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Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Falcons must refocus, brace for Bears
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In the NFL, Wednesdays and Thursdays are the major preparation days for the teams. So after getting Monday off for the victory over the Green Bay Packers, the Falcons spring back into action today.
Coach Mike Smith is hoping they celebrated the win, got it out of their system and are now ready to deal with a rugged and tenacious Chicago Bears squad.
We’ll get to a couple of things this week like how can the secondary get better? What’s up with the 3-3-5 nickel/dime look? What’s Justin Blalock’s role in the improved line play? How to attack Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs?
Got a bunch of things down on the notepad to chase.
But the beginning and end of the Falcons’ early season success starts with running back Michael Turner. His blend of speed and toughness has powered the offense, helped the young quarterback get his feet wet and has made the line look better.
He’s got a lot of his league-leading 543 yards on sheer determination.
Another indicator for the Falcons is their fast starts. They’ve owned the first quarter, outscoring teams, 48-14. The 48 points is tops in the NFL and a credit to offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey and his staff.
The defense has helped out in the first quarter by shutting down the opposition’s rushing attack. Detroit ran for 13 yards, Tampa bay 2, Kansas City 14, Carolina 16 and Green Bay 7 in the first quarter.
This gets us to the major issue against the Bears’ defense, which is led by linebackers Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs. The Bears only give up 74.2 yards rushing a game, fourth overall in the league. When the Burner hasn’t been able to get loose - Tampa Bay and Carolina - the Falcons have lost.
Who’s going to step up and give The Burner some help like Roddy White did last week? The rookie has proved he’ll get the ball out under duress, but who’s going to catch it other than White (there were two more third down drops in the Green Bay game, after six drops against Carolina)? Will the secondary be able to cover Devin Hester? Will somebody step up and give John Abraham some help in the pass rush?
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