Rookie defensive end Ra’shede Hageman and linebacker Prince Shembo gained some confidence from the defense’s ability to slow down Pittsburgh’s Le’Veon Bell in the 27-20 loss to the Steelers on Sunday.
The Falcons held the Steelers’ fine running back to 47 yards on 20 carries and hope they can build on that performance against New Orleans running back Mark Ingram.
“Oh yeah, the fact is that we know we can stop the run,” Hageman said. “We just have to do our jobs. Whatever we did last week, we just have to use that to our advantage.”
The Falcons have been some success against the run before. They held Arizona to 35 yards rushing, but then allowed Green Bay to rush for 179 yards on 30 carries in the next game.
The Saints averaged 120.9 yards rushing per game, which ranks ninth in the league. Ingram is 131 yards away from his first 1,000-yard season and is averaging 4.4 yards per carry.
“We just have to study the film and keep focusing,” Shembo said. “We have to play with the same discipline that we had last week and take it on the field this week. Ingram’s a versatile back. He makes a decision quickly and goes with it.”
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