Cincinnati wide receiver A.J. Green is the Bengals’ prime offensive weapon.
He came through with a big 77-yard touchdown catch with 4:58 to play to carry the Bengals to a 23-16 victory over Baltimore on Sunday.
The Falcons’ young cornerbacks Robert Alford and Desmond Trufant will be on the hot seat as they both will spend some time in coverage on Green, a former University of Georgia standout.
“Of all of the players on defense, he played the cleanest game and made some plays down the field (against the Saints),” Falcons defensive coordinator Mike Nolan said of Trufant.
Alford and Trufant also likely will receive some help from safety William Moore.
“They have some young guys on the edge who can really run and play,” Green said. “With William Moore back there, they have one of the best safeties out there. He’s going to come up and hit. They are a real talented group on the back end.”
Green knows that Moore had the big forced fumble in overtime against the Saints last week.
“He’s like a linebacker playing safety,” Green said. “He’s always all over the field. He’s so active. It’s really hard to find a safety that’s so active. He’s someone, who can run and hit.”
Nolan knows the Falcons’ defense, which gave up 333 yards passing to the Saints, must do a much more credible job on Green.
“They are using the read-option and a lot of the passes that come off of it,” Nolan said. “He’s a similar player to Julio Jones here. Not the same, but a similar guy. He’s kind of a Avatar guy in the movie. He’s just bigger than everybody, taller and just a step above athletically.”
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