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Last season essentially ended for the Falcons before it began with the Michael Vick controversy, but there still was some semblance of optimism. When Bobby Petrino was hired from Louisville to be the coach, he was called a motivator and a teacher by owner Arthur Blank. Even after the team lost its franchise quarterback, the spin was that things still would be just peachy. Well, it took only 13 weeks for Petrino to lose his motivation, and all he ended up teaching his players was that he was a quitter, as he resigned to head back to college.

So what's new in 2008? How about everything? Jacksonville's defensive coordinator, Mike Smith, was hired to bring about a new era of open communication in Atlanta, and his simple philosophy of playing good defense and running the ball well on offense seems to be gaining acceptance in the locker room. The team let disgruntled, battle-scarred veterans like Warrick Dunn, Alge Crumpler and DeAngelo Hall go and decided to start fresh. Matt Ryan was drafted to be the quarterback of the future, if not the present, and Michael Turner, widely considered to be the best free agent running back available, will be given a chance to prove he can do more than simply fill in for LaDainian Tomlinson.

The Falcons' wide receivers are stuck in a kind of limbo. With an established passing game, Roddy White could be a top-20 fantasy option, but that time is not yet here. Joe Horn isn't getting any younger, and he doesn't seem to want to wait for things to get better in Atlanta. That could open the door for Laurent Robinson to grab the No. 2 spot opposite White. But for any Falcons receiver to merit draft consideration, he first is going to have to develop chemistry with Ryan. Unfortunately, that's not going to happen in time for 2008 to be anything more than a lost season.

Key position battles: This isn't so much a battle as it will be an organizational decision. Ryan clearly is the future starting quarterback. However, the team might want to take a page from the Carson Palmer playbook and let him hold a clipboard for a while before exposing him to the NFL wolves. If that's the choice, either Chris Redman or Joey Harrington will be under center for a good portion of the time. But then again, if the game plan calls for a lot of handoffs and quick dumpoffs, what would be the harm in letting Ryan hit the ground running?

Fitting in: Turner has been waiting for a chance to prove himself, and now he has it. Considering that the playbook is sure to be filled with myriad running plays, the yards should start to pile up on sheer volume of chances alone. We don't want you to get the idea that Turner is going to be asked to carry the ball 40 times a game, however. Jerious Norwood still is in a Falcons uniform, and he certainly will get a lot of time in the backfield, especially in third-down situations. However, he won't play enough to stop Turner from reaching the 1,000-yard mark, unless Turner turns out to be a complete bust.

On the line: USC tackle Sam Baker was drafted by the Falcons to be Ryan's blind-side protector. He joins second-year guard Justin Blalock on the left side of what was a very substandard offensive line in 2007. But Mike Mularkey will be bringing in a new offensive scheme, and this whole line will be learning a new system from the ground up. Perhaps starting fresh will end up being to everyone's advantage. Still, the inexperience of the line certainly raises some concerns about starting Ryan right away.

The Falcons, with an expansion-team feel to them, certainly are going to struggle in 2008, but hopefully they can begin to build a foundation for 2009 and beyond. They appear to have a plan and, at least on paper, look to be headed in the right direction, but fans of the team are going to need a lot of patience. From a fantasy football standpoint, unless you're in a keeper league, patience is in very short supply and this might not be the first place you want to look for your frontline starters.

AJ Mass is a fantasy football, baseball and college basketball analyst for ESPN.com. You can e-mail him here.