The Falcons have never been to a Super Bowl. They have never even been close. But if anyone thinks the Falcons can't win, they haven't been watching much football this season.
Still, all the chips seem to fall on Denver's side. They have all the biggest names: John Elway, Terrell Davis, Bill Romanowski and Shannon Sharpe. They have the offensive wizardry of Mike Shanahan. They play on grass and battle the elements week in and week out. But, most of all, they have been there before, and they came out on top.
But lest we forget -- Dan Reeves made it back from quadruple-bypass heart surgery in four days. And nobody tackled Jamal Anderson all year long. Chris Chandler threw more beautiful passes this season than he has hairs on his head. Hell, Gary Andersen even missed a field goal.
After a storybook season of miracles on the field and off, one can't help but believe that the Falcons will find a way.
Offensively, Jamal Anderson and O. J. Santiago will dominate the game. Santiago poses a big problem for the Denver defense. If Denver tries to cover him man-up with Bill Romanowksi, which in all likelihood they will, Santiago will be open all day.
Romo's a hitter, not a cover-man, and Santiago has a huge height advantage. However, if the Broncos decide to pull up a safety to help Romo with Santiago, either Terence Mathis or Tony Martin will be left on an island on the outside. This has big play written all over it, especially with Martin's speed.
Jamal Anderson poses a huge problem for any defense. First of all, the man is a machine and punishes the defense every time he touches the ball. In the open field, Anderson will overpower anyone on Denver's team, with the possible exception of Romo, who will be too busy trying to stay with Santiago.
Anderson will run through Atwater like nobody's business.
In addition, Jamal Anderson is a sixth offensive lineman. His blocking skills will help to offset Denver's tricky blitz packages.
And if he slips out of the backfield he poses as formidable a threat as a receiver.
No matter what, Jamal will get his 30 carries, and he will claw, tear, grind, and pulverize his way to 150 yards on the ground.
Defensively, the Falcons' front four will set the tone. Denver's offensive line might be the best in football, but the underrated Atlanta front four matches up well with the Broncos' horses.
The Atlanta defensive line, which specializes at penetrating upfield, will do just that, forcing Davis to dance and giving Tuggle, Crockett, and Bennett (all very good tacklers) the time they need to shoot the gaps and nail Davis before he gets rolling.
Look for defensive end Chuck Smith to set up camp in the Bronco backfield, wreaking havoc on Davis's attempts to run outside on the sweep.
If Atlanta neutralizes Davis, then Denver's fate will rest solely on Elway's shoulders.
He may be a legend, but he has been struggling as of late, not to mention the fact that he's fairly old and equally breakable.
His success hinges on his phenomenal supporting cast. If the Falcons can find an answer to the matchup problems posed by TE Shannon Sharpe and WR Ed McCaffrey, they could potentially spend the day stealing Elway's lunch and eating it in front of him.
