Five things to watch for Falcons in New England

By D. Orlando Ledbetter

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Three key matchups for the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday against the New England Patriots.

• Falcons C Todd McClure vs. New England NT Vince Wilfork: When the Patriots are in a 3-4 alignment, Wilfork will be over McClure, who's set to make his 115th consecutive start. Wilfork will slide over to a guard when they slip into their 4-3 front. He's more disruptive in the run game. "He's a guy that we're going to have to account for," McClure said. "It's going to be a battle with him. You can never relax." McClure will get some help from a guard, Harvey Dahl or Justin Blalock, on some plays, depending on which way the Patriots run the ball. The line wants to be more aggressive against the Patriots' 3-4 than they were when they faced Miami in the season opener. "It will be a chance for us to kind of redeem ourselves against a 3-4 front," McClure said.

• Patriots QB Tom Brady vs. Falcons safety Erik Coleman: Coleman faced Brady when Coleman was with the New York Jets. He said one of the big problems against Brady is that it's difficult to disguise coverages. Coleman and free safety Thomas DeCoud likely will take turns staying deep because of the Randy Moss' speed factor. The Patriots' passing attack is not all the way back to top form after Brady missed last season with an injury. The secondary did a decent job of keeping the Panthers' receivers in front of them last week. They gave up 308 yards passing, but gave up only two plays over 25 yards and one touchdown. The Patriots' only touchdown passes came late in the season-opener against Buffalo and were thrown to tight end Ben Watson.

• Falcons DE John Abraham vs. Patriots OTs Matt Light and Nick Kaczur: Abraham is very familiar with New England from his six seasons with the New York Jets days. He has 10 career sacks against the Patriots, his highest total against any team. After getting two in the opener, he was shut out last week. He will rush mostly from the right and face Light. When he flops to the left side, he'll go against Kaczur. It should be a good battle with Light, who made the All-Pro team in 2007 and has been to two Pro Bowls. Abraham might have more success going against Kaczur.

Five things to watch

• New England's matrix on defense: The Patriots are considered a 3-4 defense but have shown that they will use multiple fronts. In the preseason they played two games in the 3-4 and two games in the 4-3.

"They have been mixing up the 3-4 and 4-3 in the two regular-season games," Falcons coach Mike Smith said. "It will be a challenge for us because it's two different schemes, and they have two really good players up front in [Vince] Wilfork and Ty Warren."

Gone are New England mainstays Rodney Harrison, Mike Vrabel and Tedy Bruschi, all stars during the Super Bowl runs. They've been replaced by outside linebacker Pierre Woods, inside linebacker Gary Guyton (from Georgia Tech) and safety James Sanders.

Woods and Guyton were undrafted free agents who have earned starting spots.

• Patriots might try to run the ball: The Patriots passed for 370 yards and rushed for only 78 in the first two games.

Fred Taylor, formerly of Jacksonville, is the leading rusher with 71 yards on 17 carries. Laurence Maroney has 55 yards on 16 carries.

With the Falcons trying to replace defensive tackle Peria Jerry (knee, injured reserve), look for the Patriots to pay more than lip service to the run game.

"I would anticipate that we could very likely see a change this week," Smith said. "That's something that Coach [Bill] Belichick will do. They'll come out one week and be in two tight ends, then they'll have a new personnel grouping and a completely new plan of attack. That's what makes them so difficult to prepare for."

Belichick hasn't been pleased with the play of the offense as the Patriots have struggled to a 1-1 mark and needed some fourth-quarter heroics from quarterback Tom Brady to avoid an 0-2 start.

"I think Tom has worked hard," Belichick said. "He's ready to go. I just think as a team we have to do a better job than we have done in the first two games. ... collectively, we are just not where we need to be. That extends to the whole offense, and I'm sure Tom feels the same way about it that I do."

• Special teams could be major factor: The Falcons' special teams have picked up where they left off last season.

The kickoff coverage has not allowed a return past the 20, and kicker Michael Koenen had five touchbacks last week.

Belichick has some praise for Falcons special-teams coordinator Keith Armstrong.

"Their return game looks good whether if it is [Eric] Weems or [Jerious] Norwood," Belichick said. "They have done an excellent job of creating field position in the kicking game. They are blocking kicks and getting pressure on the field goals. I think that's a real strength."

• Randy Moss must be contained: Moss has 135 career touchdown receptions, but the Patriots' dangerous receiver has yet to score a touchdown this season. He has 16 catches for 165 yards.

The Falcons were able to keep Carolina's Steve Smith out of the end zone Sunday despite giving him eight catches for 131 yards.

Cornerback Brian Williams has solidified the secondary and will see some time covering Moss. When Williams goes inside in the nickel coverage, he'll be matched against Wes Welker (knee), if Welker's able to play. Welker is the Patriots' second-leading receiver with 12 catches.

The Falcons will likely be forced to keep a safety over the top to help on Moss. If they do that, the remaining corner will be left with wide receiver Joey Galloway, who is 13 catches shy of 300 career receptions.

• Get some pressure on Tom Brady: Brady's streak of 21 consecutive wins was halted last week after the New York Jets harassed him. He was one game shy of the Super Bowl-era mark of 22 set by Jim McMahon.

The Falcons recorded four sacks in the opener against Miami and one against Carolina last week.

"Certainly [John] Abraham is a big problem, but they are not a one-man band," Belichick said. "They have a lot of good players up there. They are quick. They are active, and they make a lot of plays."

The Patriots know the Falcons want to put Brady under duress.

"They don't blitz a whole lot, but when they do they come hard," New England tight end Ben Watson said. "They play a lot of zone. They do play some man. We're expecting a little bit of both, and they'll have some things for us that we haven't seen."

The Falcons will win if ...

Tom Brady doesn't torch the secondary: Brady has clearly not found his groove after missing last season with a knee injury. The Jets were able to keep him out of the end zone last week. If he clicks back into 2007 mode, it could be a long day in Foxborough.

Special teams keep coming through: Field position will be key. The Falcons' coverage units have been superior, and Eric Weems, Kroy Biermann and Antoine Harris have to continue to make plays.

Michael Turner gets loose: It has been some tough sledding for Turner. He grinded out 105 yards on 28 carries last week against the Panthers and hasn't been rumbling through the secondary much. His longest gain of the season is 16 yards.