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2006 Atlanta Falcons NFL Picks & Predictions

Written by Jimmy Boyd on August 29, 2006

Mike Vick will give the 2006 Falcons football team hope as long as he can stay healthy. The team should have improved over last year’s 8-8 squad with the addition of youth and experience. Atlanta let safeties Keion Carpenter and Bryan Scott leave via free agency and upgraded by signing Lawyer Milloy and Chris Cocker. These two are a big improvement even as Milloy enters his 11th season in the league. The pass rush may have gotten the biggest injection though with John Abraham coming over from the Jets in exchange for a first round draft pick. The other major addition came via the draft, when Atlanta drafted yet another Virginia Tech cornerback in Jimmy Williams. He should contribute right away by becoming the Falcon’s nickel back.

When you talk about the offense of the 2006 Falcons football team you will need to look at both Mike Vick and his backup Matt Schaub. The reason is that when Vick is playing his game, he is a real threat to go down with an injury. He was hurt against the Vikings last season and ended up not being as mobile as he should have been. Schaub is definitely a viable replacement and the Falcons have been loath to look into trade offers because of their faith in his ability. Atlanta is set at running back with a great thunder and lightening combination that helped the team lead the league in rushing last season. Duckett has underachieved as of late, but he is in a contract year. Dunn is getting up there in years, but like Tiki Barber seems to be getting stronger with age. The biggest threat for receiving Vick’s passes is with the tight end Alge Crumpler, who had 65 receptions a year ago. The wide outs are both promising former first rounders who are poised to break free if Vick can become a better passer. Roddy White and Michael Jenkins need to step up and become the threats they were supposed to be.

John Abraham is going to step up the defensive line to another level and Rod Coleman and Patrick Kearney are going to receive a lot of the benefits from his presence as well. This group of linebackers is fairly deep with Ed Hartwell, Michael Boley, and Keith Brooking roaming from sideline to sideline and making the big plays. The secondary should be shored up fairly well with the additions of Crocker and Milloy at safety to compliment DeAngelo Hall and Jason Webster at corner. Webster is talented but the rookie Williams could step into his role sometime by the end of the year.

The 2006 Falcons football team should be better than last year’s team that finished 8-8, but as always we are loath to predict big things for them as long as Vick is so injury prone. The division is going to be a tough one as well with the Bucs and Panthers both contending for the division crown. We don’t think they have the fire power to outlast both those teams and the strong East to earn a Wild Card, so bet on them making the playoffs with their competition in mind. With that being said, the team is more likely to hit the 9 win mark then they are to have a losing record, so go with the Over 8 wins futures bet.

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