Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan (2) throws against the Tennessee Titans in a preseason on Aug. 24.
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan (2) walks off the field following a 35-31 win over the Philadelphia Eagles at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta in 2011.FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. – Eight months later, Atlanta Falcons safety William Moore still hasn’t watched last February’s Super Bowl between the San Francisco 49ers and the world champion Baltimore Ravens.
“Not a minute of it,” he said last week from the team’s practice complex. “I watched the halftime show (Beyonce), but none of the game. It hurt too much that we weren’t there. It still hurts.”
At 1 p.m. EDT today inside the Superdome we’ll begin to find out if the ongoing hurt from that 28-24 home loss to the Niners in last January’s NFC title game has energized or euthanized the Falcons’ determination to return to the Super Bowl for the first time since the 1998 season, as well as win it all for the first time ever.
That’s when Atlanta will kick off the 2013 regular season against bitter NFC South rival New Orleans, which welcomes back coach Sean Payton from his yearlong suspension for Bountygate. That’s also when Falcons Nation will begin to learn if this summer’s 0-4 exhibition record was a smokescreen or a five-alarm fire.
“Our number one goal in the preseason is to win games,” said Atlanta coach Mike Smith. “Right behind it is keeping our guys healthy. I thought when we worked with our first unit, and I think we had maybe two days when we had all those guys on the field at the same time, we were fine. I’m very confident.”