a day after Petrino coached the Falcons in a 34–14 loss to the New Orleans Saints on Monday Night Football. Without Vick, the Falcons appeared to be a rudderless team. They finished their troubled 2007 season with a 44–41 victory over the Seattle Seahawks, ending the year at 4–12. The offseason brought change to the team's front office, as Thomas Dimitroff was hired to replace Rich McKay at the general manager position. 2008–2015 2008 On January 23, 2008, Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coach Mike Smith was named the Falcons' new head coach. Matt Ryan, a quarterback from Boston College, was drafted third overall to be the new face of the franchise. Free agent Michael Turner was also acquired to help in the run game. Defying expectations, the Falcons managed an 11–5 season in 2008 and earned a wild card playoff berth. They did not get beyond that however, as they lost a 24-30 match against the Arizona Cardinals. 2009 In 2009, the Falcons suffered numerous devastating injuries to defensive players and to Turner (ankle) and Ryan (toe). The Week 13 game against Philadelphia saw Michael Vick return to play his former team, in which he scored two touchdowns, one passing and one rushing. Atlanta was very nearly shut out, but in the closing seconds of the game scored a touchdown and brought the final score to 34–7. The following week, the team lost a close match against New Orleans, which mathematically excluded them from the playoffs. Nonetheless, Atlanta managed to win their final three games and end the year with a 9–7 record, the first time in its history the team achieved back-to-back winning seasons. 2010 The Falcons lost their 2010 opener in Pittsburgh before crushing the Cardinals at home in Week 2. Atlanta then played its first divisional match of the season against the defending champion Saints. In a closely fought game, the Falcons beat New Orleans 27–24 with two minutes left in overtime. Then followed a 16–14 win over the struggling 49ers. After games with Cleveland (a 20–10 win) and Philadelphia (a 31–17 loss), they won a key division match against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 9 to claim a lead in the NFC South, putting them at 6–2 at the halfway point of their season. In the 2010 Thursday Night Football opener, the Falcons donned throwback uniforms and defeated the Baltimore Ravens 26–21 in a highly anticipated