The Atlanta Falcons are looking for improvement in 2023. Entering the third year under head coach Arthur Smith and general manager Terry Fontenot, favor is falling more in the Falcons way in comparison to the last half a decade where things like blowing late fourth-quarter leads and holding a dead cap space of over $40 million were the norm. With an easy 2023 NFL schedule ahead, the Falcons must take advantage if they not only do want to build on the future but keep Arthur Smith off the hot seat.
Arthur Smith can't afford another losing season
Arthur Smith simply can't afford another 7-10 or similar season. There are varying reports, but the average tenure for an NFL head coach is somewhere around three to four years. With two losing seasons and no playoff appearances, this isn't boding well for Smith.
Granted, Smith walked into a bad situation, probably one of the worst in the NFL at the time. He had an aging quarterback in Matt Ryan, an unhappy, barely healthy star wide receiver in Julio Jones, and a fan base that even to this day is still suffering PTSD from Super Bowl LI. So, is it really fair if the Falcons' owner Arthur Blank were to fire Smith if he has another losing season, or even a winning one but somehow misses the playoffs? Probably not, but this is the cutthroat business of the NFL. Smith can't afford to close the season without a playoff berth or else he might not be the Falcons' head coach in 2024.
Cupcake 2023 NFL Schedule
Once the 2023 NFL schedule was released on Thursday, the Falcons were found to have the easiest strength of schedule with their opponents having a .417 win percentage. A lot of that is due to quarterback play of their opponents.
The Falcons could potentially have a quarter of their schedule where they face a rookie quarterback (Carolina Panthers twice, Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts). The three quarterbacks, Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud and Anthony Richardson were among the first five picks in this year's NFL draft. Regardless, the Falcons are facing a plethora of teams where there is little to no certainty at the quarterback position with little to no starts under their belts. The problem is, the Falcons are in the same position with Desmond Ridder only having four career starts.
No restrictions
Before free agency, the Falcons opened up with around $58 million in cap space this year. For two years they were restricted from making any significant moves because of little capital. Just last season they owed more than $40 million in dead cap money alone, mainly from Matt Ryan and Julio Jones contracts. Finally, this offseason, the Falcons didn't have to go bargain shopping for outdated goods and made some notable signings on the defense in safety Jessie Banks III, defensive end Calais Campbell, and edge rusher Bud Dupree.
Forget missing on Deshaun Watson, accepting Desmond Ridder
Deshaun Watson may not be the most popular person in the league because of his legal baggage, but when the Falcons lost the sweepstakes to the Cleveland Browns and Matt Ryan later in the process, it was a bad look all around for the club. Granted, this may have been the best thing to happen for the Falcons, but at the time, it didn't make Smith and company look great. If he gets fired and Watson leads the Browns to the promise land eventually, it will be one of the biggest misses during Smith's tenure.
With that being said, Desmond Ridder doesn't have to be Watson, he just has to be serviceable in helping the Falcons, at the very least, earn a Wild Card spot.
Bijan Robinson
The Falcons have a future superstar in Bijan Robinson. In what was a surprising pick from Atlanta in the draft, they chose a running back at No. 8 overall. There seemed more pressing needs, but Smith choose to beef up his offense that already had team leading rusher Tyler Allgeier, second-year wide receiver Drake London, and super-talented tight end Kyle Pitts.
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