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Turnaround Thrills Falcons

The Associated Press

Ryan, a first-round pick out of Boston College, has rare poise and keen football intelligence for an NFL rookie.

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By IRA KAUFMAN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 12, 2008

Updated: 12/12/2008 12:11 am

TAMPA A year ago, the Atlanta Falcons were also preparing for a mid-December game against the Buccaneers.

So much for the similarities.

Instead of heading to Tampa with a 3-10 mark and journeyman Chris Redman under center, these Falcons are 8-5 going into Sunday's matchup against the Bucs at the Georgia Dome.

In 2007, Atlanta was coming off a 34-14 home loss to New Orleans on "Monday Night Football," just hours after franchise quarterback Michael Vick was sentenced to prison on dogfighting charges.

Wide receiver Roddy White punctuated a scoring catch that evening by pulling up his jersey in front of a national TV audience and unveiling a T-shirt with a handwritten message:

"Free Mike Vick."

By the time the Falcons arrived in Tampa the following weekend, Coach Bobby Petrino had bolted to Arkansas, stunning owner Arthur Blank.

"One of the beauties of the NFL is that if you make the right decisions in the offseason, there's a pretty good chance you can compete," Blank said Thursday. "I had confidence in the structural changes we had made as an organization. We went through a tsunami in 2007 and our GM, our coach and our players responded beautifully."

The Falcons have turned it around behind rookie quarterback Matt Ryan and first-year coach Mike Smith, restoring a fractured relationship with a skeptical fan base.

"The very first thing we had to do was change the culture in the building," said Smith, the former Jaguars defensive coordinator who has meshed well with Ryan, a first-round pick out of Boston College with rare poise and keen football intelligence.

With new GM Thomas Dimitroff handling the personnel side and a veteran coaching staff focusing on player development, the Falcons quickly became competitive by parlaying a strong draft class and some savvy free-agent pickups.

A community shocked by the Vick revelations and Petrino's abrupt departure has embraced its Falcons once again.

Blank said the club's TV ratings have spiked more than any franchise in the league, except for Brett Favre's Jets.

"I wasn't around here last year, but people in our community seem to feel it's a positive environment once again," Dimitroff said. "Our fans like the direction of the team.

"Fortunately, Mike and I see the building of a franchise through similar lenses. He and Matt hit it off from the start - and that's been so important in our success."

Reporter Ira Kaufman can be reached at (813) 259-7833.

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