It must be really fun to be a Falcons fan right now

Yeah, it is raining outside in Atlanta right now, but for all of the Falcons fans out there, it is just liquid sunshine. For the first time in seemingly forever, it must be REALLY fun to be a Falcons fan right now.
Think about it.....after the QB that supposed to change the game was convicted of dogfighting and sent to prison (after letting down his fanbase for quite some time. Overrated much?), the franchise is then kicked in the gut by the snake that was Bobby Petrino as he bounced out of town early for another job (shocker. I have to put some of the blame on the Falcons though for hiring the guy in the first place. The brass knew what it was getting into the bed with on that one).

THEN everyone was blasting the Falcons for taking Matt Ryan with the 3rd overall pick when Glen Dorsey would have "solidified the defense for years" (OK, fine I said that. Big whoop) And the team gave HOW much to a backup running back? And you only got a 2nd rounder and a 7th for DHall? Come on.....

But TD hired the right coach and got the QB into camp early where he has become the best rookie QB since Dan Marino. (Yep, better than Big Ben. Look at the numbers, not the record. PLUS look what Ben was working with.)
Now I don't think the Falcons are going to make the playoffs. I think they go 9-7 or 10-6, but the future is bright, certainly for the Falcons.
I think a run in the playoffs next season is the START of a window for the team. The 2010 season will be the first of a 4 year window where the Falcons SHOULD win a superbowl.

Then the best part, if you are a Falcons fan is that you have Matt Ryan for the next 12-15 seasons. FINE I WAS WRONG. This kid apparently has "it" and "it" isn't going anywhere. Is he Tom Brady/Peyton Manning RIGHT NOW? No. But he is certainly next tier right now. Good for him and good for the Dirty Birds.

I asked Paul Mac, the biggest Falcons fan I know if he was happier RIGHT NOW than ANYTIME in the Michael Vick Era, and he thought about it....then said yes. You know what you have here. Matty Ice is going to be solid for the next 5 years, then become a Dan Marino-type (good QB with a good enough arm that will make the average better.) I assume that the team will be over the cap about 6 years down the line with giving out raises and whatnot, so at some point the team will have to cut some vets to make room, like Marino had to do at points in his career.

And with Vick, his style always left him one hit away from missing the season. And after the 2004 NFC Appearance, Vick stopped progressing. He did. The Eagles gave everyone the blueprint on how to stop him and he didn't seem to care to change it. He was happy with 9-7, 8-8, 7-9. He didn't care anymore. Apparently he was more interested in his dog-fighting ring. Too bad, because this guy could have been something special, except he kept stepping on his thing.

With Ryan, you get the feeling that if teams DO get a read on him, he will study on how to one-up them. Like Peyton. Like Brady.

The Falcons got a good one, and it must be pretty fun being a Falcons fan right now. It isn't much fun being a Georgia fan, and why would you want to be a Tech fan? HONESTLY. WHY? But If you are living in the ATL and you love football, you have to feel good about jumping on the Falcons bandwagon. DO it. You can feel good about EVERY part of the team for the next decade.
I personally am a Redskins fan. Do I feel good about the Skins with Zorn and Campbell? NO. I don't trust either. Mike Smith is a rookie head coach, but I'd feel good about him as a Falcons fan. He inspires more confidence than Marvin Lewis would in Cincy. Smith isn't going to lose the team like Lewis did. Poor Carson Palmer, he was done in by knuckleheads like Ocho Cinco and by Lewis. That won't happen with Ryan because Smith won't let it. Philip Rivers has been done in by Norv Turner. Leinart is an afterthought in Arizona. Jay Cutler (Denver) and Ryan are the next wave.
You've got to be excited about that and the Denver/Atlanta game from last week was a pretty good one. You might see that in a Super Bowl before you know it. 2012 perhaps?
If you are a Falcons fan though and I am talking about a Super Bowl in three years, that has to be great. I wish I was talking about the Redskins, but I'm not. The Falcons are going to be there. They deserve it after all these years of being poo-pooed on. Soak it up Falcons fans. Strap in and buy a #2 jersey. If you don't jump on now......you're going to get left behind.