The Green Bay Packers are a better team than the Atlanta Falcons right now. 

That's just the flat-out truth. 

That was the case nine months ago, when Green Bay ran roughshod over Atlanta on its way to winning the Super Bowl, and the defending champions proved that to be the case again Sunday night. 

But you know what?  There's still about two-thirds of the season left to be played! 

Obviously, this is sort of a glass half-full approach, considering the Falcons have now lost as many games in 2011 as they did all of last season.

It's an optimistic viewpoint, because they still play the NFC South-leading New Orleans Saints twice, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers again and the improved Detroit Lions and Houston Texans (both on the road). 

But let's stick to what took place Sunday night. Plain and simple, the Packers are the better team at this point.  Of course, they're better than the other 31 teams in the National Football League too.  But if you're the Falcons, that doesn't mean you can't be as good as (if not better than) Green Bay by the end of this season. 

Bob Costas is one of the best sports broadcasters this industry has ever seen.  He's a 19-time Emmy award winner.  I've been part of one Emmy-award winning project.  That doesn't mean that I should give up thinking I can ever reach his level in my own right.  It just means he's better than I am right now. 

So what will I do?  Continue to watch and learn. From Costas and others. Learn from the mistakes that I make on my way to hopefully becoming as good as he is, as soon as I can. 

What should the Falcons take from Sunday? 

They can be better than the Super Bowl champions.  They can play on that same level. 

If they play the way they did in the first 17 minutes of Sunday's game, when they established Michael Turner and churned out 13 and 10-play drives that led to touchdowns and a 14-0 lead.

Matt Ryan has not played his best the last two times the Packers have visited the Georgia Dome.

In fact, Aaron Rodgers has kicked off his shoes, gone into Ryan's refrigerator and made himself totally comfortable in Ryan's house.  Rodgers, the NFL's highest-rated passer, has thrown for an astonishing 762 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions in his last two games against Atlanta, both at the Dome. 

Ryan, on the other hand, has a total of 353 yards and four interceptions in those two meetings. 

Just how comfortable is Rodgers playing in Atlanta?  He had a hard-to-miss smile when asked if he liked playing here, before simply responding, "I do."

Rodgers famously slid toward the bottom of the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft.  He learned behind Brett Favre, and his hard work and athletic ability have allowed him to flourish into one of the league's best. 

Ryan came into the league three years later, and he tied Dan Marino for the most wins by a quarterback in his first three years in the NFL (33).  

But he's not Aaron Rodgers yet.  However, that doesn't mean he can't be as good in the near future. 

One thing's for sure.  With a first-place schedule (due to Atlanta finishing as division champion in 2010), the Falcons can't afford to hang their heads as a result of losing to what, right now, is the best team in football. 

If they do, they won't get the chance to potentially become as good as Green Bay because while their heads would be pointing downward, other teams will move above them before they even notice. 

Refocusing and winning Sunday against a much-improved Carolina Panthers team to prevent a spot in last-place would be a good start.