspot.com. Msg & Data Rates May Apply. Text HELP for help. Text STOP to cancel.

By Ryan Van Bibber

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Oct 14, 2011 – The Atlanta Falcons are reeling right now. Mike Smith’s team has just two wins, and last week stood by helpless watching the Green Bay Packers score 25 unanswered points to erase a 14-0 deficit for the win. Instead of battling with the Saints for the NFC South title, their locked in a fight for survival to stay out of the basement. 

Sitting in that basement and playing with the gusto that says they’ll do anything to get out of it are the Carolina Panthers, who pay a visit to Atlanta this week. Carolina has come close to upsetting some favorites, including the Saints and Packers. This could be the week they finally pull off that upset, leaping over Atlanta in the NFC South standings. 

Peter King predicts the upset in his picks for the week. 

Uh-oh. The fans at the Georgia Dome, lovebirds six weeks ago, turn boo-birds. I’ve been saying this for weeks: The Panthers are a far different team with Cam than without. (Duh.) Average score of 2010 games: Foe 26, Carolina 12. Average score of 2011 games: Foe 26, Carolina 23. Newton should be able to take advantage of a generous Falcons secondary.

The expert panel at ESPN split their picks for the game. Two of five pick the Panthers at CBS. 

For more on the Panthers, head over to Cat Scratch Reader. To get the latest on the Falcons, check out The Falcoholic. 

Read More: Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Falcons, Oct 16, 2011 1:00 PM EDT

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Read More: Michael Turner (RB – ATL), Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay Packers

Coming off a tough 25-14 home loss to the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers, Atlanta Falcons head coach Mike Smith commented on the performance of Michael Turner and the running game.

We wanted to run the ball, we wanted to control the clock. That was part of the game plan. That’s part of our DNA and the way that the game unfolded, we weren’t able to sustain some drives for the reasons I just mentioned in going through the drive chart. We’ve got to be able to sustain drives to be able to continue to run the football.

Maybe 20 is the magical number for Turner, Smith and the Falcons?

When the star tailback gets over 20 carries this season, the Falcons are 2-0. In those two wins Turner has averaged 23.5 carries/game and 92 rushing yards/game and three touchdowns total.

However, when Turner gets less than 20 carries this season, the Falcons are 0-3. In three losses Turner has averaged 12.3 carries/game and just 58.6 rushing yards/game and just one touchdown.

Atlanta is at home this Sunday as they host the Carolina Panthers in the Georgia Dome.

For more insights about the Falcons, check out SB Nation Falcons blog The Falcoholic.

ATLANTA (AP) — The Falcons insist it’s over and done with.
  
That embarrassing playoff loss to the Packers? A thing of the past. No need to even bring it up.
  
Aaron Rodgers knows better.
  
The Green Bay quarterback remembers how it felt ending the 2009 season with a postseason loss.
  
“They’ve got to be motivated. I would be,” Rodgers said. “I know when we lost to Arizona in the playoffs, that was a big motivator for us coming back the next season to have a good season and make the next step of moving on in the playoffs. I’m sure they’re motivated.”
  
On Sunday night, the Falcons (2-2) have a shot at some measure of redemption when they host the Super Bowl champion Packers (4-0) at the Georgia Dome, the same place where Atlanta’s last season ended with such a thud.
  
Flash back to January. The Falcons were riding high, having won 13 games and a division championship during the regular season. As the top-seeded team in the NFC, they earned a first-round bye and home-field advantage through the conference playoffs.
  
The postseason lasted one game.
  
Green Bay, a team the Falcons had beaten during the regular season, got hot at the right time. Rodgers kept ducking this way and that to get away from pass rushers, giving himself enough time to carve up the Atlanta secondary with one of the best performances of his career.
  
He threw for three touchdowns and ran for another. He completed all but five of his 36 passes, finishing with 366 yards through the air. He led the Packers to the highest-scoring playoff game in their storied history. Heck, they didn’t even need their punter.
  
The final: Packers 48, Falcons 21.
  
“That was a pretty clean game,” Rodgers said nonchalantly. “We had no mental mistakes. We got the ball to the people we wanted to get it to. We moved the ball pretty effectively. When you combine not turning it over with throwing it where you want, you’re going to have pretty good results.”
  
Green Bay kept on winning right through the Super Bowl. The Falcons spent a long, restless offseason wondering how it all went wrong.
  
“It’s one of those things you need to learn from, especially when your last game kind of ends that way,” Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan said. “We certainly didn’t play as well as we would’ve liked to, but we ran into a team that was playing really well. It takes a little while to get over, but you have to move past it.”
  
Even though the Falcons are again the home team, the tables have turned since that last matchup.
  
Green Bay is the favorite this time, having won 10 in a row since its last loss on Dec. 19 at New England. The Packers are averaging 37 points a game and no one has come close to shutting down Rodgers, who leads the league in passing efficiency and is coming off a six-touchdown barrage (four passing, two rushing) against Denver.
  
Clearly, this team has shown no signs of resting on its championship laurels. Their sights are now firmly set on getting to a second straight Super Bowl.
  
“Last season doesn’t have any affect on our thought process moving forward,” coach Mike McCarthy said. “We’re proud of what we accomplished last year. That was an excellent football team … something that will always be part of the tradition of the Green Bay Packers. But this is a whole different year. We’re focused on winning our fifth game and staying on a path that will hopefully take us to Indianapolis.”
  
The Falcons came into the season with the look of a Super Bowl contender. They pulled off a stunning trade on draft day to land receiver Julio Jones, giving an already potent offense another big-play threat. As soon as the lockout ended, they moved quickly in free agency to sign defensive end Ray Edwards, addressing a major weakness — the pass rush — that Rodgers was able to exploit in the playoffs.
  
But Atlanta has yet to hit its stride. There was a blowout loss at Chicago. There was another setback against division rival Tampa Bay. Even last week, when the Falcons got back to .500, they nearly blew a big lead on lowly Seattle before surviving 30-28.
  
Jones is coming off a career-best 11 catches for 127 yards against the Seahawks, but Edwards had yet to pick up his first sack in a Falcons uniform. In fact, Atlanta has five sacks through the first four games; one team has fewer.
  
That won’t do against Rodgers.
  
“We’re still figuring things out, there’s no doubt about it,” Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez said. “But once it does come together for us, I think we’ll be a really good team. I think we’ll be right where we want to be.”
  
The Packers look like they’re already there.
  
Rodgers has hooked up with eight players for touchdown passes, including three each to Greg Jennings, Jermichael Finley and Jordy Nelson. James Starks and Ryan Grant are running the ball well. The defense has given up the second-fewest yards in the NFL (71 per game).
  
The only apparent weakness — a secondary that has surrendered an average of 336 yards and ranks 31st — can be explained away when one considers the Packers are usually playing with a big lead, forcing opponents to go exclusively to the air in hopes of catching up.
  
Green Bay tends to give up big yards but also makes a lot of big plays, such as Charles Woodson’s interception return for a touchdown last weekend. In all, the Packers have a league-high eight picks.
  
“There’s no denying that we’re giving up too many big plays,” McCarthy said. “That’s something we’ve focused on.”
  
The Falcons are trying to get the focus off the way last season ended.
  
A victory Sunday night would be a big step in that direction.
  
“Last year was last year. It’s over,” Gonzalez said. “But you remember it. I’d be lying if sat here told you I didn’t remember it. It was embarrassing. At the same time, they’re a new team, we’re a new team. It’s a new year. We’ve just got to go out and play this game and see where we stack up.
  
“They’re the Super Bowl champs. This will be a good gauge to see how good a team we are.”

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)
 

Read More: Todd McClure (C – ATL), Bryan Bulaga (OT – GBP), Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay Packers

One of the three or four most anticipated Atlanta Falcons games of the season gets underway Sunday night at 8:20 pm ET (on NBC, 790 The Zone and at NBCSports.com). The Birds have the home field advantage, not that it did a whole lot of good in the last meeting between the two teams, a 48-17 Green Bay victory you may recall.

Atlanta did win a 20-17 matchup in the regular season last year in this very building, so all is not lost. But the 4-0 Packers might be even better than they were last time around — they’re certainly healthier — so the 2-2 Falcons are going to have to take it up a level or three from what they’ve shown so far this year.

The Pack opened the week favored by 4.5 points. As expected, that line has inched all the way to six points. Each team has a key offensive line injury: Falcons center Todd McClure and Packers tackle Bryan Bulaga are out.

For more, visit Falcons blog The Falcoholic and Packers blog Acme Packing Company.

By PAUL NEWBERRY

AP Sports Writer

ATLANTA — The Atlanta Falcons insist it’s over and done with.

That embarrassing playoff loss to the Packers? A thing of the past. No need to even bring it up.

Aaron Rodgers knows better.

The Green Bay quarterback remembers how it felt ending the 2009 season with a postseason loss.

“They’ve got to be motivated. I would be,” Rodgers said. “I know when we lost to Arizona in the playoffs, that was a big motivator for us coming back the next season to have a good season and make the next step of moving on in the playoffs. I’m sure they’re motivated.”

Tonight, the Falcons (2-2) have a shot at some measure of redemption when they host the Super Bowl champion Packers (4-0) at the Georgia Dome, the same place where Atlanta’s last season ended with such a thud.

Even though the Falcons are again the home team tonight, the tables have turned since that last matchup.

Green Bay is the favorite this time, having won 10 in a row since its last loss on Dec. 19 at New England. The Packers are averaging 37 points a game and no one has come close to shutting down Rodgers, who leads the league in passing efficiency and is coming off a six-touchdown barrage (four passing, two rushing) against Denver.

Clearly, this team has shown no signs of resting on its championship laurels. Their sights are now firmly set on getting to a second straight Super Bowl.

“Last season doesn’t have any affect on our thought process moving forward,” coach Mike McCarthy said. “We’re proud of what we accomplished last year. That was an excellent football team … something that will always be part of the tradition of the Green Bay Packers. But this is a whole different year. We’re focused on winning our fifth game and staying on a path that will hopefully take us to Indianapolis.”

But Atlanta has yet to hit its stride. There was a blowout loss at Chicago. There was another setback against division rival Tampa Bay.

Even last week, when the Falcons got back to .500, they nearly blew a big lead on lowly Seattle before surviving 30-28.

“We’re still figuring things out, there’s no doubt about it,” Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez said.

Rodgers has hooked up with eight players for touchdown passes, including three each to Greg Jennings, Jermichael Finley and Jordy Nelson. James Starks and Ryan Grant are running the ball well.

The defense has given up the second-fewest yards in the NFL (71 per game).

The only apparent weakness — a secondary that has surrendered an average of 336 yards and ranks 31st — can be explained away when one considers the Packers are usually playing with a big lead, forcing opponents to go exclusively to the air in hopes of catching up.

Green Bay tends to give up big yards but also makes a lot of big plays, such as Charles Woodson’s interception return for a touchdown last weekend. In all, the Packers have a league-high eight picks.

“There’s no denying that we’re giving up too many big plays,” McCarthy said. “That’s something we’ve focused on.”

The Falcons are trying to get the focus off the way last season ended.

A victory Sunday night would be a big step in that direction.

“Last year was last year. It’s over,” Gonzalez said. “But you remember it. I’d be lying if sat here told you I didn’t remember it. It was embarrassing. At the same time, they’re a new team, we’re a new team. It’s a new year. We’ve just got to go out and play this game and see where we stack up.

“They’re the Super Bowl champs. This will be a good gauge to see how good a team we are.”

———

Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.

This might look familiar, but the Atlanta Falcons sure hope it doesn’t.

The Green Bay Packers are back in the Georgia Dome, where they handed the top-seeded Falcons a 48-21 drubbing in a divisional game seven months ago. Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers played a brilliant game in that one, throwing for three touchdowns and rushing for a fourth.

Now, Rodgers is back and he hasn’t cooled much. He’s coming off a victory over Denver in which he threw for 408 yards — his regular-season career high — and became the first player in NFL history with 400 yards passing, four passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns in a single game.

“They have an outstanding quarterback with a lot of weapons,” Atlanta Coach Mike Smith said. “That’s the biggest concern for us, not being able to slow these guys down.”

That all starts with Rodgers, who has completed 73% of his passes for 1,325 yards with 12 touchdowns and two interceptions. He has set the bar very high.

“Yeah, we expect him to go out and play well,” receiver Jordy Nelson told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “Do we expect him to throw for 400-some yards and have six touchdowns? That’s another story.

“But we expect him to play well, and he expects us to play well.”

There is every reason to believe Sunday night’s game will be a shootout, considering Green Bay also has the league’s 31st-ranked pass defense and the unit has surrendered 25 plays of 20 or more yards.

Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan conceded he used the playoff loss to the Packers as motivation throughout the off-season.

“But I think you have to put it past you,” Ryan told reporters this week. “Part of playing in this league is you’re going to make some mistakes and you’re going to make some plays that don’t go the way you want. It’s how you respond to those types of things.”

sam.farmer@latimes.com

Compared to other things star Atlanta Falcons receiver Roddy White has said, this is pretty mild stuff. Actually, it’s so mild it would barely register no matter who said it, but here’s the quote about last year’s playoff loss to the Green Bay Packers that’s making the rounds:

We were a better team than those guys. We went out there, and we didn’t perform at our highest level.

This week, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers sort of responded to this or something like it:

I know some of the comments that have been made this offseason have been borderline disrespectful about what happened in the game, but basically we went down there and beat them, and they were the No. 1 seed. I’m sure they’re upset about that.    

The Falcons were the No. 1 seed and had beaten the Packers in the regular season. White has reason to think Atlanta was the better team going into the postseason, but the second game itself and every week of NFL football since has proven otherwise. If the Packers want to use that quote as motivation, then all right.

It’s been a strong week for once and former Falcons saying stuff about Rodgers and company, though.

For more on this game, venture to Falcons blog The Falcoholic and Packers blog Acme Packing Company.

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick is not counting on much love from the crowd when he visits his former Atlanta Falcons team for the first time as a starter in a match-up of two clubs with Super Bowl hopes.

Once a Falcons fan favourite, an exciting talent expected to lead the team to glory, Vick left Atlanta in shame to serve a prison sentence for his involvement in a dog-fighting ring and was barely used in a back-up role with Philadelphia when he first returned to the Georgia Dome in 2009.

But after his outstanding comeback last year, where he grabbed the Eagles starting role and delivered some astounding performances, Vick heads south with a new $100 million deal in his pocket and the responsibility of leading Philadelphia to the success they have craved for so long.

Vick received plenty of cheers in his first game back at Atlanta, throwing for a touchdown and running in for another in limited action, but there is no telling what the reaction will be this time from Falcons fans who feel their team has realistic Super Bowl ambitions.

While Falcons supporters hope to avoid an 0-2 start to the National Football League season, a hostile reception for Vick on Sunday would be a surprise as there are likely to be many Atlanta supporters in the Georgia Dome who still have affection for the quarterback and the feeling is mutual.

“I still have a lot of love for the fans down there, but keep in mind I am with the opposition now,” said Vick.

“I don’t expect it to be in my favour due to the fact that I’m out there full time, but we’ll see. That’s the fun part of the game and we’re just going to enjoy the day.”

In six seasons with the Falcons, who took him from Virginia Tech with the top pick in the 2001 draft, Vick was an exciting but inconsistent talent – his outstanding athleticism capable of producing moments of excitement but his youthful exuberance sometimes resulting in misjudgement.

In Philadelphia, while still keeping his ability to run with the ball, Vick has transformed into a more orthodox quarterback willing to play it safe when he needs to.

“Maturity has been something that I think has been the biggest reason why I’m able to accomplish the things that I’ve been able to accomplish today,” said Vick. “Just being older, with age comes the maturation process. Everything just happens in time.”

Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan needed less time to mature, showing impressive composure even as a rookie, but he enters Sunday’s game having to go up against the old crowd favourite and at the head of a team coming off a disappointing defeat to Chicago in their season opener.

The second week of the NFL season offers some real tests for some of those who impressed in the opening round of games.

Chicago likely spent little time savouring their win as they needed to begin preparations for their road game game against Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.

Carolina Panthers rookie quarterback Cam Newton made an instant impact on Sunday – throwing for a rookie record 422 yards and two touchdowns, as well as rushing another touchdown – in a losing effort to the Arizona Cardinals.

But the plaudits for the top pick in this year’s NFL draft have come with the caveat that he has the test of the Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers on Sunday.

The Washington Redskins, and often maligned quarterback Rex Grossman, enjoyed a positive opening day against the New York Giants and they will have to prove that was not a fluke when they face a solid-looking Cardinals squad.

The pressure is also on several other week one losers, particularly the Pittsburgh Steelers and Indianapolis Colts, who must recover from poor starts before slipping out of contention in their respective divisions.

Reuters

ATLANTA — Being a fan of the Atlanta Falcons is fairly difficult, according to a new study from On Numbers.

The Atlanta Falcons ranked 15th out of 32 teams with a fan difficulty index of 1.269. The Falcons have never won a Super Bowl, have only had one spurt of back-to-back winning seasons (the past three years) and were dismissed quickly in the playoffs last year by the eventual Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers in a 48-21 rout.

The study determined it’s more difficult to root for the Detroit Lions than any other NFL team. Two key factors are Detroit’s 53-year streak without a title and the team’s 19-year inability to crack the quarterfinal round of the NFL playoffs. 

Three Super Bowl titles since 2001 made the New England Patriots the easiest NFL team to root for, according to the study.

On Numbers analyzed all 32 pro football teams, seeking to identify the franchises that have consistently disappointed their fans.

(Atlanta Business Chronicle)

Many people believe the Atlanta Falcons gave the Cleveland Browns too many valuable picks when they traded up to draft wide receiver Julio Jones. Not Falcons wide receiver Roddy White. In fact, White says Atlanta’s offense will be a nightmare for opponents.

“We’re going to outscore everybody,” White told NFL Network. “Green Bay’s got what, four or five guys out there who can make plays? We’re going to be Green Bay South.”

Even if their offense becomes more explosive, it remains to be seen if the Falcons become a better team. They are 0-2 in the playoffs in the Matt Ryan era. The Green Bay Packers shredded Atlanta for 48 points in the playoffs last season, and questions remain about the Falcons’ defense.

However, it’s hard not to like the Falcons’ array of playmakers, led by Ryan at quarterback, Michael Turner at running back, White and Jones at wide receiver, and Tony Gonzalez at tight end. White, who led the NFL with 115 receptions, is not hiding his confidence in the offense, or in Jones.

“It’s going to be special,” White said. “It’s going to remind you of the Greatest Show on Turf. We’ve got a lot of explosive players and I see more explosive plays coming out of our offense. … He’s going to be a great player in this league.”

By Jason Kirk

– Regional Editor

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Jun 15, 2011 – Atlanta Falcons CB Christopher Owens has been accused by an ex-girlfriend of trashing her apartment Sunday night and destroying valuables, according to a TMZ report. Owens is reportedly accused of dousing LaTia Terry’s clothes and jewelry with bleach, putting holes in a wall and damaging a laptop and crib.

According to the story, Owens’ rampage was due to a fight over custody of the former couple’s nine-month-old child.

Owens hasn’t been arrested, though Terry claimed to police the allegedly destroyed items were worth about $15,000 and has filed a restraining order.

If any of this is true, it would be the first trouble Owens has made since being drafted as a third-round selection out of San Jose State. He’d been a reasonably popular Falcons defender until last season’s playoffs, when many placed blame on him for the team’s loss to the Green Bay Packers. 

For more Falcons, join The Falcoholic. For more NFL news, visit SB Nation’s NFL hub.

Read More: Christopher Owens (CB – ATL), Atlanta Falcons

Read More: Matt Ryan (QB – ATL), Atlanta Falcons

In addition to numerical player ratings, Madden 12 includes sets of traits for each player that aim to bring a little real-life personality into the game. Pasta Padre has a huge collection featuring player traits from every team, but here’s a look at how Matt Ryan will handle in the game. We already know his overall rating is a 90, but he’ll likely be one of the best sub-95 players in the game based on these:

That clutch trait has stirred up a little controversy among sports fans who only watched one Atlanta Falcons game all last year — the playoff loss against the Green Bay Packers. Throughout the rest of the season, though, Ryan led the Falcons on game-winning drives against the 49ers, Saints, Ravens and quite a few others, and his crunch-time stats placed him among the best in the NFL.

The rest of his traits are similar to those of Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Drew Brees — his consistency is one star behind Manning and Brady and on par with Brees. 

For more Falcons, join The Falcoholic. For more NFL, visit SB Nation’s NFL hub.