ATLANTA — The date was July 31, 2024. The Falcons had just wrapped one of their first practices of the 2024 training camp. The vibes, as they say, were high as then-starting quarterback Kirk Cousins took to the podium for his weekly media availability.
In his opening statements, Cousins weighed the importance of perception vs. reality.
“I’m very aware of the fact that perception — right now — is that our offense is going to be really, really great,” Cousins began. “We’ve got all these great players, but I just think that’s only perception, and it’s our job, like today, working to make it reality.
“So, I don’t really care much about perception. I don’t care at all. I care about reality and making sure that that’s actually what it is this fall, and until we go do it, I don’t really feel any assurance from that. So, every day there’s just that work ethic to make sure it’s a no-doubter that’s going to happen this fall. So, with that, I’ll take any questions you have.”
Fast forward 158 days to January 5, 2025, and the Falcons find themselves weighing the importance of perception vs. reality once more after an overtime, season-ending loss to the Carolina Panthers at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. This time around, however, reality is not an abstract thought as it was in training camp. It would seem that now, as the Falcons’ 2024 season comes to a bitter end, the reality of who the Falcons were in 2024 did not match the perception of what they could have been.
“We have to be honest with ourselves,” head coach Raheem Morris said, “and that was not good enough.”
This quote from Morris was about the play of the team in Sunday’s loss specifically. But it could also be used to describe the season as a whole. It — as a whole — wasn’t good enough, either, perhaps because of everything that transpired before the season even began.
The Falcons’ 2024 offseason was as jam-packed as an offseason can get. A new coaching staff was introduced. A starting quarterback signed. A future starting quarterback drafted. A premiere edge rusher acquired in a trade. An All-Pro safety joining the fray. All of this already complimenting what felt like explosive offensive returners and a promising group of defenders.
Hope was high. This Falcons team could go the distance, some said. If there was ever a time for the Falcons to win, the time was now, others surmised as the summer heat melted into an autumn…
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