Falcons coach Dan Quinn wants a historical study on the matter.
He wants to know if Nov. 5 is the latest that a team has started divisional play in the NFL.
While the folks at the league office are rifling through past schedules, Quinn was getting the Falcons (4-3, 0-0) ready for their NFC South season opener against Carolina (5-3, 1-1) at 1 p.m. Sunday at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.
“It’s hard to believe that’s it November, and we’re just getting started on our division play,” Quinn said. “But we are looking at that in a good way. The other teams in the division have had at least one.”
While the Falcons have played three NFC North teams and four AFC East teams, but none in the division, Carolina has played two divisional foes, beating Tampa Bay 17-3 last week and losing to New Orleans 34-13 on Sept. 24.
After going 3-0 against NFC North teams Chicago, Green Bay and Detroit, the Falcons struggled against AFC East teams, losing to Buffalo, Miami and New England before beating the New York Jets.
Quinn clearly would have liked to have an NFC South game or two sprinkled in over the first seven weeks.
The NFC South has had the past two NFC representatives in the Super Bowl: the Panthers in Super Bowl 50 and the Falcons last season.
“We’ve talked from the very beginning about how strong we think this division is,” Quinn said. “How battle-tested these teams are that come out of it.”
Quarterback Matt Ryan, who’s in his 10th season, is a NFC South veteran.
“Throughout my career, these (games) have always been tough ones,” Ryan said. “Carolina has been a good organization for the 10 years that I’ve been in the league. Early on, it was a different team with John Fox as the coach. They were tough and consistent.
“Really, they’ve taken on that same mindset with Ron (Rivera) and his coaching staff. They are tough. They play hard week-in and week-out and they are very disciplined in what they do.”
The Falcons have won the past three meetings as they put the only blemish on Carolina’s 15-1 season in 2015 before sweeping them last season.
The Panthers seemed to have rebounded from their Super Bowl loss to Denver and are playing defense again at an elite level.
The Falcons have yet to hit stride this season, but with divisional play starting, it’s time for them to play at a higher level or risk losing their crown and missing the playoffs.
“You understand that you’re going to know your opponents a little bit better, they are going to know you a little bit better,” Ryan said of divisional play.
Carolina attempted to add some offensive weapons for quarterback Cam Newton in the draft. They picked up running back/wide receiver Christian McCaffrey with the eighth pick and added speedy wide receiver Curtis Samuel in the second round (40th overall).
The Panthers traded Kelvin Benjamin, who was a first-round pick, Tuesday to get Samuel more action.
“Carolina has some new players that they will feature into their offense and defense,” Quinn said. “We are really pumped to get going.”
Rivera has pointed out a few times that he’s glad it’s the Falcons turn to battle the Super Bowl hangover. No losing Super Bowl team has return to the game since the 1994 Buffalo Bills.
The Panthers couldn’t shake the hangover last season and finished 6-10 and failed to make the playoffs.
“They are a good football team,” Rivera said. “What they are getting is everybody’s best. Everybody is gearing up for them, and that’s just the way it is. It’s one of those things. … If they keep playing they are going to be OK. But, what they are getting is the best from everybody.”
That would explain the close games against the likes of Chicago and Detroit and the losses to Buffalo and Miami. But the Falcons recently lost to New England in the Super Bowl rematch.
The Falcons’ offense has fallen off from last season’s scoring machine. They are averaging 21.9 points under new offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian after averaging 33.8 last season and scoring 540 points, the seventh most in NFL history.
Despite the huge dip, Rivera sees a potent attack.
“All I know is that you have to account for not just Julio (Jones), but you’ve got to account for the rest of the weapons on the offensive side,” Rivera said. “(Mohamed) Sanu, I think is a terrific football player. I like their tight ends. ... Then you have to attend to their running game.”
In the Falcons’ 48-33 win over the Panthers last season at the Georgia Dome, Jones had 12 catches for 300 yards receiving and a 75-yard touchdown.
“I don’t think this offense is all about Julio,” Rivera said. “I think this offense is about the playmakers that they have and again, everything starts with their quarterback.”
Quinn and his staff left no stone unturned while preparing for the Panthers.
“I would say as coaches, sometimes we make it harder,” Quinn said. “You do it in the offseason as well. You want to make the emphasis, so you go back through your offseason notes and you bring out all the folders that you’ve had through the years.
“Up on my desk, there are six-folders high or something. ‘Remember this game seven games ago? They tried this play.’ If the coaches wouldn’t do that, it would be normal, but for those of us who like to stay up late and go back to the games in ’14, ’15, ’16, ’13. You go back through a long history of stuff.”
Quinn has been pressing real hard to get past the Super Bowl loss over the offseason and through the first seven games.
“There was a lot that we learned and that we still have to grow in a lot of areas,” Quinn said. “I would say through the first seven games we found out some areas that we need to improve on, some areas that we’re doing well, and that’s what we want to really highlight.”
With six of their final games against NFC South foes, any march to the playoffs must start now.
“We’re kind of turning the page and getting into a lot of the division play, I’m glad that we went through some of the experiences that we did,” Quinn said. “We’ve gained in a lot of areas, but I would say what do we do with that information that we found out, and how do we grow from here?
“ Most really good teams I’ve been a part of get a lot better as the season progresses. I have a sense that’ll be the case with this team as well.”
