Falcons Won't Settle for Anything Less Than Super Bowl Win

ATLANTA -- When the Atlanta Falcons rolled over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday by a score of 31-10, they didn't just punch their ticket into the playoffs as the No. 1 seed in the National Football Conference -- they set themselves up to become one of the best Falcons' teams in the history of the franchise.

Before that can happen, though, Atlanta still needs to win three more football games.

A Super Bowl win is the only thing left for these Falcons to achieve. It's great that Atlanta shored up home-field advantage and secured the No. 1 seed in the playoffs. But that's been done before in Atlanta -- the 1980-81 Falcons were the conference's top seed, but were bounced without winning a playoff game.

And you'll remember that in 1998, the Falcons arrived at Pro Player Stadium in Miami for the Super Bowl and were sent home with a 15-point drubbing to show for their visit by the Denver Broncos.

No longer are consecutive winning seasons streak enough in Atlanta. No longer will a division championship do.

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Atlanta must bring home a Super Bowl trophy -- this season.

The Falcons were given the opportunity for a short showing of emotion on the field as their Week 17 game was coming to an end. Coach Mike Smith got hit with the bucket of cold water on the sideline; owner Arthur Blank was given a Gatorade shower.

"As a kid, this is what you dream of: playing in the Super Bowl."
-- Falcons LB Mike Peterson It was all smiles, hugs and handshakes between Smith, Blank, general manger Thomas Dimitroff and veterans like John Abraham, Roddy White and Matt Ryan as the final seconds rolled off of the clock. But as the team entered the tunnel and headed to the locker room, there was a sense that there is still work that needs to be done.

Smith said that the Falcons have "recalibrated" their goals as the regular season was winding down. With eyes on the final prize, Smith and his coaching staff laid down the ground works for a run to the Super Bowl

And first up on that list: The Falcons wanted to "make sure we were going to be able to be playing games here at the Georgia Dome during the playoffs," Smith said.

They accomplished that goal on Sunday, and as a reward, Smith will give his team a few days off to rest and celebrate. But after that, the Falcons will start the fifth phase of their master plan.

In training camp, Smith broke the regular season down into four different quarters. He had a game plan for each, with the idea being that if the Falcons accomplished their goals in short spurts, they would make the playoffs.

Now that the Falcons are in, they will shift their focus to loftier aspirations -- starting with getting ready for Atlanta's eventual first playoff opponent.


Watch Panthers-Falcons highlights "We're going to have to prepare for a number of different scenarios," said Smith, when asked about how his team would prepare during its bye week. "We've got a pretty good idea of things may go -- and you've got to have contingency plans, but we'll work on that all through this week, and continue into next week until we know who our next opponent is."

There are a number of teams that could visit Atlanta in the second round of the playoffs: St. Louis, Seattle, New Orleans, Green Bay or even Tampa Bay. The nice thing for Atlanta is that they have played each of these teams already.

"Familiarity is always good," Smith said.

But the Falcons don't necessarily care who they play in two weeks -- just that they win. And that they keep winning, right on through the Super Bowl.

"As a kid, this is what you dream of: playing in the Super Bowl," said Atlanta linebacker Mike Peterson, who won a National Championship with the Florida Gators while he was in college.

"And Pop Warner, since you brought it up," said Peterson. "I won a National Pop Warner title, a state title in high school, a national title in college. This (the NFL) is the only question mark."

Peterson, a 12-year veteran, added "I'm just so happy. I've been at this for 12 years, and I've never had a feeling like I have now."

That feeling includes an extreme level of confidence in Atlanta's ability to keep their Super Bowl dreams alive through a trip to Cowboys Stadium in February.

"I want you," Peterson said, "to wake me up in Dallas."