Falcons owner Arthur Blank plans to spend some time in Dallas this week, attending events preceding the Super Bowl. He’ll go to the owners’ party on Thursday. He’ll attend the Commissioner’s press conference on Friday. He’ll visit Radio Row thereafter. (Perhaps we’ll finagle a visit with him on PFT Live. Reggie?)
But Blank won’t attend the only sporting event that requires a basic understanding of Roman numerals.
“I’m coming home Sunday morning — mostly because I’m still pissed about our game,” Blank told Jeff Schulz of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Blank, who has seen some very low lows during his tenure as team owner, continues to struggle with the one-and-out performance by the top seed in the NFC. He found a kindred spirit at ownership meetings occurring only days after the deflating 48-21 loss to the Packers.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft, whose team lost to the Jets in the division round.
“There we were, the owners of the two No. 1 seeds, having lunch,” Blank said. “Nobody else sat at our table. We were two sorry sacks. You never get used to it.”
Still, the Falcons are moving in the right direction. They’ve strung together three winning seasons for the first time in franchise history; before 2009, the Falcons never had won more games than they lost in back-to-back years.
But now they head back to the valley of 0-0, where they’ll have to contend with the Saints and the Buccaneers in 2011, and beyond. The challenge will be for the Falcons to find a way to play in the postseason like they’ve played in the regular season. During their unlikely resurgence that began a year after the Vick-Petrino debacle of 2007, the Falcons are 0-2 in the games that matter most.