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Atlanta Falcons

Falcons secondary will face a stress test against Buccaneers

D. Orlando Ledbetter
By D. Orlando Ledbetter

FLOWERY BRANCH -- The Falcons secondary will be on the hot seat Sunday against Tom Brady and the pass-happy Buccaneers.

The Tampa Bay rushing attack averages 76.4 yards, which ranks last in the NFL.

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When the Bucs needed a victory to clinch their second consecutive NFC South title, they leaned on the passing attack. Wide receiver Mike Evans caught 10 of 12 targets for 207 yards and three touchdowns, while Chris Godwin caught 9 of 9 targets for 120 yards.

“They both have been terrific players for a while down there in Tampa,” Falcons coach Arthur Smith said. “In the game on Sunday, they kept chipping away. They made some big plays, Mike Evans especially made some good plays down the field one-on-one. They are able to chip away and come up. … Carolina had control of that game for a while, but Tampa made the plays in the fourth quarter and come out with a win.”

The Falcons have been defending mostly in zone coverage. If they just sit in the zone and try to keep Evans in front of them, Brady will go to his death-by-crossing-route routine.

The Falcons could have A.J. Terrell follow Evans and put Isaiah Oliver on Godwin man-to-man, so they do have options, even as Cornell Armstrong has taken over most of the snaps from Darren Hall.

“Obviously, they have an elite receiving corps,” Falcons nickel back Isaiah Oliver said. “That’s been the case for years now. We understand that. We know that’s going to be the challenge for us, especially in the secondary.”

There also the matter of covering the Bucs’ ex-Falcons – Julio Jones and Russell Gage – who have combined for 72 catches, 710 yards and six touchdowns.

“We know that we have to come with our ‘A’ game and be able to stop Mike, Chris, Russell Gage and Julio,” Oliver said. “They’ve got a plethora of guys. We just understand that, and we’ll be ready for it.”