In two months, Saints tight end Ben Watson will turn 35.
But that didn’t stop the veteran from roaming through the Falcons secondary like some fresh-faced kid on Oct 15, when he picked up a career-high 127 yards on 10 catches in the Falcons’ 31-21 loss that knocked them from the ranks of the unbeaten.
The Falcons know they opened a scouting Pandora’s box that night and expect Tennessee try to exploit the same openings that Watson found in the Falcons’ man and zone defenses when the two teams meet Sunday in Nashville.
Old nemesis Delanie Walker, who tormented the Falcons’ linebackers and safeties when he was a 49er in the NFC championship game in 2012, is Tennessee’s leading receiver.
“Delanie is doing a nice job,” Whisenhunt said. “He had a big game for us last week. I think he caught eight or nine balls. He’s doing some good things.”
Three years ago, Walker and tight end Vernon Davis led San Francisco’s charge from 17-0 deficit that kept the Falcons from making their second trip to the Super Bowl. Davis had six catches for 106 yards while Walker had a big 20-yard reception on the touchdown drive when the 49ers took a 24-21 lead early in the third quarter.
The Titans, who are definitely not those 49ers, have dropped four straight after a season-opening win over Tampa Bay. But rookie quarterback Marcus Mariota has been able to connect with his tight ends. Walker has 22 catches for 244 yards and one touchdown while Anthony Fasano has nine catches for 129 yards and one touchdown.
The Falcons know what’s coming and that’s one reason they signed speedy linebacker Philip Wheeler on Tuesday. Coaches are force-feeding him the playbook with the hopes of getting some more speed on the field on Sunday.
“Delanie Walker is more like a receiving tight end,” defensive coordinator Richard Smith said. “He goes downtown. He might be the quarterback’s favorite target. … He is very much a weapon.”
The Falcons have a plan.
“We feel that they will utilize (Walker) and try to attack us in that area because of last week as the tight end had so many catches in the New Orleans game,” Smith said. “We’ll be prepared for that.”
Over the mini-bye week, Falcons coaches went over their rules to close down holes for tight ends.
“There were a number of different things that we can surely do better to make sure that doesn’t (happen again),” Falcons coach Dan Quinn said. “There were some man-to-man, some zones that we didn’t play as well as we’d like. Then moving ahead, we have terrific respect for Delanie Walker. No. 1 is the speed that he has. He’s a real factor.”
The Falcons began working with Wheeler, an eight-year NFL veteran from Georgia Tech, minutes after he signed. He received reps at practice on Wednesday. They are also still hopeful that Justin Durant can return in time from his elbow injury.
In addition to Wheeler and Durant, the Falcons are moving Ricardo Allen back to free safety. They started rookie Robenson Therezie in the position against the Saints.
“At the end of the day, it comes down to communication,” Allen said. “That’s what really beat us a lot. We were out there and playing on mute. When you’re in the game and you’re playing on mute, nothing really good can happen from that.”
Linebacker Paul Worrilow believes the defense can repair the tight end glitch.
“There are things that we have to fix from last week that we are dialed in on,” Worrilow said. “If we go out and make mistakes like that again, it doesn’t matter who the quarterback is when you keep shooting yourself in the foot.”
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