ATLANTA -- At some point, Atlanta will play in a different kind of statement game, one in which how the other team does is the statement rather than how the Falcons do.
Linebacker Mike Peterson of the 9-2 Falcons is patiently awaiting that time.
“I was just kidding with somebody,” Peterson said. “The more you win, the more they’re gonna say it’s a statement game.”
He heard it and read it before Atlanta played Baltimore, a 26-21 Falcons win. And he heard it and read it again as Green Bay came to town.
“I’m sure Monday night (Dec. 27) when we play the (New Orleans) Saints, it’ll be another statement game,” he said, a tone of quasi-sarcasm every time he said “statement” during the chat. “Get that one, and (you have) arrived. We don’t have a problem with it.”
Indeed, winning -- regardless of the tag applied before kickoff -- is a nice statement.
Atlanta’s 20-17 win Sunday over Green Bay felt a little different than it should have.
The Falcons didn’t seem to be all that sharp on offense, finishing with less than 300 yards in total offense.
The defense didn’t seem to be all that sharp on defense, giving up 418 and allowing Aaron Rodgers to account for 395 of them in some form or fashion.
But good grief, that’s what this team is. It’s not dazzling, imposing or dominant.
It’s not breathtakingly flashy, but it is just really, really good-looking, the kind of pretty that lasts, without a lot of makeup and bling.
No doubt Sunday’s game had people a little antsy, what with Rodgers throwing and running crazy and the Packers putting up nice numbers.
Let’s get used to it. This is a blue-collar team that pounds the ball, has a quarterback who just makes the right decisions and right throws and a defense that has gymnasts in uniform, it does so much bending sometimes without breaking.
Head coach Mike Smith wanted the fabulously fickle fans of Atlanta to be at the Dome plenty early for this one.
Good luck with that, Coach.
Naturally, they weren’t and didn’t even fill up the placeup, which is absolutely remarkable. Then again, this is a 60-minute group that plays games not decided until the fourth quarter. Come late, stay late.
“I guess that we’re not really just blowing teams out,” Peterson said. “We give them a football game, as we like to say. We’re giving the fans their money’s worth.”
In so many ways.
Nevertheless, each Sunday seems like some sort of proper step forward -- let’s note the win clinched Atlanta’s third straight winning season -- and this was another one. Yeah, another statement, but one that Peterson believes is setting up the fundamental Falcons for something bigger.
Like Sunday, which wasn’t a gorgeous game, per se, but it was progress.
“You never want to be at your peak,” he said. “You always want to continue to get better and better. I think we’ll finally get at our peak -- our offensive peak, defensive peak on special teams -- when we get to Dallas.”
Notice he said not if Atlanta gets to Dallas, the home to this season’s Super Bowl and the ultimate statement game. Plenty of football remains, and the Falcons are in position to make plenty more statements.
Contact Michael A. Lough at 744-4626 or mlough@macon.com
