The Falcons are set to face another young quarterback in Tampa Bay rookie Mike Glennon on Sunday.
The Falcons have been beaten by two young quarterbacks this season — Miami’s second-year signal caller Ryan Tannehill and New York Jets rookie Geno Smith.
Tannehill completed 24 of 35 passes (68.5 percent) for 236 yards and two touchdowns. He had a passer rating of 94.5 and directed the Dolphins on a game-winning touchdown drive.
Smith completed 16 of 20 passes for 199 yards and three touchdowns. He finished with a 147.7 passer rating, his best of the season, and drove the Jets for a game-winning field goal.
Glennon, a third-round pick who took over for the departed Josh Freeman, has attempted 43 passes in each of his starts. The Falcons plan to attack him.
“We typically always have a mix (of coverage and blitzes),” Nolan said. “That is who we are. If somebody watches the tape, they’d see that’s kind of the way it is.”
Nolan respects Glennon’s toughness.
“Even when he’s going down on sacks, as he’s hitting the ground, he’s still kind of watching to see if the ball is caught,” Nolan said. “Some guys, once they let the ball go and get hit, it’s like ‘oh my God. I’ve got to save my life.’ But he’s still watching to see if the ball caught. That just says an awful lot about a player, about his toughness. I’ve been impressed.”
Glennon has leaned heavily on wide receiver Vincent Jackson and tight end Tim Wright.
Target on McClain: The Bucs likely will try to target Falcons nickel back Robert McClain, who has struggled through the first five games. When he has played in the slot, his receiver has been targeted 22 times and has made 17 catches for 296 yards and 169 yards after the catch, according to profootballfocus.com.
McClain has allowed three touchdowns, and teams have a passer rating of 158.1 when passing to his receiver. That mark is the highest in the NFL.
Chaney's debut: Linebacker Jamar Chaney, who signed Sept. 17, was pressed into special-teams duties against the Jets.
“I thought he did a nice job,” special-teams coordinator Keith Armstrong said. “He had a role to play and he stepped in and did his job. He did a nice job on punt returns as well.”
The injuries are taking a toll on special teams. Armstrong also could lose key special-teams players Kevin Cone and Drew Davis, both are wide receivers who may see more time at that position Sunday to help replace Roddy White and Julio Jones.
“What I’m doing right now is that I’m practicing a lot of ‘either or’ scenarios,” Armstrong said. “We’re in a mode where we are trying to go two-deep everywhere, and we’re preparing everybody so that we can make the adjustments.”
Etc.: Quarterback Matt Ryan is 34-7 (.829) in home starts and has won 12 of his past 15 starts at the Georgia Dome. … This season, Ryan has completed 70.2 percent of the passes he has thrown to tight end Tony Gonzalez (33 of 47), which is the second highest completion percentage of any receiver with at least 45 targets. … Cornerback Asante Samuel has three interceptions in the past three games against Tampa Bay. … Safety William Moore leads the team in tackles with 47, according to the coaches film review. … Rookie cornerback Desmond Trufant leads the team with five pass breakups. … Bucs running back Doug Martin he rushed for 142 yards and a touchdown in his last game against the Falcons.
About the Author
