2021 Atlanta Falcons End of Season Awards

The Atlanta Falcons first season under the leadership of Arthur Smith ended with a 7-10 record that saw them miss the playoffs for a fourth consecutive season. Only 5 franchises have a longer playoff drought then the Falcons.

Image taken from @SNFONNBC's Facebook account

Grade for Arthur Smiths first season

I ran a poll on both my Instagram and Twitter accounts and the consensus was that Smith's first season earned a C grade. Although we won three more games in 2021, this was in large part to us having the second easiest schedule in the NFL. Against playoff opposition, Atlanta were annihilated. 

I had low expectations going into the season but the manner of our losses against Philadelphia, Dallas, New England and San Francisco showed a team who are amongst the worst in the league. Sometimes hope is all you can have as a fan, but what hope is there with this roster and regime? Other then Kyle Pitts, Terry Fontenout's first draft class was incredibly underwhelming. Fixing the mess Thomas Dimitroff left behind, was always going to be difficult for anyone and the only way we can get back to being a relevant team in January, is if Fontenout nails his draft picks. Atlanta were the worst team at rushing the passer, ending the year with 11 less sacks then the next worst team. 

Arthur Smith is supposed to be an offensive guru, but his offense couldn't function when required to run obvious pass plays. Obviously none of us could have accounted for Calvin Ridley being absent for the majority of the season. Matt Ryan was the most hit quarterback in the 2021 season. Rookie guard Jalen Mayfield was selected in the 3rd round by Terry Fontenout; this selection at the time was criticised and he already appears to be a massive bust. Mayfield allowed the most sacks of any guard in the NFL. He accounted for 11 sacks on Matt Ryan.

Player of the Season

AJ Terrell: Terrell earned himself a place on APs second team All Pro line up. He was PFF's highest rated cornerback this season. Terrell starred every week despite, being surrounded by arena league standard defenders. In 13 of 17 games, Terrell allowed less then 20 yards in coverage this season. When targeted he allowed the lowest passer rating (47.5) and completion percentage (43.9%) amongst cornerbacks. Amazingly, Terrell was snubbed of a Pro Bowl spot, showing that it is just a popularity contest.

Win of the Season 

Week 9 @ Saints (27-25): Winning against New Orleans is always the sweetest feeling for Atlanta Falcons fans. New Orleans rallied after trailing by 18 points in the 4th quarter to take a late 25-24 lead. Matt Ryan hit Cordarelle Patterson down the sideline for a 64 yard gain that set up Younghoe Koo's game winning walk off field goal. 

Play of the Season

Russell Gages Touchdown @ San Francisco: My play of the year is Matt Ryan's 20 yard touchdown pass to Russell Gage. As shown below, Ryan does a great job of giving Gage a chance to go get the ball. Gage done his best Randy Moss impression catching the ball over 49ers cornerback Ambry Thomas. 

Signing of the Season

Cordarelle Patterson: When the Falcons signed Cordarelle Patterson, I thought that's a nice special teams pick up! Patterson, formerly a first round pick of the Minnesota Vikings has always had game changing ability. Minnesota, Oakland, New England and Chicago all tried to use Patterson on offense,  but failed to get consistent production from him. In Arthur Smith's offense, Patterson had career highs in receptions, receiving yards, receiving touchdowns, rushes, rushing yards and rushing touchdowns. Without Patterson, the Atlanta Falcons would of had a top 5 pick in upcoming NFL draft. After exceeding everyone's expectations, Patterson has expressed his desire to stay in Atlanta, so hopefully Terry Fontenout can get a deal done to keep him.

Rookie of the Season

Kyle Pitts: Kyle Pitts wins this award by a country mile. All of Terry Fontenouts other draft picks failed to make significant positive contributions. Pitts had the second most receiving yards in NFL history for a rookie tight end. Pitts came into the league with huge expectations, but he has lived up to the hype. One area Atlanta need to do a better job in, is getting Pitts more targets in the redzone. Scoring only one touchdown for a receiver of Kyle's ability shouldn't happen. Pitts performances earned him a Pro Bowl selection.

Letdown of the Season

Deion Jones: Debo was one of the worst starting linebackers in all of football this season. A lack of effort infuriated many Atlanta Falcon fans as Jones was mauled in the run game every week. The fact he continued to start over Mykal Walker is a damning indictment of Dean Pees. Hopefully we won't see #45 in a Falcons uniform again.

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We can be followed on Twitter @falcons_corner or on Instagram at falcons.corner. If you agree or disagree with any of my picks, feel free to leave it in the comments below.


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