Great game to watch , anything could happen and i would agree that the falcons are a far better team at the georgia dome , just a gut feeling though that the eagles as a short favorite pull out a win in the 4th quarter , i'm going to take what i saw out of Atlanta last week and use that as a reason to take philly here , Matt Ryan should be pissed at himself for the way he played in Chicago i think he comes back with a better effort at home but philly is just the better team .
Great game to watch , anything could happen and i would agree that the falcons are a far better team at the georgia dome , just a gut feeling though that the eagles as a short favorite pull out a win in the 4th quarter , i'm going to take what i saw out of Atlanta last week and use that as a reason to take philly here , Matt Ryan should be pissed at himself for the way he played in Chicago i think he comes back with a better effort at home but philly is just the better team .
Me and a friend are really arguing about this game here.
How can Atlanta be the underdog in this game at home? Yes I know Atlanta got blown out on the road but they played a Division winner in Chicago who beat out Green Bay last year to win their Division. Plus Chicago is in one of the toughest divisions in the NFL and have one of the best defenses in the league. Also Atlanta went 13 and 3 last year and are so much better at home.
Philly got St Louis who is in a weak Division and also was a weak opponent for the so called over hyped dream team. When you get easy games like that of course you are gonna look good in week 1.
I mean to make matters worse Stephen Jackson was running all over them b4 he got hurt and Sam Brafford got hurt or they may have made this game close.
I don't know I am confused on this game. My friend said the bookies got it right and Philly should be -1.5 and I honestly thought they should be -3 at home. However, I do have to respect my friend cause he has a good track record of picking games so I respect his input and views on games.
I think this maybe the Eagles real test against a legit team on the road.
Me and a friend are really arguing about this game here.
How can Atlanta be the underdog in this game at home? Yes I know Atlanta got blown out on the road but they played a Division winner in Chicago who beat out Green Bay last year to win their Division. Plus Chicago is in one of the toughest divisions in the NFL and have one of the best defenses in the league. Also Atlanta went 13 and 3 last year and are so much better at home.
Philly got St Louis who is in a weak Division and also was a weak opponent for the so called over hyped dream team. When you get easy games like that of course you are gonna look good in week 1.
I mean to make matters worse Stephen Jackson was running all over them b4 he got hurt and Sam Brafford got hurt or they may have made this game close.
I don't know I am confused on this game. My friend said the bookies got it right and Philly should be -1.5 and I honestly thought they should be -3 at home. However, I do have to respect my friend cause he has a good track record of picking games so I respect his input and views on games.
I think this maybe the Eagles real test against a legit team on the road.
Lets also remember that Atlanta got be at Pittsburgh week 1 in OT then played Arizona at home and beat them 41 - 7 then in week 3 they took out the Saints. Anyone else got some input on this game? Really the bookies got the game at almost a pickem but I think this game could go either way on Sunday night football where every team wants to play well & every player. I think maybe overtime game with someone winning with a field goal? Most likely the team that wins the coin toss.
Lets also remember that Atlanta got be at Pittsburgh week 1 in OT then played Arizona at home and beat them 41 - 7 then in week 3 they took out the Saints. Anyone else got some input on this game? Really the bookies got the game at almost a pickem but I think this game could go either way on Sunday night football where every team wants to play well & every player. I think maybe overtime game with someone winning with a field goal? Most likely the team that wins the coin toss.
Turner may run for 200 yards in this game. The ease that ATL will run the ball in this game will allow the passing game to open up down the field more than vs the bears, were they hardly tried at all.
ATL already has one of the best passing attacks on paper, with the addition of J. JONES and this will show vs the eagles, even vs that great secondary, because the play action will be so effective with the eagles Ds inability to stop the run.
The situation could not be better for a excellent team like ATL after a humiluating loss to chi. and coming home to a place, that they are already seen as 1 of the best home teams in the NFL with ryan at QB.
The falcons will be soooooo hyped and DETERMINED after last week and coming home to one of the best home field adv. in the league. Also knowing they are the home underdog to this DREAM TEAM will only make it easier to be ampted.
Now VICK and the eagles will score their share of pts. in this game but the inability to stop ATL offence, esp. M. TURNER will allow ATLs offence to control the clock and the scoreboard for an easy win.
ATL 41
PHIL24
Turner may run for 200 yards in this game. The ease that ATL will run the ball in this game will allow the passing game to open up down the field more than vs the bears, were they hardly tried at all.
ATL already has one of the best passing attacks on paper, with the addition of J. JONES and this will show vs the eagles, even vs that great secondary, because the play action will be so effective with the eagles Ds inability to stop the run.
The situation could not be better for a excellent team like ATL after a humiluating loss to chi. and coming home to a place, that they are already seen as 1 of the best home teams in the NFL with ryan at QB.
The falcons will be soooooo hyped and DETERMINED after last week and coming home to one of the best home field adv. in the league. Also knowing they are the home underdog to this DREAM TEAM will only make it easier to be ampted.
Now VICK and the eagles will score their share of pts. in this game but the inability to stop ATL offence, esp. M. TURNER will allow ATLs offence to control the clock and the scoreboard for an easy win.
Anything can happen here. Good game to watch but not to bet. I think the key for Philly to win is more complete passes. Philly upgrade their rushing offense but it will not be enough for Atlanta's defense. Under would be my play.
Anything can happen here. Good game to watch but not to bet. I think the key for Philly to win is more complete passes. Philly upgrade their rushing offense but it will not be enough for Atlanta's defense. Under would be my play.
Eagles -2, Vick should play well back in the Dome, Ryan will def play better than last week in Chitown, but philly cb should be able to cover white and jonesand gonzalez. Only concern is the LB core too young and inexperienced so turn may have 120yds on ground, if Lbs dont overpursue like thaty did in St Louis then Vick may look like a stud on offense. D. Jax may take one to the house and dont think Atl def is living up to any hype. I'd expect lots of pressure got to take road chalkfrom Babin on Matt ryan and Jenkins to slow down Turner enough. Got to take road chalk
Eagles -2
Eagles -2, Vick should play well back in the Dome, Ryan will def play better than last week in Chitown, but philly cb should be able to cover white and jonesand gonzalez. Only concern is the LB core too young and inexperienced so turn may have 120yds on ground, if Lbs dont overpursue like thaty did in St Louis then Vick may look like a stud on offense. D. Jax may take one to the house and dont think Atl def is living up to any hype. I'd expect lots of pressure got to take road chalkfrom Babin on Matt ryan and Jenkins to slow down Turner enough. Got to take road chalk
No doubt Atl will have a better performance this week but Vick will come to play and want to put it in all the haters faces. Philly is for real and will win this one by 10 or more....
Philly- 31
Atl- 20
OVER!
No doubt Atl will have a better performance this week but Vick will come to play and want to put it in all the haters faces. Philly is for real and will win this one by 10 or more....
Vick ran 10 times for 100 yards last week - he's starting to revert back to his "run first, throw second" pre-dogbeating way of thinking. No way he can keep that up for a whole season.
Also, 50 points is a lot for the over/under
I see Atlanta rebounding and controlling the tempo and slowing this game waaaaaaaaaaay down.
Hotlanta - M/L and under 50
Vick ran 10 times for 100 yards last week - he's starting to revert back to his "run first, throw second" pre-dogbeating way of thinking. No way he can keep that up for a whole season.
Also, 50 points is a lot for the over/under
I see Atlanta rebounding and controlling the tempo and slowing this game waaaaaaaaaaay down.
Sports"marvel"---the "dreamteam" moniker was started by V. Young...the FO and team have been trying to put that fire out since that idiot made the comment.
I actually like the Eagles more this week than I did last week.
Sports"marvel"---the "dreamteam" moniker was started by V. Young...the FO and team have been trying to put that fire out since that idiot made the comment.
I actually like the Eagles more this week than I did last week.
The Atlanta defense, which was exposed by Green Bay in the playoffs last
year, looks no better this season. They were shredded by Chicago last
Sunday as quarterback Jay Cutler passed for 312 yards and two touchdowns
in a 30-12 rout. The Falcons couldn't stop the pass and couldn't
tackle. The one thing they did well was rush the quarterback (five
sacks) so that has to concern the Eagles, who allowed far too many hits
on Vick last week in St. Louis.
If the O-line can protect Vick at all he should have fun throwing
against this defense. The Eagles have too much firepower for the
Falcons. DeSean Jackson had a big game against the Rams (six catches,
102 yards) and Jeremy Maclin and Steve Smith figure to have a bigger
role this week. Atlanta's best defender is Brent Grimes, a feisty cornerback but the other corner Dunta Robinson has been a
disappointment. Safety William Moore is a big hitter, but lacks the
speed to match up with the Eagles receivers.
After seeing what Chicago's Matt Forte did to the Falcons (158 total
yards), Andy Reid and Marty Mornhinweg should be drawing up a big
package for running back LeSean McCoy. McCoy comes into the game as the
NFC's leading rusher with 122 yards – did you ever think you'd see the
Eagles under Reid with the NFC's top rusher? – and he has a track record
of putting up big numbers in domes. In his last three games in domes,
McCoy has rushed for 391 yards (8.3 yards per carry) and four
touchdowns.
Atlanta hoped to improve its defense by signing free agent defensive end
Ray Edwards, the ex-Viking, but he was invisible last week in Chicago.
Their best defensive lineman is still 33-year-old John Abraham, who
hasn't lost any of his quickness. Abraham is always a threat rushing off
the edge. He had 10 or more sacks in three of the last four seasons and
he had two sacks of Cutler last Sunday. Abraham is Atlanta's best hope
of corralling Vick.
Last season the Eagles, playing with Kolb at quarterback, did a good job
of neutralizing Abraham. They used misdirection plays to slow him down
and ran bootlegs with Kolb rolling away from Abraham's side. You hardly
heard Abraham's name mentioned all day. Vick is a different kind of
quarterback so the Eagles may employ a different strategy, but they have
to come up with something to keep Abraham in check.
Abraham moves around. He usually lines up on the open side away from the
tight end to avoid double team. That means both tackles – Jason Peters
on the left, Todd Herremans on the right – will have the responsibility
of blocking Abraham. It will be interesting to see if Abraham takes most
of his snaps over Herremans since (a) Herremans is new to the right
tackle position and (b) that is Vick's blind side.
When the Falcons have the ball
The Atlanta offense had a frustrating day
in Chicago. The Falcons moved the ball well (386 total yards) and
quarterback Matt Ryan had good numbers (31 for 47 passing), but they
killed themselves with mistakes. They turned the ball over three times
and never did reach the end zone. The only Atlanta touchdown was scored
by the defense.
The Falcons had breakdowns in key moments. They were four for 13 on
third-down conversions and came up empty in the red zone. The big
problem was an inability to protect the passer. Ryan was under a heavy
rush all day. The Penn Charter product was sacked five times, one of
them resulting in a fumble that Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher returned
for a touchdown. He also was hurried 13 times.
With all that pressure, offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey had to scale
back his play-calling. Of Ryan's 47 pass attempts, only three traveled
more than 15 yards. It was all quick stuff designed to get the ball out
in a hurry.
That's not the way this offense is supposed to operate. With a big-time
playmaker in Roddy White at one receiver spot, the great Tony Gonzalez
at tight end and stud rookie Julio Jones on the other side, the Falcons
expect to be a big-play team with Ryan gunning the ball down the field.
But they can't play that way unless they protect the quarterback and
they couldn't do it against the Bears.
RAY DIDINGER EAGLES INSIDER
September 16, 2011, 10:00 am
When the Eagles have the ball
The Atlanta defense, which was exposed by Green Bay in the playoffs last
year, looks no better this season. They were shredded by Chicago last
Sunday as quarterback Jay Cutler passed for 312 yards and two touchdowns
in a 30-12 rout. The Falcons couldn't stop the pass and couldn't
tackle. The one thing they did well was rush the quarterback (five
sacks) so that has to concern the Eagles, who allowed far too many hits
on Vick last week in St. Louis.
If the O-line can protect Vick at all he should have fun throwing
against this defense. The Eagles have too much firepower for the
Falcons. DeSean Jackson had a big game against the Rams (six catches,
102 yards) and Jeremy Maclin and Steve Smith figure to have a bigger
role this week. Atlanta's best defender is Brent Grimes, a feisty cornerback but the other corner Dunta Robinson has been a
disappointment. Safety William Moore is a big hitter, but lacks the
speed to match up with the Eagles receivers.
After seeing what Chicago's Matt Forte did to the Falcons (158 total
yards), Andy Reid and Marty Mornhinweg should be drawing up a big
package for running back LeSean McCoy. McCoy comes into the game as the
NFC's leading rusher with 122 yards – did you ever think you'd see the
Eagles under Reid with the NFC's top rusher? – and he has a track record
of putting up big numbers in domes. In his last three games in domes,
McCoy has rushed for 391 yards (8.3 yards per carry) and four
touchdowns.
Atlanta hoped to improve its defense by signing free agent defensive end
Ray Edwards, the ex-Viking, but he was invisible last week in Chicago.
Their best defensive lineman is still 33-year-old John Abraham, who
hasn't lost any of his quickness. Abraham is always a threat rushing off
the edge. He had 10 or more sacks in three of the last four seasons and
he had two sacks of Cutler last Sunday. Abraham is Atlanta's best hope
of corralling Vick.
Last season the Eagles, playing with Kolb at quarterback, did a good job
of neutralizing Abraham. They used misdirection plays to slow him down
and ran bootlegs with Kolb rolling away from Abraham's side. You hardly
heard Abraham's name mentioned all day. Vick is a different kind of
quarterback so the Eagles may employ a different strategy, but they have
to come up with something to keep Abraham in check.
Abraham moves around. He usually lines up on the open side away from the
tight end to avoid double team. That means both tackles – Jason Peters
on the left, Todd Herremans on the right – will have the responsibility
of blocking Abraham. It will be interesting to see if Abraham takes most
of his snaps over Herremans since (a) Herremans is new to the right
tackle position and (b) that is Vick's blind side.
When the Falcons have the ball
The Atlanta offense had a frustrating day
in Chicago. The Falcons moved the ball well (386 total yards) and
quarterback Matt Ryan had good numbers (31 for 47 passing), but they
killed themselves with mistakes. They turned the ball over three times
and never did reach the end zone. The only Atlanta touchdown was scored
by the defense.
The Falcons had breakdowns in key moments. They were four for 13 on
third-down conversions and came up empty in the red zone. The big
problem was an inability to protect the passer. Ryan was under a heavy
rush all day. The Penn Charter product was sacked five times, one of
them resulting in a fumble that Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher returned
for a touchdown. He also was hurried 13 times.
With all that pressure, offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey had to scale
back his play-calling. Of Ryan's 47 pass attempts, only three traveled
more than 15 yards. It was all quick stuff designed to get the ball out
in a hurry.
That's not the way this offense is supposed to operate. With a big-time
playmaker in Roddy White at one receiver spot, the great Tony Gonzalez
at tight end and stud rookie Julio Jones on the other side, the Falcons
expect to be a big-play team with Ryan gunning the ball down the field.
But they can't play that way unless they protect the quarterback and
they couldn't do it against the Bears.
This week the Falcons face an Eagles defense that recorded five sacks
against the Rams. It is a different kind of pressure from what the
Eagles have shown in the past. They don't blitz much at all. They sent
an extra rusher on fewer than 20 percent of the snaps against the Rams,
but they generated plenty of heat from the front four. All five sacks
went to the D-line with Jason Babin getting two.
On the flip side, the Rams had success running the ball. Even though
they lost their top back Steven Jackson early in the game, they still
gained 154 yards on 26 carries, a 5.9 yard average. The Eagles' young
linebackers once again had trouble getting off blocks and getting to the
football. The Falcons have Michael Turner, a 245-pound runner with
speed. Turner had 100 yards on just 10 carries against the Bears. If the
Eagles miss a tackle or a gap assignment this week, Turner can take it
to the house.
So that is the dilemma facing Mularkey. How does he call this game? He
probably would like to use the no-huddle. It was effective early against
the Bears and it would keep the Eagles from changing defensive
personnel and rotating the linemen, which they want to do. But he
watched the tape of the Eagles-Rams game and saw those linebackers on
their backs and he is thinking maybe just handing the ball to Turner is
the smarter way to go.
My guess is Mularkey opens with the no-huddle to get Ryan and the
offense in a rhythm. Once he has the Eagles on their heels, he can send
Turner between the tackles. Use the pass to set up the run, in other
words. The Falcons were most effective last week in the no-huddle and a
fast pace would make it difficult for a team with as many new parts as
the Eagles' defense to adjust and keep up.
Special Teams
It is going to take awhile to get a feel
for the two rookies, placekicker Alex Henery and punter Chas Henry. The
results last week were mixed. Henery was successful on his one field
goal attempt (34 yards), but he had only one touchback on six kickoffs
and in a dome with the new rules you would have expected better. Henry
had three punts with a long of 39 yards.
Dion Lewis, another rookie, had trouble on kickoff returns, bringing two
out of the end zone (unwisely) and both times being tackled inside the
15. Lewis is swift and shifty and probably will break a few returns, but
he has to use better judgment.
Eric Weems made the Pro Bowl as a return specialist last season, but he
was smothered in Chicago. He averaged 16 yards on two kickoff returns
with a long return of 20 yards. He averaged 3.3 yards on three punt
returns with a long of eight yards.
Intangibles
The Eagles have owned this series under
Andy Reid, winning eight of nine games against the Falcons including the
last four in a row…Matt Ryan has lost twice to the Eagles, both times
in Philadelphia
The Falcons are a desperate team. They
need this win because they have a tough game next week in Tampa Bay and
an even tougher one against Green Bay in Week 5.
Falcons 31, Eagles 28.
PART 2 of 2
This week the Falcons face an Eagles defense that recorded five sacks
against the Rams. It is a different kind of pressure from what the
Eagles have shown in the past. They don't blitz much at all. They sent
an extra rusher on fewer than 20 percent of the snaps against the Rams,
but they generated plenty of heat from the front four. All five sacks
went to the D-line with Jason Babin getting two.
On the flip side, the Rams had success running the ball. Even though
they lost their top back Steven Jackson early in the game, they still
gained 154 yards on 26 carries, a 5.9 yard average. The Eagles' young
linebackers once again had trouble getting off blocks and getting to the
football. The Falcons have Michael Turner, a 245-pound runner with
speed. Turner had 100 yards on just 10 carries against the Bears. If the
Eagles miss a tackle or a gap assignment this week, Turner can take it
to the house.
So that is the dilemma facing Mularkey. How does he call this game? He
probably would like to use the no-huddle. It was effective early against
the Bears and it would keep the Eagles from changing defensive
personnel and rotating the linemen, which they want to do. But he
watched the tape of the Eagles-Rams game and saw those linebackers on
their backs and he is thinking maybe just handing the ball to Turner is
the smarter way to go.
My guess is Mularkey opens with the no-huddle to get Ryan and the
offense in a rhythm. Once he has the Eagles on their heels, he can send
Turner between the tackles. Use the pass to set up the run, in other
words. The Falcons were most effective last week in the no-huddle and a
fast pace would make it difficult for a team with as many new parts as
the Eagles' defense to adjust and keep up.
Special Teams
It is going to take awhile to get a feel
for the two rookies, placekicker Alex Henery and punter Chas Henry. The
results last week were mixed. Henery was successful on his one field
goal attempt (34 yards), but he had only one touchback on six kickoffs
and in a dome with the new rules you would have expected better. Henry
had three punts with a long of 39 yards.
Dion Lewis, another rookie, had trouble on kickoff returns, bringing two
out of the end zone (unwisely) and both times being tackled inside the
15. Lewis is swift and shifty and probably will break a few returns, but
he has to use better judgment.
Eric Weems made the Pro Bowl as a return specialist last season, but he
was smothered in Chicago. He averaged 16 yards on two kickoff returns
with a long return of 20 yards. He averaged 3.3 yards on three punt
returns with a long of eight yards.
Intangibles
The Eagles have owned this series under
Andy Reid, winning eight of nine games against the Falcons including the
last four in a row…Matt Ryan has lost twice to the Eagles, both times
in Philadelphia
The Falcons are a desperate team. They
need this win because they have a tough game next week in Tampa Bay and
an even tougher one against Green Bay in Week 5.
The Atlanta defense, which was exposed by Green Bay in the playoffs last
year, looks no better this season. They were shredded by Chicago last
Sunday as quarterback Jay Cutler passed for 312 yards and two touchdowns
in a 30-12 rout. The Falcons couldn't stop the pass and couldn't
tackle. The one thing they did well was rush the quarterback (five
sacks) so that has to concern the Eagles, who allowed far too many hits
on Vick last week in St. Louis.
If the O-line can protect Vick at all he should have fun throwing
against this defense. The Eagles have too much firepower for the
Falcons. DeSean Jackson had a big game against the Rams (six catches,
102 yards) and Jeremy Maclin and Steve Smith figure to have a bigger
role this week. Atlanta's best defender is Brent Grimes, a feisty cornerback but the other corner Dunta Robinson has been a
disappointment. Safety William Moore is a big hitter, but lacks the
speed to match up with the Eagles receivers.
After seeing what Chicago's Matt Forte did to the Falcons (158 total
yards), Andy Reid and Marty Mornhinweg should be drawing up a big
package for running back LeSean McCoy. McCoy comes into the game as the
NFC's leading rusher with 122 yards – did you ever think you'd see the
Eagles under Reid with the NFC's top rusher? – and he has a track record
of putting up big numbers in domes. In his last three games in domes,
McCoy has rushed for 391 yards (8.3 yards per carry) and four
touchdowns.
Atlanta hoped to improve its defense by signing free agent defensive end
Ray Edwards, the ex-Viking, but he was invisible last week in Chicago.
Their best defensive lineman is still 33-year-old John Abraham, who
hasn't lost any of his quickness. Abraham is always a threat rushing off
the edge. He had 10 or more sacks in three of the last four seasons and
he had two sacks of Cutler last Sunday. Abraham is Atlanta's best hope
of corralling Vick.
Last season the Eagles, playing with Kolb at quarterback, did a good job
of neutralizing Abraham. They used misdirection plays to slow him down
and ran bootlegs with Kolb rolling away from Abraham's side. You hardly
heard Abraham's name mentioned all day. Vick is a different kind of
quarterback so the Eagles may employ a different strategy, but they have
to come up with something to keep Abraham in check.
Abraham moves around. He usually lines up on the open side away from the
tight end to avoid double team. That means both tackles – Jason Peters
on the left, Todd Herremans on the right – will have the responsibility
of blocking Abraham. It will be interesting to see if Abraham takes most
of his snaps over Herremans since (a) Herremans is new to the right
tackle position and (b) that is Vick's blind side.
When the Falcons have the ball
The Atlanta offense had a frustrating day
in Chicago. The Falcons moved the ball well (386 total yards) and
quarterback Matt Ryan had good numbers (31 for 47 passing), but they
killed themselves with mistakes. They turned the ball over three times
and never did reach the end zone. The only Atlanta touchdown was scored
by the defense.
The Falcons had breakdowns in key moments. They were four for 13 on
third-down conversions and came up empty in the red zone. The big
problem was an inability to protect the passer. Ryan was under a heavy
rush all day. The Penn Charter product was sacked five times, one of
them resulting in a fumble that Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher returned
for a touchdown. He also was hurried 13 times.
With all that pressure, offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey had to scale
back his play-calling. Of Ryan's 47 pass attempts, only three traveled
more than 15 yards. It was all quick stuff designed to get the ball out
in a hurry.
That's not the way this offense is supposed to operate. With a big-time
playmaker in Roddy White at one receiver spot, the great Tony Gonzalez
at tight end and stud rookie Julio Jones on the other side, the Falcons
expect to be a big-play team with Ryan gunning the ball down the field.
But they can't play that way unless they protect the quarterback and
they couldn't do it against the Bears.
RAY DIDINGER EAGLES INSIDER
September 16, 2011, 10:00 am
When the Eagles have the ball
The Atlanta defense, which was exposed by Green Bay in the playoffs last
year, looks no better this season. They were shredded by Chicago last
Sunday as quarterback Jay Cutler passed for 312 yards and two touchdowns
in a 30-12 rout. The Falcons couldn't stop the pass and couldn't
tackle. The one thing they did well was rush the quarterback (five
sacks) so that has to concern the Eagles, who allowed far too many hits
on Vick last week in St. Louis.
If the O-line can protect Vick at all he should have fun throwing
against this defense. The Eagles have too much firepower for the
Falcons. DeSean Jackson had a big game against the Rams (six catches,
102 yards) and Jeremy Maclin and Steve Smith figure to have a bigger
role this week. Atlanta's best defender is Brent Grimes, a feisty cornerback but the other corner Dunta Robinson has been a
disappointment. Safety William Moore is a big hitter, but lacks the
speed to match up with the Eagles receivers.
After seeing what Chicago's Matt Forte did to the Falcons (158 total
yards), Andy Reid and Marty Mornhinweg should be drawing up a big
package for running back LeSean McCoy. McCoy comes into the game as the
NFC's leading rusher with 122 yards – did you ever think you'd see the
Eagles under Reid with the NFC's top rusher? – and he has a track record
of putting up big numbers in domes. In his last three games in domes,
McCoy has rushed for 391 yards (8.3 yards per carry) and four
touchdowns.
Atlanta hoped to improve its defense by signing free agent defensive end
Ray Edwards, the ex-Viking, but he was invisible last week in Chicago.
Their best defensive lineman is still 33-year-old John Abraham, who
hasn't lost any of his quickness. Abraham is always a threat rushing off
the edge. He had 10 or more sacks in three of the last four seasons and
he had two sacks of Cutler last Sunday. Abraham is Atlanta's best hope
of corralling Vick.
Last season the Eagles, playing with Kolb at quarterback, did a good job
of neutralizing Abraham. They used misdirection plays to slow him down
and ran bootlegs with Kolb rolling away from Abraham's side. You hardly
heard Abraham's name mentioned all day. Vick is a different kind of
quarterback so the Eagles may employ a different strategy, but they have
to come up with something to keep Abraham in check.
Abraham moves around. He usually lines up on the open side away from the
tight end to avoid double team. That means both tackles – Jason Peters
on the left, Todd Herremans on the right – will have the responsibility
of blocking Abraham. It will be interesting to see if Abraham takes most
of his snaps over Herremans since (a) Herremans is new to the right
tackle position and (b) that is Vick's blind side.
When the Falcons have the ball
The Atlanta offense had a frustrating day
in Chicago. The Falcons moved the ball well (386 total yards) and
quarterback Matt Ryan had good numbers (31 for 47 passing), but they
killed themselves with mistakes. They turned the ball over three times
and never did reach the end zone. The only Atlanta touchdown was scored
by the defense.
The Falcons had breakdowns in key moments. They were four for 13 on
third-down conversions and came up empty in the red zone. The big
problem was an inability to protect the passer. Ryan was under a heavy
rush all day. The Penn Charter product was sacked five times, one of
them resulting in a fumble that Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher returned
for a touchdown. He also was hurried 13 times.
With all that pressure, offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey had to scale
back his play-calling. Of Ryan's 47 pass attempts, only three traveled
more than 15 yards. It was all quick stuff designed to get the ball out
in a hurry.
That's not the way this offense is supposed to operate. With a big-time
playmaker in Roddy White at one receiver spot, the great Tony Gonzalez
at tight end and stud rookie Julio Jones on the other side, the Falcons
expect to be a big-play team with Ryan gunning the ball down the field.
But they can't play that way unless they protect the quarterback and
they couldn't do it against the Bears.
Game promises to be a real shoot out. Looking for the Falcons to rebound with a close SU win. Nobody in Atlanta misses Michael Vick!
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