Atlanta Falcons vs. Texans: Final Thoughts

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Before the season began, not many people had the Atlanta Falcons to be 3-0. When you look at the upcoming schedule, it’s hard to find a game which looks like a certain loss for Atlanta. That’s not to say they won’t lose, because they will, but beyond this Texans test the schedule looks favorable.

Up first though is a tough challenge from J.J. Watt and the Houston Texans. These are my final thoughts.

Going to the game? Get loud

The Falcons are coming off of two tough road trips, and they return home unbeaten. Up against a young, inexperienced quarterback in Ryan Mallett, the Georgia Dome needs to be rocking. Make verbal communication impossible and force them into false starts and delay of games.

It’s important to make the Georgia Dome a fortress and make it an intimidating for visiting teams. The Falcons will feed off the energy. You need to win your home games.

Stop the run

With Mallett in at quarterback, it’s important to stop the run whether Arian Foster plays or not. By taking away the ground game and putting the offense in Mallett’s hands, we can expect similar results to the second half of the Cowboys game last week.

While the Cowboys were able to run the football at will, they piled on the points and looked set on the win. Once the defense was able to force Brandon Weeden into making plays himself, they were shutout and the Falcons rallied to win. Stop the run.

Slow down the pass rush

We all know how good this Texans pass rush can be, and the Falcons need to find a way to slow it down. First, run the football often and run it well. The best way to ease a pass rush is to make them respect the run. Next, fire out some screen passes and get the football out quickly.

But it’s also important to not go into a shell. Julio Jones can burn defenses deep, so don’t be afraid to go out and test the defense down the field. But the rush is coming, so make sure the blocking is sound and the offense is humming on the ground and the quick passing game.

That’s what it will take to win. Sure, 3-0 is great. But 4-0 sounds better.