Falcons center Alex Mack will be the X-factor Thursday night against the Bucs.
Mack has to set the blocking schemes and try to make sure that destructive Tampa Bay linebacker Kwon Alexander is accounted for and blocked. Otherwise, he’ll wreck the whole offense.
When the teams met in Week 1, Alexander almost single-handedly shut down the rushing attack. He had 17 tackles as the Falcons running backs amassed a season-low 42 yards on 19 carries.
“He’s a really good player,” Mack said. “He gets downhill really quickly. He’s kind of a smooth player. He’s a good linebacker. He made a lot of plays.”
The Falcons have rushed for more than 90 yards in six of eight games this season and need the rushing attack to get rolling to set up their play-action fakes and rollout pass plays.
“We are doing pretty well as an offense,” Mack said. “A lot of guys are making plays.”
Mack said that facing the Bucs, a team they’ve already played, makes a difference on the short week.
“You have a good ideal about who the players are and how they play against you,” Mack said. “You try to build on that pretty quickly.”
The Falcons have averaged 111.5 yards rushing per game, which ranks 14th in the NFL. The Bucs have allowed 115.3 yards rushing per game, which ranks 22nd.
Mack knows the Falcons must block better against the Bucs.
“We weren’t quite on our blocks quite as long as we probably wanted to be in the last game,” Mack said. “We have to work on that. Know your timing and really try to finish them.”
