About this Atlanta Falcons Team...

I've not written much about the NFL this year, because college and Formula 1 have been so interesting. But now there are a mere two weeks left in the regular season, and two teams have separated themselves from the pack. For so long a general parity reigned in the league, as a few teams soared higher in the win total, and other rocked around the .500 mark.

Now, with all teams having played fourteen games, a group of six teams sits at 10-4 (New Orleans, Chicago, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and the NY Jets). Now, 10-4 is not a bad record, but all six teams sit two games behind the New England Patriots (no surprise there) and the Atlanta Falcons, who are both 12-2.

These Falcons, by virtue of winning against Seattle last week, now need only one win in their last two games to guarantee themselves home-filed throughout the playoffs. Remember, these are the same Falcons who are 19-1 under Matt Ryan at home. To me, that says if Atlanta beats either New Orleans Monday night, or Carolina on January 2nd, the only time they'll have to go on the road again would be to travel to Dallas for the Super Bowl.

Three years ago, standard knowledge was that the Falcons would need upwards of five years to rebuild. Mike Vick was in jail for dog fighting and interstate gambling, Coach Bobby Petrino snuck out of town in the middle of the night to coach Arkansas, meaning the team was left coachless and quarterbackless. But then Thomas Dimitroff was hired as the General Manager. One of his first moves was to hire Jacksonville's defensive coach, Mike Smith.

As the new office regime was installed, the Draft rolled around. Many people felt that the Falcons would draft Glenn Dorsey, a defensive tackle out of LSU, but the need for quarterback was too great. With the third overall pick in the draft, the Falcons took Matt Ryan, the QB out of Boston College. Several other key picks, and the free agent signing of Michael Turner, RB from San Diego, made the Falcons a playoff team in one year.

Then the Falcons traded for arguably the greatest Tight End in the game, Tony Gonzalez. Bringing in CB Dunta Robinson this year further solidified a core of talent that is not sexy. They aren't flashy. They just win. With the exception to to games in Pennsylvania, the Falcons are undefeated. They've beaten New Orleans, Baltimore, and Green Bay. They've not lost since mid-October.

At the pace they're playing, these Falcons are poised for a deep run into the playoffs. Maybe we should buy plane tickets to Dallas in February...

Football Future-see: Bowl Edition 2010-2011

So after all these years of doing this bit, I finally had a perfect week. Of course, it comes at a time when my readership is essentially on life-support. So let's see what we have for the Bowl Edition.

22 December Maaco Bowl Las Vegas

19 Utah vs 10 Boise State

It's not often that you get this kind of ranked match-up before New Years Day, much less before Christmas, but this is what happens when you don't have a large following of fans. Utah is tough, but squandered a game or two down the stretch. Boise State kicked themselves out of the Rose Bowl, and after this game they have to look forward to a Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic game with UGA to start the 2011 campaign.

FINAL SCORE: Boise State 24, Utah 20

27 December AdvocareV100 Independence Bowl

Air Force vs Georgia Tech

If you still cling to the antiquated notion that the forward pass ruined football, then this is the game for you. Both teams run an option offense that keeps the clocks moving. Vegas actually has the over/under on this game at 56 minutes.

FINAL SCORE: Air Force 26, Georgia Tech 21

31 December Hyundai Sun Bowl

Notre Dame vs Miami (FL)

Catholics versus Convicts, the rematch, part 87. Seriously, these schools are getting ready to revive their rivalry, why match them up here. Oh, right, money. Forgot.

FINAL SCORE: Miami 27, Notre Dame 24

31 December AutoZone Liberty Bowl

Georgia vs. 25 Central Florida (UCF)

Central Florida won the... whatever conference they are in. Sun Belt? Big East? No that's not right. Westville High won the Big East... Anyway, the 25th ranked Central Floridians are going up against a 6-6 UGA team that could be caught looking ahead to August, when they face Boise State. But probably not.

FINAL SCORE: Georgia 34, UCF 17

31 December Chick-fil-A Bowl

20 South Carolina vs 23 Florida State

South Carolina played in the Georgia Dome at the start of December, losing mightily to Auburn. But Steve Spurrier knows a thing or two about beating Florida State. Will the curse of the chicken catch up to Darth Visor?

FINAL SCORE: South Carolina 24, FSU 20

1 January Rose Bowl

3 TCU vs 5 Wisconsin

TCU has one of the best defenses in the country. That said, Wisconsin had a run earlier this year where they rolled off conference victories of 83-20, 48-28, and 70-23. TCU has not seen an offense that potent this season.

FINAL SCORE: Wisconsin 36, TCU26

1 January Fiesta Bowl

UConn vs 7 Oklahoma

Westville High School... er, I mean, UConn, comes into their first ever BCS game. Oklahoma returns to the house of horrors, where Bob Stoops turns into SpongeBob BowlFlop. There is something about putting Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl...

FINAL SCORE: Oklahoma 40, UConn 17

3 January Orange Bowl

4 Stanford vs 13 Virginia Tech

The Hokies dropped back-to-back games to start the season, losing to Boise State and James Madison. Then they won eleven straight, claiming the ACC (which, let's be honest, is like winning the Least Ugly contest). Stanford has been near the top all year, and only had their train derailed by Oregon. Andrew Luck is probably the #1 pick in next year's draft.

FINAL SCORE: Stanford 28, Virginia Tech 24

4 January Sugar Bowl

6 Ohio State vs 8 Arkansas

I don't know if they did this on purpose, but most of us in the southeast know all about Ohio State's trouble with the SEC in BCS games. Now, the Buckeyes get to face Ryan Mallett and the Razorback offense in New Orleans. I think this might be one of the best games from the BCS.

FINAL SCORE: Arkansas 31, Ohio State 24

10 January National Championship Game

1 Auburn vs 2 Oregon

The belief is that this game might be the best title tilt we've seen since Texas-USC five years ago. Oregon's blur offense has troubled every team they've played, but they've not faced an SEC defense this year, and until someone proves otherwise, the SEC is the king of this mountain.

FINAL SCORE: Auburn 38, Oregon 35

Football Future-see Week 14

RECORD:

Week 1 ....... 7-1

Week 2 ....... 4-1

Week 3 ....... 4-1

Week 4 ....... 2-3

Week 5 ....... 4-3

Week 6 ....... 2-3

Week 7 ....... 3-2

Week 8 ....... 4-1

Week 9 ....... 4-3

Week 10 ..... 3-2

Week 11 ..... 4-2

Week 12 ..... 2-3

Week 13 ..... 7-3

Week 14 ..... 5-0

TOTAL ..... 55-28

Well, here we are, the last week of the regular season. I've been close to perfection several times this year, and I've also been downright wrong. Championship week is usually tough to predict, so if I go 5-0 this week I'll be ecstatic.

**UPDATE: I went 5-0! Finally. After three years of doing this stuff, I've finally got my perfect week.**

2 Oregon at Oregon State________CORRECT

A win in the Civil War locks Oregon into the BCS National Championship Game. The Badgers are 6-5 on the year, the Ducks, with their blur offense, are undefeated.

FINAL SCORE: Oregon 42, Oregon State 20

1 Auburn vs 19 South Carolina (SEC Championship)________CORRECT

This marks the second time this season that Auburn and SC have played. The Tigers got the better of the first game, and they now have a cleared-to-play Cam Newton.

FINAL SCORE: Auburn 28, South Carolina 20

21 Florida State vs 15 Virginia Tech (ACC Championship)________CORRECT

Honestly, this doesn't feel like a title game. The ACC really needs to up their game.

FINAL SCORE: Virginia Tech 30, Florida State 17

9 Oklahoma vs 13 Nebraska (Big XII Championship)________CORRECT

This has all the makings of a great game, which is why I'm predicting such a close score.

FINAL SCORE: Oklahoma 21, Nebraska 20

Connecticut at South Florida________CORRECT

UConn is on its way to a BCS game, even though they have four losses. The Huskies will pretty much clinch a spot, likely in the Orange Bowl, possibly Fiesta, with a win over the Bulls.

FINAL SCORE: UConn 24, South Florida 21

BCS Bowl Predicitions

Orange: Virginia Tech vs Ohio State

Fiesta: Oklahoma vs UConn

Rose: TCU vs Wisconsin

Sugar: Arkansas vs Stanford

BCS National Championship: Oregon vs Auburn