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Yes, the start of training camps is two months away, but it’s never too early to consider the coming season. A look at the best-case and worst-case scenarios for the Falcons in 2012.

Dream scenario (13-3): Let’s note right up front that that dream record would also include at least two postseason wins, which would be a first in the era of coach Mike Smith, general manager Thomas Dimitroff and Matt Ryan. In their time, the Falcons have played the days after Christmas exactly like they’re the days after Christmas. There’s been a huge letdown when January has rolled around.

That’s putting an enormous amount of pressure on the Falcons. But that might be a good thing. Smith has said postseason failures have caused him to rethink how he does a lot of things. There’s little doubt those failures played a role in the hiring of new offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter and defensive coordinator Mike Nolan, moves that might get the Falcons over the hump.

There are a lot of scouts and coaches around the league who believe Ryan was held back by former offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey and the defense never established any sort of identity under Brian VanGorder. The Falcons can score with any team if Ryan is allowed (and has time) to throw the ball downfield to Roddy White and Julio Jones. Nolan is preaching about the need to be more aggressive on defense.

Nightmare scenario (8-8 or anything worse): Let’s face it, the only way the Falcons are a .500 (or worse) team is if they have several major injuries or a huge implosion. This is a team that is loaded with individual talent on both sides of the ball. Or so it seems.

When coordinators go, head coaches and key players tend to lose their insulation. If Koetter can’t get more out of Ryan than Mularkey did, the Falcons suddenly have a huge issue at quarterback. If Nolan can’t get guys such as Ray Edwards and Dunta Robinson to do more than they did for VanGorder, then maybe it’s not all about the coordinators or offensive and defensive schemes.

Owner Arthur Blank has said Smith isn’t on the hot seat, no matter what happens this season. But I think Smith is at least entering the same territory Tony Dungy once did in Tampa Bay. Smith is getting labeled as a nice guy who can win a lot of games in the regular season but can’t win in January. If this team doesn’t win a playoff game, Smith officially is on the hot seat. If this team somehow fails to even make the playoffs, Blank might be forced to rethink his statement. This team is too talented not to win.

The Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints made this list of the NFL’s top-10 front offices.

No big surprise there. The Saints and Falcons have been consistent winners the past few years, and the front offices undoubtedly have played a big role.

But I am a little surprised that the Saints were ranked No. 9 and the Falcons came in at No. 6. New Orleans general manager Mickey Loomis and the people that work for him, and Atlanta general manager Thomas Dimitroff and the people that work with him are very good at what they do. But I think you have to give the Saints the edge here, because they have won a Super Bowl. The Falcons have won a lot of regular-season games since Dimitroff’s arrival, but they have yet to win a playoff game during his tenure.

Until that changes, I can’t justify putting the Falcons ahead of the Saints in this category. But Loomis obviously is at a critical point in his career. He has yet to get franchise quarterback Drew Brees signed to a long-term deal. Brees has admitted he’s frustrated with what he called a lack of communication. But I still think this deal will get done before the July 16 deadline for franchise players to sign long-term contracts.

If things somehow don’t get worked out and Brees sits out the season, then Loomis immediately falls off the top of this list. But Loomis has been creative and completed complicated contracts in the past. If he signs Brees to a long-term deal, then Loomis stays atop the list for the foreseeable future.

Dimitroff is a very solid No. 2 in the division. He’s had some good drafts and acquired guys like Michael Turner and Tony Gonzalez. But Dimitroff needs guys like Ray Edwards, Dunta Robinson and Asante Samuel to step up. He also needs the Falcons to get some postseason wins.

The Panthers and Buccaneers didn’t make the list of the top-10 front offices. Given the recent history of the two franchises, that’s not surprising. But Carolina’s Marty Hurney is the dean of NFC South general managers, and he’s had some success in the past. Hurney took a major step in rebuilding the Panthers by drafting quarterback Cam Newton last year. If Newton can duplicate his rookie performance, Hurney has a chance to crack the top 10.

Tampa Bay general manager Mark Dominik is entering a crucial season. He outlasted former coach Raheem Morris, and Dominik's offseason looks good on paper, but he needs the players he’s drafted to start showing some positive results.

As it turns out, the Atlanta Falcons aren’t planning to jump over that playoff hurdle that’s been talked so much about.

They simply plan to plow right through it. The latest evidence came Friday night when the Falcons used their second-round draft pick (No. 55 overall) on Wisconsin center (more on that in a moment) Peter Konz.

It would have been very easy for the Falcons to overreact and do something crazy after an embarrassing January playoff loss to the New York Giants. Yeah, they could have made a leap in free agency for defensive end Mario Williams, which seemed to be the preferred rout by 99 of every 100 Falcons fans.

But the fact is, if the Falcons had landed Williams back in March, they wouldn’t be as good a team as they are today. Seriously.

Yeah, I know it sounds a little ridiculous to say the Falcons are better off without a guy who could have brought them double-digit sacks. But it’s the truth. Had the Falcons signed Williams, they would have had to gut their existing roster.

The salary-cap space Williams would have taken up would have prevented the Falcons from keeping guys like receiver Harry Douglas, safety Thomas DeCoud, defensive end John Abraham, center Todd McClure and running back Jason Snelling. They might not have been able to fit cornerback Brent Grimes under the salary cap with the franchise tag. Even if they did, they would have had to have made some dramatic moves -- like releasing receiver Roddy White, running back Michael Turner or fullback Ovie Mughelli.

Any or all of those moves seemed possible in the immediate aftermath of the loss in New York. But owner Arthur Blank, who earlier in his tenure may have been prone to overreacting, sat down with coach Mike Smith and general manager Thomas Dimitroff and coolly came up with a plan on how the Falcons can take the next step.

Smith and Dimitroff have had four straight winning seasons, but have yet to win a playoff game. When you’ve had four straight winning seasons, you don’t blow a team up. You keep it together and fix the things that are wrong.

Without flash, that’s precisely what the Falcons have done and Friday night was just another step.

“We were really honed in on the offensive line as you can imagine,’’ Dimitroff said, moments after selecting Konz. “We need to get more stout on this offensive line.’’

There’s no doubt about that. Let’s consider this item from ESPN Stats & Information: The Falcons were one of 10 teams to average less than 4.0 yards per rush between the tackles last season. That came despite the fact they have a bruising runner in Turner.

The Falcons also didn’t do a great job of protecting quarterback Matt Ryan. That failure was the major reason why all the downfield passing we heard about after the Falcons traded up to draft Julio Jones didn’t fully materialize last year. The Falcons were soft up front and it cost offensive line coach Paul Boudreau his job.

Other than left tackle Sam Baker, a first-round pick in 2008, the Falcons really haven’t made huge investments in their offensive line. The arrival of Konz changes that.

Although he played center at Wisconsin, Dimitroff said “we’re listing him as a guard/center right now’’.

It’s no big secret McClure is at the end of his career. He’s 35 and it shows. The Falcons brought him back as insurance, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be their starting center on opening day. Guard Joe Hawley also can play center. Hawley also could factor into the situation at guard, where he played last season along with Justin Blalock and Garrett Reynolds. Add Konz to that mix and it’s pretty clear the Falcons are going to throw all their guards and centers onto the field in training camp and the preseason and see which of the three emerge as the best trio.

“Let’s come in here and have some great competition and see who can protect Matt Ryan the best,’’ Dimitroff said. “We want production and we want guys who can finish. In Peter, we have a guy who can do both of those.’’

Look, I’m not saying a guard/center from Wisconsin is going to come in the second round and push right through that hurdle all by himself. Konz is just a part of the puzzle and maybe fans can finally see that picture coming together now.

There’s a reason why Atlanta didn’t have a first-round pick this year. Jones was the first-round pick for last year and this year and he’s better than any receiver in this year’s draft. There was a reason why the Falcons didn’t make to splurge in free agency. They didn’t have the salary-cap room to do it without ripping a good team apart.

Little by little, they’ve made moves that have them gaining speed as they head for that hurdle. Just this week, they traded a late-round draft pick for four-time Pro Bowl cornerback Asante Samuel and quickly signed him to a cap-friendly deal.

In theory, Samuel should team with Grimes and Dunta Robinson to give the Falcons one of the league’s best cornerback tandems. In theory, Konz should team with all those other offensive linemen to make the Falcons tougher up front.

Yeah, there still are a few needs -- the pass rush, depth at tight end and maybe some more help on the outside of the offensive line. The Falcons are well aware of all that. They’ll address those needs in the rest of the draft and after it when the time and the price are right. But, now, you can see their offseason plan taking shape.

If the Falcons had gone out and paid a fortune for Williams, they wouldn’t be making solid, safe picks like Konz because they’d be desperately trying to repair all the other damage they did to their team.

We’ve known it was close all day, but Adam Schefter now reports the Atlanta Falcons have made the trade with the Philadelphia Eagles for cornerback Asante Samuel.

There was early speculation that the Falcons would try to restructure Samuel’s deal without adding any years to a contract that was scheduled to run through next season. But Schefter reports that the actual agreement is a three-year deal worth $18.5 million. We don’t know the exact structure of the contract or Samuel’s first-year cap figure. But the Falcons were only $1.7 million below the cap before this deal. Even if they somehow fit Samuel under the cap, they’ll have to restructure some other contracts or release players just to be able to make any other moves.

But the Falcons brought in their first significant player from outside this offseason and that should silence Atlanta fans who have griped about them sitting still. Samuel once was considered perhaps the best cornerback in the league. He’s 31 now and isn’t quite viewed at that level, but he’s still a very good cornerback.

That’s important for the Falcons. Samuel is a perfect fit for the Falcons, even though they already have Brent Grimes and Dunta Robinson.

So who starts? Actually, all three.

New defensive coordinator Mike Nolan has talked extensively about how the league’s movement toward more passing has made it essential to have three good cornerbacks. They all will get significant playing time. The Falcons had problems when they went to their nickel package last year.

That should no longer be an issue, and there’s another bright side to this move. I’ve watched the Falcons sit back in Cover 2 too much the past few seasons. Nolan’s an aggressive guy. Now that he has three good cornerbacks, I don’t think you’ll see them sitting back.

It’s been widely reported Wednesday morning the Atlanta Falcons are on the verge of completing a trade with Philadelphia for cornerback Asante Samuel.

I don’t think there’s much debate as to what the compensation for the Eagles will be. It’s been made pretty clear, they’ll settle for a fifth- or sixth-round draft pick. That’s a pretty simple deal, but there’s another layer that’s much more complicated. The Falcons have to get Samuel to restructure his existing contract and it’s unlikely they’ll add more years onto the contract of a 31-year-old cornerback.

The Falcons currently are $1.7 million under the salary cap. Samuel’s current deal would carry a $10 million cap figure for the Falcons (the Eagles would take a $2 million hit for the remaining pro-rated portion of the bonus they gave Samuel.

Samuel is currently scheduled to earn $9.9 million in base salary and $100,000 workout bonus. He also can earn a $150,000 incentive if he leads the league in interceptions. His current deal calls for him to make $11.4 million in base salary in 2013 and he also has a $100,000 workout bonus. Samuel also can earn a $150,000 bonus in 2013 if he leads the league in interceptions. He also can earn up to $2.5 million in escalators.

If the Falcons are going to pull this deal off, they’ve got to knock Samuel’s cap figure for this year down significantly. I don’t see any way they can work it to get his figure down to $1.7 or below. They may have to release players or restructure contracts to make room for Samuel. I think they can make that happen if they get his cap figure for this year down to somewhere around $5 million to $6 million.

That may include Samuel taking a big cut in base salary and receiving a decent signing bonus that would be spread out over this year and 2013. It also would likely set up Samuel to be just a one-year player for the Falcons. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. He’s a guy that can come in and give the Falcons three quality cornerbacks (they already have Brent Grimes and Dunta Robinson). The Falcons are clearly in a win-now mode. Samuel is a guy that, for one year, can help them win.

The latest team being mentioned as interested in acquiring Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Asante Samuel are the Atlanta Falcons, per Adam Schefter, who also reports that the Denver Broncos have dropped out of the running. It seems fair to say that the Eagles' market for Samuel is not expanding, but they don't really need it to. They just need one team interested enough to offer what they want -- a Day 3 draft pick -- in exchange for Samuel, and they need that team to be interesting enough to Samuel that he's willing to restructure his contract in order to facilitate the trade.

It has been reported in Philadelphia that Samuel would be willing to restructure in order to get a trade done, but to this point that has not happened. The Eagles would obviously like to trade Samuel sometime between now and the end of the draft Saturday (otherwise they obviously won't be able to get a 2012 pick for him), and today being Tuesday, the timetable does start to get a bit compressed.

So, what of Atlanta as a suitor? Surely, this is a team for which a player wouldn't mind playing. They are coming off of two straight playoff appearances and by all appearances should be a contender again this coming season. But with Brent Grimes and Dunta Robinson already there, would Samuel be leaving one crowded cornerback situation for another? And if so, would that upset him enough to give them enough of a problem about the contract to scuttle a deal?

It's also worth raising a question here about Atlanta's motivation. The report came out this morning that they were interested in Samuel, and then a few hours later Grimes signed his franchise tender. That could be a coincidence, or it could be that the interest in Samuel was a ploy by the Falcons to get Grimes' situation settled as the offseason program begins?

Much intrigue still swirls around this situation, as it seems to swirl around every situation this time of year. I still think Samuel gets dealt by Saturday night, but I'd only be guessing if I predicted to which team.

The Atlanta Falcons, who have been so quiet throughout free agency and don’t figure to make a splash in the draft without a first-round pick, finally could be making some noise.

There are several reports out Tuesday saying the Falcons have entered into trade talks in an attempt to acquire Philadelphia cornerback Asante Samuel.

Several other teams reportedly also are involved. But keep one thing in mind -- if the Falcons really want a player, they usually get him. The actual cost of getting Samuel wouldn’t be that much. It’s been reported the Eagles would take a late-round draft pick as compensation.

At 31, Samuel might not be the same player he was a few years ago, when he was considered one of the league’s elite cornerbacks. But he still potentially could give the Falcons a strong trio at cornerback. With new defensive coordinator Mike Nolan taking over and the league passing more than ever, the Falcons have said publicly they believe they need to have three starting-caliber cornerbacks.

They already have Dunta Robinson and Brent Grimes. There is hope that a long-term deal can be worked out with Grimes, who is carrying the franchise tag, but has not signed his tender. Either way, Grimes will cost the Falcons a lot this season, and even though Robinson already has restructured his contract, Atlanta has a lot of money tied up in their two current starting cornerbacks.

Can they afford Samuel? Well, not under the terms of his current contract. Samuel is to make $9.9 million in base salary this year, and also has a $100,000 workout bonus. His base salary in 2013 is $11.4 million, with a $100,000 workout bonus and escalators that could add as much as $2.5 million to the total value.

It’s been reported that Samuel will have to restructure his contract, no matter which team acquires him. But the Falcons would have to get creative if they really want Samuel. They currently have just $1.7 million in available cap space. But they easily could free up some cap room by restructuring several contracts.

It's been widely reported the Eagles would like to trade Samuel before the draft, so stay tuned on this one.

Very quietly, the Atlanta Falcons have started freeing up salary-cap space. Considering the Falcons already were a good bit under the cap, this could be a sign they’re gearing up for a big splurge in free agency.

There’s been talk about them pursuing Houston defensive end Mario Williams. Ironically, one guy who would directly benefit from Williams’ presence has restructured his contract to give the Falcons more cap room.

That’s cornerback Dunta Robinson. Earlier this week, he signed off on some tweaks to his contract that will save the Falcons $1.75 million in cap space this year. Robinson waived a $3 million option bonus that was about to come due and also agreed to lower his base salary for this year by $1 million.

But Robinson gets some benefits in return. His new $5 million base salary for this year has been fully guaranteed. The Falcons also increased Robinson’s 2013 base salary to $8 million from $7 million and his 2014 salary was raised from $9 million to $10 million. His base salary for 2015 was increased from $9.5 to $11.5 million.

There are potentially even bigger benefits for Robinson on the field if the Falcons add Williams or another strong pass rusher. Robinson played with Williams in Houston and he and the rest of Atlanta’s secondary would benefit greatly from having an improved pass rush.

The Atlanta Falcons have hired Mike Nolan as defensive coordinator, the team just announced.

This is a very strong hire by Atlanta coach Mike Smith. Nolan’s a former head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. He spent the last two seasons as Miami’s defensive coordinator. He also previously worked as defensive coordinator for the Redskins, Jets, Ravens, Giants and Broncos.

I think it’s fair to say Nolan is an upgrade over former defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder, who left to become defensive coordinator at Auburn. Through most of Smith’s tenure, VanGorder’s defenses weren’t great, although the Falcons improved somewhat on that side of the ball in 2011.

Nolan has some good talent to work with in linebacker Sean Weatherspoon, cornerback Dunta Robinson and defensive tackles Corey Peters and Jonathan Babineaux. The Falcons also have to make decisions on if they want to re-sign defensive end John Abraham, middle linebacker Curtis Lofton and cornerback Brent Grimes.

This also is a victory in the NFC South for the Falcons. New Orleans reportedly had some interest in Nolan and at least one of the candidates who has interviewed for the Tampa Bay job had indicated he thought he could make Nolan part of the package.

Three things to know about next Sunday’s Atlanta Falcons-New York Giants wild-card game.

1. Take the next step. Since arriving together in 2008, coach Mike Smith and quarterback Matt Ryan have produced four consecutive winning seasons. That’s great, but the big knock on Smith and Ryan is that they have yet to win a playoff game. When they were the No. 1 seed last year, they lost at home to the No. 6 Packers. Going on the road to a cold-weather venue will be difficult. But Atlanta went all-in this season with the trade up to draft Julio Jones and sign defensive end Ray Edwards. They need a postseason victory to make this season any sort of success. Ryan also needs to shed the label that he can’t win the big one.

2. Stop the pass rush. The Falcons had problems protecting Ryan early in the season and that caused lots of problems. The offensive line has played better lately. But the Giants feature a very strong pass rush. They have Jason Pierre-Paul and Osi Umenyiora is back from an injury. The Giants can generate pressure with their front four alone. The Falcons are going to have to use their running backs and tight ends to give left tackle Will Svitek some blocking help.

3. Slow down Victor Cruz. The New York receiver has come out of nowhere to become one of the league’s top receivers. Cruz has lots of speed and has been making lots of big plays downfield. If cornerback Brent Grimes, who has missed time with a knee injury, is healthy, he and cornerback Dunta Robinson can match up with Cruz and the short and mid-level passing game. But safeties William Moore, Thomas DeCoud and James Sanders will have to step up and do a better job providing help than they did in the regular season. Of course, it would also help if Atlanta can generate a pass rush. There are some signs that’s possible. After a slow start, defensive end John Abraham has come on strong in recent weeks.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Atlanta Falcons will be without three key defensive players Sunday in their game against the Carolina Panthers.

Cornerbacks Brent Grimes (knee) and Kelvin Hayden (toe) are inactive. So is linebacker Stephen Nicholas (quadriceps). Christopher Owens and Dominique Franks will get playing time at cornerback along with Dunta Robinson.

Also inactive for the Falcons are quarterback John Parker Wilson, offensive linemen Brett Romberg and Kirk Chambers and defensive end Cliff Matthews.

The Atlanta Falcons will be without starting cornerback Brent Grimes for at least a couple of weeks, coach Mike Smith said Wednesday.

Grimes will have minor surgery on his knee Thursday, Smith said. Grimes injured his knee early in Sunday’s victory against Minnesota.

With Grimes out, Christopher Owens likely will move into the starting lineup opposite Dunta Robinson, and Dominique Franks likely will be the nickel back. Veteran Kelvin Hayden, who had played nickel back earlier in the season, is likely to remain sidelined with a toe injury.

Smith also said left tackle Sam Baker had a medical procedure done on his back during the team’s bye week. Baker has been practicing the past two weeks, but Smith said he’s not 100 percent and Will Svitek remains the starter.

The Atlanta Falcons just sent out their final injury report and there’s some encouraging news about the status of rookie receiver Julio Jones.

He’s listed as probable. Jones missed last week’s game with a hamstring injury. Jones participated fully in Friday’s practice after working on a limited basis Thursday.

But the news isn’t nearly as good in the defensive backfield. The Falcons said cornerback Kelvin Hayden (toe) will miss Sunday’s game against Minnesota. They also are listing cornerback Brent Grimes (knee) as questionable. Grimes did not participate in Friday’s practice.

Hayden had been working as the team’s third cornerback, behind Grimes and Dunta Robinson. If Grimes can’t play, Chris Owens likely would start and Dominique Franks would be used as the third cornerback.

ATLANTA -- The Titans are getting mislabeled.

They are not an inconsistent team. If anything, their 23-17 loss to the Falcons at the Georgia Dome made them even more predictable.

Over their past eight games, the formula’s been simple: They have beaten bad teams and lost to good ones.

It’s easy to see they are better than Denver, Cleveland, Indianapolis and Carolina. It’s just as clear they are not in a class with Pittsburgh, Houston, Cincinnati and Atlanta.

The Titans are too sloppy, don’t find enough big plays and don’t match up well enough with quality teams. Ten games into the season, they’re 5-5 and it’s exactly what they deserve.

Sunday they played good enough red zone defense to stay in the game, but could never get back to even from 13-0 and 23-3 deficits.

A look at three key issues for Tennessee coming out of the game:

The quarterback situation: Matt Hasselbeck banged his elbow as he threw late in the third quarter. He couldn’t generate any power on the ball after that, so doctors had him yield to rookie Jake Locker.

“He did exactly what a second-team quarterback should do when he gets an opportunity,” coach Mike Munchak said.

Locker moved right and hit Nate Washington, who stiff-armed a defender and ran to the end zone on a 40-yard touchdown play. In the fourth quarter, working in hurry-up mode out of the shotgun, he ran for 11 yards on a third-and-10, he hit tight end Jared Cook for 22 yards on a fourth-and-17 and he found Washington for another touchdown with 3:09 left in the game.

The defense, however, couldn’t get provide him a chance to engineer a game-winning drive.

Locker finished with a 107.3 passer rating, but the Titans diffused any possibility of a quarterback controversy.

Hasselbeck is sore and he had ice wrapped around the inside of his left elbow and forearm as he spoke to the press. He said he’ll have an MRI Monday. Munchak said he wasn’t about to make a change based on the small sampling of Locker. If Hasselbeck is fine, “he’s the quarterback, there is no doubt about that.”

While Hasselbeck hardly has his best game -- 13-of-25 passing for 124 yards, an interception and a 49.4 passer rating -- the Titans aren’t going to forget how large a role he’s played in many of their good moments this season.

“Jake kind of puts a defense on its heels a little bit, because you’ve got a younger guy who can run,” receiver Lavelle Hawkins said. “That’s taking nothing away from Matt, because Matt is a great mind who knows how to read a lot of stuff and sees a lot of things before they happen. I think either, or is great.”

Making mistakes: Munchak’s Titans were supposed to be a disciplined team that executed precisely. But there was a major lack of precision in key moments against the Falcons.

The Falcons went for it on fourth-and-1 twice in the second half.

They motioned and reset, then motioned and reset again, making it seem like they were merely waiting for the defense to jump. On the first instance, Matt Ryan had the ball snapped and snuck at an unexpected time in the long sequence of shuffling.

And on the second, defensive end William Hayes was flagged for jumping offsides.

“There is no excuse for me doing that, it’s fourth-and-1, I’ve got to be patient,” Hayes said. “They got me.”

He actually got bailed out as Colin McCarthy forced a Michael Turner fumble on the next play and Will Witherspoon recovered it.

That’s when Locker took the Titans on the 14-play, 84-yard touchdown drive that cut the lead to six with 3:06 left.

With three timeouts and the two-minute warning, Tennessee then needed to force a punt to get Locker the ball back.

And on the very first play from scrimmage, safety Jordan Babineaux slipped off Turner, allowing him to spring free for a 27-yard gain. Two Jason Snelling carries and a 6-yard Harry Douglas catch later and Ryan was ready to take a knee three times and shake some hands.

The Titans failed to slow Atlanta’s stars. Ryan passed for 316 yards, Turner ran for 100 and receiver Roddy White pulled in seven catches for 147 yards.

On top of that, the Titans were flagged for 10 penalties. They accounted for 86 yards and five of the Falcons’ 25 first downs.

“We didn’t play smart for 60 minutes,” Munchak said.

Mixed up routes: It seems every game the receivers have at least one mixed-up moment that costs Tennessee a chance or causes a problem.

The Titans were behind only 7-0 when the biggie in this game arrived.

Hasselbeck threw up the left side and Hawkins appeared to be out of position as cornerback Dunta Robinson intercepted the pass.

The receiver stopped running, looking around puzzled instead of pouncing to touch Robinson while he was down. Robinson got up and ran for 14 yards.

Guard Jake Scott yelled at Hawkins over the failure to stop a return. Hasselbeck pointed and screamed as he left the field, clearly annoyed by the way the play unfolded.

Damian Williams, who ran a post on the same side of the field, said the underneath receiver is supposed to cut in if the Titans are running it or cut out if they are throwing it. He said he was partially to blame for not getting the check communicated.

Said Hasselbeck: “I believe what happened is when I checked, Hawk wasn’t looking at me. I think when I checked they were adjusting who was on the ball, who was off the ball. I was trying to throw it to Hawk, yes. I’m not sure if he knew it was a pass or not.”

Mistakes will happen, I understand.

If the Titans are getting 1.1 yards a carry from Chris Johnson, they need to be an exact passing offense, however. Under the previous regime, Hawkins didn’t get on the field much because he was regarded as undependable.

On that and the Titans being average or worse, things don’t appear to have changed much.

Thoughts on the Atlanta Falcons’ 23-17 victory against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday at the Georgia Dome.

What it means: The Falcons did a great job of bouncing back from last week’s devastating loss to New Orleans. It was the kind of loss that could have sent their season into free fall, but that didn’t happen. Coach Mike Smith had his team ready, and the Falcons played one of their most complete games of the season. They’re 6-4 and only one game behind the Saints in the win column of the NFC South standings.

Roddy’s revival: One of the things that impressed me most about receiver Roddy White the previous three seasons was his uncanny ability to bounce back from a bad play. It used to seem like every time White dropped a pass or committed a penalty, he would respond with a huge play. It was almost like, after every mistake, White was saying to Smith, “Hey, I owe you one.’’ But, for reasons I haven't been able to figure out, it hadn’t been working that way at all this season. White came into the week leading the NFL in dropped passes (eight), according to ESPN Stats & Information. White wasn’t making up for mistakes by following up with big plays. But that finally changed Sunday. Early in the third quarter, White had a Matt Ryan pass sail right through his hands. Just a few plays later, White made a great over-the-shoulder catch for a 43-yard gain. The play also provided evidence that the Falcons actually might have a downfield passing game. White finished with a season-high 147 receiving yards.

Dunta’s big play: A lot of people have been suggesting the huge free-agent contract the Falcons gave cornerback Dunta Robinson last year wasn’t a prudent move. I’ve always taken a different point of view. Robinson hasn’t come up with a lot of interceptions, but I think his presence has helped the rest of the secondary. But maybe Robinson silenced a few of his critics by coming up with an interception in the first quarter that set up a field goal. It was Robinson’s first interception of the season and only his second since joining the Falcons. Robinson also had a nice breakup on a third-down pass in the fourth quarter.

Most impressive two-play stretch: With around 11 minutes left in the third quarter, Atlanta defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux batted down Matt Hasselbeck passes on two consecutive plays. I left Babineaux off the midseason All-NFC South team, largely because he missed three games with an injury earlier in the season. But Babineaux is doing a very nice job of re-establishing himself as the division's premier defensive tackle.

What’s next: The Falcons host the Minnesota Vikings next Sunday.