Falcons Milestones, Preseason

Last season, the Falcons set for themselves several milestones to measure their performance in a season during a season where they weren't expected to accomplish much. Two of those were avoid losing back-to-back games and win three games in a row. Mike Smith set what he believed to be feasible goals and held his player to them. Much of the success of the Falcons in the 2008 season was due to this step-by-step approach. In that spirit, I have created a short list of milestones to be used as a measure of their performance this season. These aren't in and of themselves a guarantee of post season success (except the two that refer specifically to the post season), but teams that can consistently meet these goals can reasonably hope to do well into January and even February. The milestones refer to season totals except where noted (or obvious). I based the Goal 1 stats on last year's totals for the Falcons, except for the turnover ratio, which needs improvement from the -3 from last season, and wins, where the Goal 1 total will complete their first back-to-back winning seasons. Goal 2 stats are reasonable step-ups from the Goal 1 stats. If any of the Goal 2 stats are met earlier in the season than I anticipate, then I may add some Goal 3 stats. Milestone Current Goal 1 Goal 2 Wins 0 9 11 Wins in a Row 0 3 4 Avoid Back-to-Back Losses 0 0 Passing Yards 0 3500 4000 Rushing Yards 0 2250 2500 Touchdowns (Passing) 0 17 30 Touchdowns (Rushing) 0 20 25 Score 24 Points in a Game 0 8 10 Turnover Differential +0 +0 +6 Sacks 0 34 40 Defensive Touchdowns 0 3 8 Hold Opponents to 20 Points in a Game 0 8 10 Win Division 1st (Tied) Win Playoff Game N/A Win Conference N/A