Falcons will try to buck Broncos with run

Maybe offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey will breakout the wishbone formation for the Broncos.

It’s no secret that the Falcons want to run the ball at Denver’s small and injury riddled defensive front. He could put Ovie Mughelli at fullback and Michael Turner and Jerious Norwood in the halfback formation. When they get tired, Jason Snelling could come in.

We’re not sure he’s want quarterback Matt Ryan running the option out of the wishbone in the NFL, but he ran it in high school.

“We’ve got a good solid run game and we’ve got confidence in the guys in our backfield and our offensive line,” Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan said. “It’s going to be important for us to establish the run and do a good job with it.”

The Broncos give up 146.3 yards, which ranks 27th out of 32 teams in the league.

“Their whole defense is based on speed,” Turner said. “You just have to make sure that we are playing much faster on offense to make sure that we can handle some of the things they do.”

The Falcons offensive linemen are on alert for a lot of movement by the Broncos’ defensive line in the form of stunts and slants.

“They are real quick and very active, Falcons left guard Justin Blalock said. “They do a lot of things up front. They are trying to get in there and be disruptive.”

The three amigos

Denver receivers Brandon Marshall, Eddie Royal and Brandon Stokley have a chance to get their own nickname. For now we’ll just call them “The Three Amigos II” in honor of the former Bronco receivers of the 1990s, Mark Jackson, Ricky Nattiel and Vance Johnson.

Marshall, Royal and Stokley all bring unique skills to the offense and are extremely dangerous.

Marshall is a load at 6-4, 230 pounds and is fast.

Royal is a rookie from Virginia Tech, a smal but lightning fast receiver.

Stokley is the super quick slot receiver.

“We’ve got a lot of weapons,” Denver quarterback Jay Cutler said.

Marshall can control the game if not contained. He had 18 catches for 166 yards earlier this season against San Diego. In his first game, Royal destroyed Oakland’s DeAngelo Hall (since released and signed with Washington) with nine catches for 146 yards.

“Brandon Marshall started really hot,” Cutler said. “Eddie Royal is starting to come on with some of the two high safeties looks we’ve seen.”

Stokley, a 10-year veteran, has an interesting matchup against the Falcons rookie nickel back Chevis Jackson.

“I think over the last five years he has been one of the top slot receivers in the league,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said.

The Marshall plan

The Falcons know they must account for wide receiver Brandon Marshall in the passing game.

“He’s a big guy,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said. “He’s a tough guy who has speed. He’s a Pro Bowl quality receiver.”

The Falcons did a decent job on New Orleans’ Marques Colston, another big receiver, last week. But Marshall appears to be playing on a higher level than Colston.

Because the Broncos move Marshall around, “Everybody is going to get an opportunity to defend him,” Smith said.

Marshall has 57 catches for 714 yards and four touchdowns this season.

“He’s got the great hands and speed,” Denver coach Mike Shanahan said. “He’s a guy that people have to pay attention to.”

Getting Cutler under duress

The Falcons have an ample amount of respect for third-year quarterback Jay Cutler, who ranks third in the league in completions (211) and touchdown passes (13).

The Vanderbilt product has thrown at least one touchdown in his last 10 games and is fresh off rallying the Broncos to a come-from-behind, fourth-quarter victory over Cleveland last week.

“He’s very capable,” Falcons safety Lawyer Milloy said. “When he’s hot, he’s one of the best quarterbacks going. He’s one of the best young quarterbacks in the league right now.”

The Falcons did a good job of getting pressure on New Orleans’ Drew Brees last week. They only got one sack, but they chased him and had him throwing on the run. Cutler has only been sacked six times.

“This is more of the traditional offense with the five- and seven-step drop, and play action,” Smith said. “They are not a real quick team in getting the ball out of the quarterback hands.”

Secondary gets another test

The Falcons secondary had 15 pass breaks up and three interceptions last week against New Orleans. Their performance caught the eye of Denver coach Mike Shanahan.

“I’ve been impressed with the way they played against Drew Brees,” Shanahan said. “I think everybody knows what kind of success that he’s had against every team this year. I think for him to throw three interceptions in game is very unusual and really a credit to the defense of Atlanta.”

The Falcons are starting to mix in a little more man-to-man coverage and more blitzes.

“They do a great job with their scheme,” Shanahan said. “They change things up in the secondary to keep you off balance. They give their corners some opportunities to make some plays.”

There was one person who wasn’t surprised by the showing.

“They’ve picked off plenty of my passes in practice,” Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan said. “So I know they are pretty good. They are tough to fool. Tough to look off.”