Mistake Free Football Will Help The Falcons Win

is the primary reason that can potentially lead to turnovers. take away their pass rush – and we limit possibilities for turning it over. on paper it looks straight-forward – use screen passes, playaction and draws a lot. but with our team its easier said than done.

against their pass rush -

The Falcons allowed 26 sacks during the regular season, which was the sixth lowest in the league. Only Cincinnati (25), Oakland (25), New Orleans (24), Tennessee (24) and Buffalo (23) allowed fewer sacks.

(from DOL)

regardless of whether undrafted rookie Jacquian Williams is covering him, (who happens to be our best rookie this year) or whether former Falcon Michael Boley is covering him. Both of those two guys have played well the past 2 weeks, but we struggle in the middle of the field defending passes, especially to big tight ends. Jason Witten owns us and I predict Tony Gonzalez to do the same in this game.

I think if we hope to have a good defensive showing, it is indeed going to be by wrecking havoc on Matt Ryan with our pass rush. I feel the exact same way with the Falcons getting pressure on Eli. I’m not sure how Matt does against pressure so maybe you guys can give me some insight into that, but historically Eli handles pressure well. Believe it or not, he actually throws more picks when he has all day to throw and to think about it. When he is rushed into making decisions, for whatever reason, it usually winds up being a good one. This would also explain why he is successful in the 2 minute drill. (and i till cant figure out why we do not run a no huddle like big bro) Of course if you can hit him, well than it doesnt really matter how good he is in the face of heavy pressure.

I agree completely with this post as well. Turnovers are key. If either team can win the turnover battle I think that team wins decisively. If neither team can win the battle and it winds up being even, I look for this game to come down to the wire. Matty Ice vs. Eli. Personally, I would take Eli in a situation like that over Matt, but don’t get me wrong I definitely think Matt has the skills to stick it to Eli with a final drive to seal the deal.

Here’s to a good game with no injuries.

He would call a first and bomb to a JJ or Roddy
then Turner up the middle.
with a shot to TG on third downs.
But Spoon needs to “bump” into him at practice so he doesn’t do it in any kind of predictable order.

And even if it didn’t work He wouldn’t be at Georgia anymore and Mularkey would be gone.

but it’s one big difference this year to last year – especially in penalties. Ryan has taken great care of the ball in recent weeks, with a 10-0 TD-INT ratio through the past 4 games, so hopefully the streak continues. Penalties are going to be the real killer – I’ve heard some people say that Metlife isn’t that loud by comparison to some stadiums, but I doubt it’ll be quiet and friendly come playoffs. Penalties are going to be killer to either side, but for the Falcons (especially the O-line) they could decide the game, or at least the 3rd down distance, which may as well be the game.

Excellent post and comments so far. I had forgotten about the turnover that did us in against the Cardinals. Turnovers will be key, for sure. The Falcons will need to focus on the run early, as much as I want to see them throw it all over the place, so that the defensive line isn’t pinning their ears back. If we can do this, Matt Ryan will have a field day.

Also, the Giants fans at Big Blue View have been excellent as they’ve come over to our blog the past few days. I hope things don’t take a turn for the worse as the week progresses, because I’ve enjoyed reading their comments about the matchup.

I like this team, and I will defend these guys win or lose. But there was a lot of potential risk going for JJ this year. I think the payoff is at least this win. After that they’ll be playing with house money. A win over a good team in the Giants means they are growing as a group. I hope they can do it. I’m realistic, anything positive that happens after Sunday is gravy. But get the first win, dang it!

From what I’ve looked at it boils down to this. If we can run the ball effectively with Turner we win. Everything else is too close to call. I don’t buy the home field “outside” team advantage. We can actually run the ball and Matt doesn’t throw deep a lot (so no wind / rain as much a factor).

These teams are eerily similar but I give the edge to our Birds. I think we’re tired of the “can’t win a playoff game” crap, we’re focused on this game, and we’re coming out to prove something. I think NY had their emotional moment last weekend and will be looking past the Falcons.

Now excuse me as I run to the store to stock up on antacids.

which is good for 5th in the league btw