All in all, not bad

ATLANTA — After another quarter of rumination, my opinion remains unchanged.
It’s difficult for me to see the Atlanta Falcons as anything more than a 7-9 team this season, but I’m impressed with what I’ve seen from them against the Bengals tonight.
Quarterback Joey Harrington looked pretty sharp -- 13-of-21 for 164 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions in a little more than a half of work. Running back Jerious Norwood made a sweet run along a tight-rope to turn a short dump pass into a 12-yard touchdown in the third quarter.
Head coach Bobby Petrino's offense has been creative in getting its play-makers involved. Tight end Alge Crumpler has lined up in the backfield as a fullback and he’s been flexed out wide. Harrington has been particularly crisp operating out of a five-wide receiver shotgun formation. His 28-yard touchdown pass to Adam Jennings in the first half came out of the spread.
Yep, it's preseason and there are issues for this team to address, but the Falcons look far from hopeless.