Change of the guard can happen so rapidly. Last week during Monday Night football the excitement of Atlanta vs. Philadelphia was at the same playoff level of their NFC championship game. Even before kickoff, emotions couldn’t wait for the first quarter to start. The fight ignited a quick start by the Falcon offense, and the defense was able to do the rest. Yesterday proved though the Falcons week one performance wasn‘t an indicator of Vick‘s overall game excelling.

Impressive as their win was against Philadelphia, there are some serious question marks with the Falcons offense. Not in the running game, and not even so much at wide receiver. It’s all in Mike Vick’s arm. John Madden and Al Michaels were animated when talking about Vick’s exceptional plays, and would focus on his great highlight plays. Notice that every play they would show, was involving Vick’s legs. Except for his deep throws to Michael Jenkins and Alge Crumpler, his passing game would have been as bad as David Carr’s week one performance. Picture this, without those two completions he would have had a mere seventy four yards passing. It’s true one or two big plays can change a game completely, but a championship team is going to need more than that. A quarterback can’t win a championship with his legs.

The Eagles are the type of team that get stronger as the season nears the playoffs, and there are also plenty of rising teams in the NFC. Atlanta on the other hand plays a similar style all season long. The same stats that happened last Monday night are similar to what happens every game. Great running by Warrick Dunn and TJ Duckett, and Vick making plays with his legs is when the Falcons win. Subtract positive days from Dunn and Duckett and the Falcons lose. In all actuality, Warrick Dunn’s ground game is more beneficial to the Falcons offense than Vick is. If Dunn didn’t run the ball like he does, teams would harp on Vick even more.

Their defense is also underrated. For the over dominance in Monday’s game, the final score was only 14-10. The Eagles missed a field goal, and just didn’t capitalize enough on certain drives. The Falcons defense won that game, and has won plenty for the Falcons. They’ll need to stay strong all year to keep the Falcons in close games. They’re one of few NFL teams that are strong on the defensive line, line backing crew, and secondary.

So a week one victory looks great, but at the end of the year no one will remember that game. The only time it’ll be referenced, is if the Falcons and Eagles need to settle a tie breaker for home field. Even at that the Eagles haven’t had a problem winning on the road in the playoffs. Spreading the offense with Vick’s arm, needs to happen. That would scare defensive coordinators into a whirlwind of confusion, and light up scoreboards like a New Year’s celebration. Would scare and will is the dilemma Vick has been in with his arm for a prolonged time now.