Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta Falcons

Bucs to test run defense

By
Sept 16, 2014

The Falcons are giving up 154.4 yards rushing per game, which ranks 26th in the league.

“There is no rule against whipping a block and making a play,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said. “That’s something that we’ve got to get better at. I think everybody has kind of been feeling their way around now. . … We’ve got to cut it loose and go make plays especially in our run defense.”

Tampa Bay running back Bobby Rainey rushed for 163 yards against the Falcons last season.

“This is a good running team,” Smith said. “(Tampa Bay coach) Lovie (Smith) is going to try to run the football. They’ve got two backs. We anticipate the Doug Martin will be back and Rainey, we had a hard time tackling him when we played them last year in Tampa.”

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Honored by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his "long and distinguished reporting in the field of pro football," D. Orlando Ledbetter, Esq. has covered the NFL 28 seasons. A graduate of Howard University, he's a winner of Georgia Sportswriter of the Year and three Associated Press Sports Editor awards.

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