The Falcons played hard in this game before coming up just a bit short yesterday.  Matt Ryan completed 26 of 40 passes for 199 yards with 2 TD passes and 2 interceptions.  Michael Turner had one of his toughest games of the season as he only finished with 42 yards rushing on 18 carries (2.3 ypc) with a TD run.  He also lost a fumble that was returned for a TD.  Roddy White (11 rec, 84 yards, TD) and Michael Jenkins (5 rec, 51 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Falcons yesterday.  The Falcons finished up with 60 yards rushing on 24 carries (2.5 ypc) and they also completed 24 of 40 passes for 190 yards.

Linebacker Coy Wire and safety Erik Coleman led the way for the Falcons on defense with 8 tackles apiece.  The Cardinals finished up with 86 yards rushing on 28 carries (3.1 ypc) and they also completed 19 of 32 passes for 271 yards.

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23-year old rookie QB Matt Ryan was outstanding for the Falcons this season as he led them to the playoffs.  Ryan played in 16 games (all starts) this season and he completed 265 for 434 (61.1%) for 3,440 yards with 16 TD passes and 11 interceptions (87.7 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 55 times for 104 yards (1.9 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Ryan is such a beacon in the darkness that was the Falcons the last couple of seasons due to Michael Vick spending time in prison for dog fighting.  Now the Falcons can get rid of Vick once and for all and move on.

31-year old Chris Redman will likely be the backup for the Falcons again next season despite not playing a down in 2008.  He has played in 17 games (10 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 195 of 347 passes (56.2%) for 2,190 yards with 17 TD passes and 10 interceptions (79.5 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 21 times for 28 yards (1.3 ypc).

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This should be a great matchup.  In week #4 the Panthers pounded the Falcons 24-9 in Carolina.  But, the Panthers have not really played too well on the road this season.  They are 2-2 on the road but they have been outscored 77-56 in those games.  The Falcons have really been a great home team as they are 4-1 in Atlanta and they have outscored the opponents 148-99!  The Panthers will likely attempt to keep the ball on the ground with D’Angelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart who each rushed for over 100 yards last week.  The Falcons allow 119.6 yards rushing per game and 4.9 ypc so the Panthers should have some success on the ground tomorrow.  The Panthers must keep DE John Abraham (11 sacks) out of their backfield or Jake Delhomme could have some trouble.  The Falcons allow 226.4 yards passing per game this season so if Delhomme has time to throw then Steve Smith and Mushin Muhammad could have big games.

The Falcons’ offensive line has been great this season as they have only allowed 12 sacks while averaging 153.4 yards rushing per game.  The Panthers are allowing 107.6 yards rushing per game this season and 4.0 ypc so Michael Turner and Jerious Norwood should have good games.  The Falcons must keep DE Julius Peppers (9 sacks) out of the backfield to give Matt Ryan time to throw the ball.  Ryan better be careful because the Panthers have more interceptions (9) then the opponents have TD passes (8).  Still, Ryan will be looking for Roddy White often as he is having a monster season.

PREDICTION:  ATLANTA FALCONS 30, CAROLINA PANTHERS 27

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The Atlanta Falcons have taken off the training wheels for rookie QB Matt Ryan and he’s been rewarding them.  He has played in 9 games for the Falcons this season and he has completed 149 of 250 passes (59.6%) for 1,909 yards with 11 TD passes and 5 interceptions (89.9 QB Rating).  Ryan has also carried the ball 26 times for 54 yards (2.1 ypc) this season.  Ryan will likely be one of the best QBs in the NFL in the near future if the Falcons can get him a legit TE and another WR to go with Roddy White.

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The Broncos (5-4) and Falcons (6-3) are both having good seasons and this is a huge game for both of them.  The Broncos will likely come out throwing the ball this week seeing how they will be starting rookie fullback Peyton Hillis at tailback.  Jay Cutler should have success throwing the ball against the Falcons as they allow 228.4 yards passing per game.  The Broncos’ O-Line has been terrific this season allowing only 7 sacks but DE John Abraham (11 sacks) will have his sites on Jay Cutler all game long.  If Cutler has time to throw the ball Brandon Marshall, Eddie Royal and TE Tony Scheffler could all be in line for big games.

The Falcons will come out doing what they are best at and that’s running the ball against a Broncos’ defense that is allowing 146.3 yards rushing per game and 5.1 yards per carry.  The Broncos don’t have the linebackers to deal with Michael Turner and Jerious Norwood.  If the Broncos sneak up to stop the run, look for rookie QB Matt Ryan to go over the top to Roddy White and Michael Jenkins against the Broncos who are allowing 242.8 yards passing per game.  Opposing QBs have a stunning 103.2 QB Rating against the Broncos this season.

PREDICTION:  ATLANTA FALCONS 34, DENVER BRONCOS 30

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The Falcons have lost 26-year old WR/PR Adam Jennings off waivers to the Lions.  This is not much of a loss for the Falcons as Jennings never lived up to his potential in Atlanta.  Jennings played in 7 games for the Falcons this season and he didn’t catch any passes.  He did however return 23 punts for a whopping 151 yards (6.6 avg).  In three years with the Falcons, Jennings played in 38 games and caught 6 passes for 62 yards (10.3 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He also returned 53 punts for 337 yards (6.4 avg) and 24 kickoffs for 551 yards (23.0 avg).  This is not much of a loss for the Falcons.

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The Falcons are a surprising 4-3 on the season while the Raiders are 1-1 under new head coach Tom Cable.  The Falcons will likely attack the Raiders on the ground first with Michael Turner (655 yards rushing, 4.5 ypc, 6 TDs) and Jerious Norwood (285 yards rushing, 6.3 ypc) as the Raiders allow 144.1 yards rushing per game and 4.5 ypc.  As soon as the Raiders cheat up to stop the Falcons running game look for rookie QB Matt Ryan to throw deep on play action getting the ball to Roddy White.  White has been unstoppable this season and the Raiders allow 218.4 yards passing per game.

The Raiders will also come out running the football as they average 129.3 yards rushing per game and 4.3 yards per carry.  The Falcons’ defense doesn’t really do anything well allowing 128.6 yards rushing per game and 232.9 yards passing per game so this could be the game that JaMarcus Russell plays well.  Coach Cable has wanted to take the training wheels off of Russell and this is the perfect opportunity to do it.

PREDICTION:  ATLANTA FALCONS 24, OAKLAND RAIDERS 20

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The Falcons did a great job on offense last week and it covered up for a porous defense that allowed the Packers to roll up 408 total yards of offense.  Michael Turner was the main man for the offense last week as he carried the ball 26 times for 121 yards (4.7 ypc) with a TD run as the Falcons rolled up 176 yards rushing as a team on 36 carries (4.9 ypc).  Rookie QB Matt Ryan was very efficient completing 16 of 26 passes for 194 yards with 2 TD passes and a interception.  WR Roddy White was solid as usual for the Falcons with 132 yards receiving on 8 grabs (16.5 avg) with a TD grab.  The Falcons’ O-Line deserves a lot of credit in this game as they didn’t allow a sack in this game.  The defense did give up 304 yards passing to the Packers but it didn’t hurt them in the end as they still won the game.  The Falcons are now a surprising 3-2 on the season.

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Both of these teams are 2-2 on the season and the matchups look close in this football game.  But, the Falcons have not played well on the road getting beat by a identical 24-9 final score by each the Buccaneers and Panthers on the road.  Still, the Packers are allowing 157.8 yards rushing per game (5.2 ypc) and that will play right into the Falcons’ hands.  Michael Turner (422 yards rushing, 5.5 ypc) and Jerious Norwood (237 yards rushing, 7.0 ypc) will likely have big games against the Packers.  If the Falcons get the running game going, look for Matt Ryan to take some shots deep to WRs Roddy White and Michael Jenkins.  The Packers have 8 interceptions this season already so Ryan must be careful where he goes with the football.

Aaron Rodgers has a bum right shoulder and he will be a game time decision tomorrow.  The Packers can’t afford to be without Rodgers because rookies Matt Flynn and Brian Brohm to not appear ready for prime time quite yet.  Even if Rodgers does play the Packers will likely have to keep the passing game short so Greg Jennings, Donald Driver and James Jones will have to venture over the middle of the field.  The Packers might run the ball a lot more than usual with Ryan Grant and Brandon Jackson against a Falcons’ defense that is allowing 131.3 yards rushing per game and 4.6 yards per carry.

PREDICTION:  GREEN BAY PACKERS 21, ATLANTA FALCONS 20

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The Falcons got pushed around last Sunday in Carolina.  Matt Ryan had a subpar game completing 21 of 41 passes for 158 yards.  The Panthers also ganged up on Michael Turner who rushed for only 56 yards on 18 carries (3.1 ypc).  Jerious Norwood should have gotten the ball more against the Panthers as he carried the ball only three times and rushed for 51 yards (17.0 ypc).  WR Roddy White led the way for the Falcons in the passing game with 7 catches for 90 yards (12.9 avg).  The Falcons finished up with 118 yards rushing on 23 carries (5.1 ypc) and they also completed 21 of 41 passes for 150 yards.

The Falcons’ defense did not play well in this game especially against the passing game of the Panthers.  CB Brent Grimes (10 tackles) and LB Curtis Lofton (8 tackles) led the way for the Falcons on defense in this game.  The Panthers finished up with 107 yards rushing on 33 carries (3.2 ypc) and they also completed 20 of 29 passes for 294 yards.  The Falcons fell to 2-2 on the season with this loss.

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