After whirlwind start, Falcons get a chance to exhale

After opening the season at a whirlwind pace that called for three games in 12 days, the Falcons, after pummeling the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, get a chance to exhale.

“The schedule-makers didn’t do us any favors,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said. “However they put them out there, you got to go play them.”

The Falcons opened the season by pulling out a thrilling 37-34 overtime victory over the rival New Orleans Saints on Sept. 7.

On Sept. 14, the Falcons traveled to Cincinnati and nearly were pushed into the Ohio River by the Bengals in a 24-10 loss. The final score could have been much more embarrassing had the Bengals converted in the red zone early or if they hadn’t missed three field-goal attempts.

Then, with only three days of rest, the Falcons faced Tampa Bay in a division game that’s normally hard-fought. They jumped all over the Bucs, opening a 56-0 lead on their way to a resounding 56-14 victory. The 56 points were the second-most scored in franchise history.

The domination was so complete that Smith was stunned when he was able to pull his starters with 4:59 left in the third quarter.

“I think that our guys handled it extremely well,” said Smith of the quirky schedule.

When the schedule came out in April, the Falcons started to plan for how to handle the arduous opening of the season. After finishing a disappointing 4-12 last season, a good start was a high priority for the franchise, which soon will begin selling premium-seat licenses for the new stadium.

“There was a plan in place in terms of how we were going to work these guys,” Smith said. “Not only on the football field, but in the classroom and in the weight room.”

The Falcons didn’t have any physical practices before the Tampa Bay game. They wanted the players’ bodies to recover from a rugged game against the Bengals as much as possible.

“I think that it paid dividends for us,” Smith said.

While the coaches were back at work Friday morning, the players have the weekend off. They’ll return to practice Monday and start preparing for a game against the Minnesota Vikings at 4:25 p.m. Sept. 28 in Minneapolis.

“Going into the little mini-bye being 2-1 is going to let us get healthy, as healthy as we can early in the season,” center Joe Hawley said. “This comes at a perfect time.”

The Falcons were stunned by how quickly they were able to dispose of Tampa Bay.

“Those are hard to come by in the NFL,” Hawley said. “Everybody is good. Whenever you get up big like that, it’s fun. It’s fun to roll.”

Smith was gratified that the defense started to show signs of improvement against the Bucs. After giving up nearly 1,000 yards in the first two games, the defense held the Bucs to one touchdown and just 217 yards.

Defensive tackle Corey Peters, who’s coming back from a ruptured Achilles, had a monster game with a sack and four tackles for losses.

“He did a very good job when he wasn’t creating the pressure or getting a sack, he freed some things up because they did start to slide the protection to him,” Smith said.

Before facing the Bucs, the Falcons were the only team in the league without a sack. They recorded three in the rout.

“It goes back to stopping the run,” Smith said. “When you stop the run, you force them in to passing situations. You’re playbook is much bigger on the defensive side when you (put the offense in) passing situations. There are different ways that you can attack them.”

The Vikings are one of the teams that have been affected by off-the-field issues.

Their star running back Adrian Peterson was indicted for child-abuse charges in Texas. After the team initially said he “deserved to play,” Peterson was placed on the exempt/commissioner’s permission list on Wednesday.

The indictment stems from the injuries he caused while spanking his 4-year-old son with a tree switch.

Unless there’s another quick turn, Peterson likely will not face the Falcons.

“I’m sure it changes what they are going to try to do,” Smith said. “(Norv) Turner is their offensive coordinator. He’s been doing it a long time in the NFL. I’m pretty sure that he’ll figure out ways to put the ball in the hands of their playmakers. They’ve got some other playmakers besides Adrian Peterson.”

They don’t have another who was only 14 games removed from a 2,097-yard rushing and MVP-winning season.

The Falcons don’t believe they can afford to take the Vikings lightly, with or without Peterson.