Each autumn, American sports journalism performs its most earnest ritual: the attempt to see the future before the games begin. Across every major outlet, analysts have laid out their visions for all 32 NFL teams — win totals, playoff fates, and the bold individual claims that will either age into wisdom or dissolve into humility by February. The Atlanta Falcons have quietly resolved their own smaller drama, naming a Week 1 quarterback and signaling, at least symbolically, which direction they intend to face. These forecasts are not prophecy, but they are something — a collective portrait of p