FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Arthur Smith is not a fan of narratives. The Falcons coach especially does not like “easy” or “lazy” narratives. Unfortunately for Smith, his team has served up plenty of those. The Falcons were a bad football team in his first season. They are going to be bad again.
That’s my narrative, at least. I’m hardly alone in that belief.
Few outside of Flowery Branch expect the Falcons to win many games in 2022. They finished 7-10 last season after they were 4-12 in 2020, but regression is the popular narrative. After successive salary-cap purges, the Matt Ryan trade debacle and Calvin Ridley’s suspension, there just aren’t enough good players on the roster for the Falcons to be better in 2022.