It can’t be as bad as it looked — right?

Even after opening rout, we don’t know how Falcons view season.

Your attention, please. This bold correspondent is about to issue a proclamation.

The 2021 Falcons are not as bad as they looked in their opener.

Clever readers — AJC readers are nothing if not clever — will have discerned there’s little bold about that assertion. If the Falcons are as bad as they looked, they’d be the worst team in the history of football. There’s a decent chance the 2021 Falcons are not that.

Old franchise slogan: Rise up! New franchise slogan: We’re NOT the worst team ever!

The flop against Philadelphia was surprising, kind of, in that the Falcons weren’t beaten 32-6 because they started slowly. They scored on their first two possessions. (Field goals, though.) They didn’t give away a touchdown on a pick-six or a scoop-and-score.

They turn the ball over. Put simply, they were overwhelmed by a team was 4-11-1 last season and is working with a new coach and quarterback.

The Eagles’ first three scoring drives spanned 74, 62 and 50 yards. Philly with Jalen Hurts made more yards — 424 — against the Falcons than Tampa Bay, which not long ago won the Super Bowl, did in its opening win over Dallas. Guess who the Falcons play in Week 2.

Meeting the media after last Sunday’s abject loss, the Falcons’ new coach said: “I certainly didn’t do a good job of getting us ready to go.” Credit to Arthur Smith for being a standup guy, but still: How can an NFL head coach not have his team prepared in his first Week 1? Were the Falcons targeting Week 3 against the Giants instead?

As with most things involving the Falcons and debacles, there’s a precedent. Smith’s debut was the worst this franchise had seen under a new coach since 1987, when the Birds of Marion Campbell — technically not new, having already served one failed stint as head coach here — were obliterated 48-10 in Tampa, where Ray Perkins, having wearied of being Bear Bryant’s successor in Tuscaloosa, had taken over as HC.

But enough about Week 1. We’re on to Tampa Bay. It’s possible the Buccaneers will win by several touchdowns. It’s also possible the chastened Falcons will spring to life and make it close. Owing to the salary cap and free agency, there’s not that much difference between the league’s best team and its worst. Nobody in this world is picking the Falcons to win today, and I won’t, either. I am guessing they’ll give a decent account of themselves.

If they do, it would be both instructive and welcome. Unless I’ve missed something — which is possible, though I do try to pay attention — the Falcons haven’t really told us how they view the 2021 season. They drafted a tight end with the No. 4 overall pick, which made it seem they were loading up. Then they traded Julio Jones, which made it seem otherwise.

About Jones: He caught three passes for 29 yards in his first game for Tennessee. His longest gain was 10 yards. He was targeted six times. Tennessee lost at home to Arizona 38-13. Titans coach Mike Vrabel pointed to a personal foul that Jones incurred to turn thirdand-1 into third-and-16. Said Vrabel: “That would fall under the category of doing dumb (stuff ) that hurts the team.”

Such criticism wasn’t levied at Jones in Flowery Branch, where he was seen as an exemplar. If he didn’t feel like practicing, he didn’t practice. He was Julio Jones, the best in the business. That it took Vrabel all of one game to rip him suggests his new organization mightn’t be overwhelmed by what they’ve seen, which could be what the Falcons’ new administration was trying to tell us. He’s a 32-year-old receiver with a massive contract. If you’re not in win-now mode, you don’t need him.

The trouble with not being in win-now mode is that you still must play the games. In keeping their 36-year-old quarterback, the new Falcons are banking on some measure of continuity, even if the Falcons with Matt Ryan haven’t had a winning season since 2017. They didn’t sign a firsttier free agent because they couldn’t afford it. It would appear they’re caught in between tweaking their roster and plunging into a fullbore rebuild. That’s not a great place to be.

First games, though, can deceive. We await further findings. If the Falcons beat the Bucs, forget I said anything.

In The AJC