<p>Coach Jim Mora says he enjoys the way the Atlanta Falcons' division championship has excited fans, but general manager Rich McKay says he hopes no one outside of Atlanta has taken note of one of the NFL's biggest surprises.</p><p>Only 5-11 in 2003, the Falcons improved to 10-3 and clinched the NFC South title with Sunday's 35-10 win over Oakland.</p><p>Mora had a bucket of water dumped on him by his players at the end of the game, and he was hoarse but happy Monday after leading the Falcons to only their third division title in 39 years.</p><p>"Probably the thing that makes you feel the best in the comments that I've heard since the game is how it has affected the fans, and that makes it special for all of us," Mora said.</p><p>Mora noted that the Atlanta Braves have won 13 consecutive division titles, excluding the strike-shortened 1994 season, spoiling the city's baseball fans.</p><p>"That's kind of where we want to be," Mora said. "We'd like to be old hat. You know 'Hey, they just won another title.' "</p><p>But given the Falcons' inglorious history, the first-year coach said "It's not something that happens every year."</p><p>The Falcons play host to Carolina Saturday night. While the Panthers are trying to win a wild-card berth, the Falcons are trying to clinch a first-round bye.</p><p>Even though his team already has 10 wins and the division title, McKay says the Falcons still lack national respect as a conference power _ and he says he's glad.</p><p>"I like the fact I picked up USA Today and we weren't on the first page and we weren't on the second page," McKay said. "It's under the radar. Just stay under the radar. There will be a time, I'm pretty sure, where we won't be, but now we're still flying a little bit under."</p><p>McKay said the convincing win over Oakland was important for an Atlanta team that fell flat in a 27-0 loss at Tampa Bay on Dec. 5 in the Falcons' first attempt to clinch the division championship.</p><p>"How we end up, that remains to be seen because good teams get better in December, no question about that," he said. "That's why I was encouraged to see yesterday, given what went on the week before."</p><p>The only negative for the Falcons Sunday was losing starting fullback Justin Griffith to a broken ankle. Griffith will have surgery and will miss the rest of the season and the playoffs.</p><p>Griffith is fourth on the team with only 39 yards rushing _ well behind quarterback Michael Vick (821 yards rushing) and tailbacks Warrick Dunn (788) and T.J. Duckett (457).</p><p>Dunn rushed for 103 yards and Duckett set a team record by running for four touchdowns Sunday.</p><p>Stanley Pritchett will move up as the Falcons' starting fullback. McKay said the team likely will add another fullback to its roster to replace Griffith, who is the top receiver out of the backfield with 22 catches for 220 yards.</p><p>Mora gave the players a day off Monday before resuming a short practice week Tuesday _ the normal off day.</p><p>Mora said the team will be "done with" the win over the Raiders by Tuesday.</p><p>"But it was fun," he said, adding he was starting to lose his voice even before receiving the traditional dousing from receiver Brian Finneran and others after the game.</p><p>"That was cold," he said. "The worst part was I couldn't get out of those clothes for like an hour and a half. I was freezing. ... But I'll tell you what, I enjoyed it. I found ice cubes in my pocket half an hour later. It was great."</p>
