Philly native Ryan faces hometown blitz

Flowery Branch —- Falcons rookie quarterback Matt Ryan is more concerned about Philadelphia’s blitzing defense than about grabbing a cheese steak on the return to his hometown.

Philadelphia defensive coordinator Jim Johnson is the master of the unpredictable blitz. All three of Philadelphia’s linebackers and both safeties have at least one sack.

“He has had a lot of success in this league for a long time,” Ryan said. “It’s going to be a good challenge for us, but I think we’ll have a good game plan and guys will prepare well this week.”

Only Pittsburgh (25) has more sacks than the Eagles’ 21.

“Whether if you are a cornerback, strong safety, free safety or linebacker, you’re going to get an opportunity to blitz,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said. “Whether if you are a defensive tackle, linebacker or safety or corner, you’re going to get an opportunity to cover. That’s how he puts his package together.

“It’s a very complex package that can create a lot of issues if you’re not on top of your game.”

Ryan attributed the Eagles’ effectiveness to the timing, their relentless pursuit and their willingness to keep blitzing.

The key Falcon who has to recognize the Eagles’ defenses is veteran center Todd McClure.

“We have to communicate and all be on the same page to where Matt knows where he’s picked up at and where he’s hot,” McClure said. “If we get the guys picked up up front, he’ll be able to make plays down the field.”

McClure describes the tactics as “not conventional.” He says the Falcons have to study extra film to be ready for the “exotic stuff.”

Since the Eagles had a bye week, too, the Falcons know that Johnson has had a chance to tinker a little bit and come up with something special for the rookie.

“They are obviously going to have a different blitz, and we’ll have to make adjustments on the sideline when we do see what they are doing differently than what we’ve seen on film,” McClure said.

Right tackle Tyson Clabo will line up across from defensive end Juqua Parker, who leads the Eagles with 4.5 sacks.

There is a method to the Eagles’ blitzing madness.

“They’ve been very good against the run,” Clabo said. “They blitz, but they stay gap sound, and that’s how they can stop the run and blitz at the same time.”

Beating the blitz doesn’t stop with the offensive line. Michael Turner said the running backs have been placed on “high alert” for picking up blitzers this week.

Even the wide receivers have a role to play.

“We have to realize when we have sight adjustments or hot routes,” wide receiver Brian Finneran said. “If we see a certain blitz, we have to be ready to adjust.”

Ryan’s toughest game was against Tampa Bay, a Week 2 loss when he had trouble early against a fast defense. He was sacked four times and hit 14 times.

Since then, Ryan has been sacked only twice and hit three times.

“He’s done a good job recognizing blitzes that we’ve had to deal with,” Finneran said. “The line has done an awesome job picking them up. Hopefully we can continue that trend and be all right.”

NEXT FOR FALCONS

> Who: at Eagles

> When: 1 p.m. Sunday

> TV; radio: Fox; 92.9 FM

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