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Preview of the Falcons at the Lions

John Dunlap — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 21:39:21 +0000

Coming off of an impressive 34-0 win over the New York Giants the Falcons hope to continue their surge into the playoffs this week against the 4-10 Detroit Lions. The Falcons’ defense will need to show up to play in this game if they hope to contain the league’s best passing offense. The Detroit Lions average 302.1 yards per game through the air and can run the ball effectively as well. It will be up to the Falcons’ defense to remain opportunistic and force miscues from the Lions’ offense which comes in with a -9 turnover differential.
As Calvin Johnson goes so goes the Lions’ offense. If the Falcons can contain Johnson, either by playing careful matchups or preventing Matt Stafford from throwing the ball downfield, they have a good opportunity to prevent the Lions from being able to move the ball effectively. The Lions’ offense is effective though, averaging nearly 24 points per game, and will prove quite a test for Mike Nolan’s defense. By using a stable of backs the Lions can also pose a threat in the running game; their rushing offense averages 104.4 yards per game. The Falcons will need to not lose sight of stopping the run while trying to contain Calvin Johnson.
The Lions’ defense matches up fairly well with the Falcons’ offense too. The Lions’ defensive strength is in the center of their defensive line led by Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairly. As we all know, the Falcons’ offensive line can be shaky at times and there is a chance that the Lions will be able to bring pressure up the middle on Matt Ryan as he drops back to pass or shut down the running game inside of the tackles. If the Lions’ defensive line does begin to put pressure on the passing game and stops the run, I look for the Falcons to put in a shotgun package that includes Jason Snelling as the back. I feel that Snelling is the best blocking back that Atlanta has and will be used to slow down the Lions’ pass rush if need be. I don’t believe that the Lions will be able to maintain this pressure for the entire game and expect the Falcons to be able to open up the playbook as the game goes along. I expect another win for the Falcons and the final score to be 35-21.

Falcons at Saints Preview

John Dunlap — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 20:52:50 +0000

This weekend the Falcons travel to New Orleans to take on the division rival Saints. Though the Saints are having a relatively down year they are still a threat to the Falcons’ perfect season. This is a division game and strange things have been known to happen when these teams play.
New Orleans comes into this game with an offense led by Drew Brees who has led them to 386.4 yards and nearly 30 points a game. The majority of these yards come through the air as the Saints’ rushing attack has only managed 81 yards a game thus far. This offense will prove to be a challenge for the Falcons’ defense as they always are, but I believe that under Mike Nolan’s direction the unit will be up to the task of slowing down Drew Brees and the Saints.
On the other side of the ball the New Orleans Saints have struggled all season. This is a great opportunity for Matt Ryan and the rest of the Atlanta offense to rack up some yards and put up some points. New Orleans is allowing 471.2 yards per game and the Atlanta offense will be poised to attack this defensive weakness. Because this is a division game I expect Dirk Koetter and the other coaches to keep things relatively vanilla seeing as the Falcons will face the Saints a second time later in the season. One thing that I do expect them to make use of though is a package that I have noticed in several games this season. The Falcons offense comes out in the typical I-formation, but rather than having Michael Turner at halfback he moves up to fullback and Julio Jones plays halfback. I have seen several interesting plays out of this formation and enjoy the creativity that it demonstrates. I imagine that Koetter will call for this formation at some point during the game. Other than this package though, I expect the Falcons’ offense to play a fairly straightforward game. This does not mean that the Falcons will pull back on the reins at all. Instead they will try not to give the Saints any game film with which to prepare for the second game. I still expect the Falcons to attempt several deep, explosive plays downfield to take advantage of the Saints’ weak defense.
This game holds importance as it is a chance to beat the hated Saints in New Orleans and continue the perfect season that the Falcons are enjoying so far. I don’t think that the Saints’ defense will be able to contain the Falcons’ offense and though Drew Brees will be able to move the ball it will not be enough to put the Saints on top. I have the Falcons winning this game 31-24.

Falcons shoot for 7-0

John Dunlap — Sun, 28 Oct 2012 04:50:19 +0000

This week the Atlanta Falcons travel to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles in their hunt to continue their perfect season. This is the NFL and perfect seasons simply don’t happen, but I don’t see the Falcons’ coming to an end this week. With both teams coming off a bye week we can expect them to be fresh and ready to play on Sunday.
The Falcons enter the game with an offense that averages 28.5 points a game compared to the Eagles’ 17.2. It will be up to the Eagles’ defense to contain the Falcons’ potent offense and I don’t believe they will be up to the task. In addition to breaking in a newly promoted defensive coordinator the Eagles give up 226.3 passing yards and 104.5 rushing yards a game. This should give the Falcons the opportunity to move the ball and put some points on the board.
On the other side of the ball the Atlanta defense looks to control Michael Vick and the rest of the Eagles’ offense. I still consider the Philadelphia offense a force to be reckoned with even if the stats don’t necessarily back it up. I guess I just can’t count Mike Vick and LeSean McCoy out. The good news for the Falcons is that the Eagles have been careless with the football, giving up 10 turnovers on the season. The Falcons are giving up 223.3 yards through the air and 143.8 yards on the ground per game. The Eagles’ offense has had success running the ball gaining 122 rushing yards per game so I look for them to try to attack the Falcons’ rush defense early and often. If the Falcons can shut down LeSean McCoy and keep Mike Vick contained the Eagles will be forced to try to move the ball through the air. The Eagles have met with some success in the passing game, gaining 257 yards per game. If the Falcons are able to make the Eagles’ offense one dimensional though it will force Vick to throw from the pocket, something that he has struggled with over the years. Once Vick and the running game are contained the defense can focus on covering the receivers and keeping Vick off balance. If the Falcons defense can control the Eagles’ offense I think that the Falcons will get their seventh victory of the season tomorrow winning 24-20.