FLOWERY BRANCH — As far as the Falcons are concerned, this weekend’s “Game of the Century” is in Indianapolis.
The Falcons (4-3) don’t plan to fall into the rather obvious trap when they face the winless Indianapolis Colts (0-8) at 1 p.m. Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium.
“You see it week in and week out, there are teams that can beat anybody on any given week,” quarterback Matt Ryan said. “Our focus has to be on preparation and making sure that we’re prepared.”
The Falcons are well aware of what happened to NFC South-rival New Orleans last week. Instead of taking the winless St. Louis Rams seriously, the Saints were beaten 31-21. Before the locals could get a cold Budweiser, the Rams were up 24-0 on the befuddled and sluggish Saints.
“I don’t think you pay too much attention to it, but it just kind of reinforces what this league is all about,” Ryan said. “Week in and week out, any football team can beat anybody. With that said, our mental approach doesn’t change. Week to week, we’ve got to prepare the same way.”
The Falcons want to keep the running game rolling, with Mike Cox taking over for Ovie Mughelli as the main lead blocker. Jason Snelling will share the role with Cox.
The Falcons leaned on running back Michael Turner in their past two games, and he delivered with two rushing efforts of more than 100 yards.
The blocking schemes must account for Colts’ middle linebacker Pat Angerer, who leads the NFL in tackles with 89.
“He was a tackling machine in college [at Iowa], and he’s doing the same thing in the NFL,” coach Mike Smith said. “He’s an undersized guy. He’s a 5-10, 5-11 guy that runs and hits.”
The Falcons’ defense held Detroit to 1-of-12 on third downs in their 23-16 victory Oct. 23. The unit wants to continue to improve its third-down numbers. The opposition has converted on 40 of 91 third downs (44 percent), which ranks 26th in the NFL. Indianapolis has converted 37 of 104 third downs ( 36 percent), which ranks 18th.
“We made a huge step [against Detroit] getting off the field on third downs,” said middle linebacker Curtis Lofton, who leads the team with 78 tackles, according to the coaches’ stats. “We have to continue to do that, get off the field on third downs. We have to tackle, and that’s really what we are focusing on.”
Against the Lions, the Falcons flashed a flurry of different defenses on third down. They started off blitzing and later won by dropping into coverage.
“As a defense, you don’t want to be predictable,” Lofton said. “You want to switch it up, mix in coverages and mix in blitzes. We have to keep doing what we did [against Detroit.]”
The Falcons consider the Colts dangerous because they’ll be at home after playing three consecutive road games.
“Every week, there is no team that is taken lightly,” offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey said. “I’m not going to say the Saints did that, but that’s what is so unique about the league. It’s competitive every week. Everybody has a chance to win, and I think that’s why this sport is as popular as it is because there are no gimmes in this league. If you’re not on top of your game, you’ve got a chance to get beat.”
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