The 2018 NFL season ended on a somewhat sour note, with the Patriots defeating the Rams in a snooze-fest of a Super Bowl. It was their sixth title during the Tom Brady and Bill Belichick era, and third straight appearance in the championship game. The TV ratings were the lowest they’ve been since 2009 and the majority of fans didn’t care much for the competition.
The good news is that everything is now reset and 31 other teams have a fresh chance at knocking off New England in a new year. As Falcons safety Keanu Neal shared on Twitter, every team is now 0-0 again.
Neal only played in one game this past season. He tore his ACL in the Week 1 loss to the Eagles and missed the rest of the year. When healthy he’s one of the most dynamic defensive backs in football and Atlanta’s defense should improve immeasurably once he and Ricardo Allen are back on the field.
Another key piece of the secondary is slot cornerback Brian Poole, who is also excited about what will be his fourth year in the league.
Poole has had an up and down kind of NFL career so far. He had an excellent rookie season in 2016 and was particularly sharp down the stretch during the team’s Super Bowl run. Poole regressed in 2017, making some cringe-worthy mistakes in coverage. However, he turned it back around in 2018 and played very well in the second half of the season.
Poole is about to become a free agent, but the Falcons may want to keep him around, even with Damontae Kazee waiting in the wings to pick up some playing time in the slot.
