They are in trouble on Defence, Samuel is hurt and dinged up, now Biermann and Weatherspoon out. Damn. We better have a good day rushing the ball and use some PA passes. With Jackson and their starting FB out, that's a big deal protection wise. Rodgers isn't know to be the best pass blocker and now he has to do it. We can wear him out when he's not touching the ball by making him block all day. Ryan better be on his butt all day with hits. If White is slowed by the high ankle sprain and Gonzalez hasn't looked himself yet, we should have a great chance at slowing them down on offence. I agree with the earlier poster, this is going from a could win to we better win. The injury bug should really hurt them. Plus our home opener with our fans and a 2-0 start. Damn I wish I was in Miami this weekend.
Yeah dude you are right. I thought because CBS had the doubleheader this past week that Fox would have it this week. Guess it's back to the stream.
Keep an eye on whether he practices Wednesday and Thursday. If he doesn't, then White is playing to be more of a decoy.
Their over/under win total at the start of the year was 9.5. People are starting to realize that Matt Ryan's a fraud.
Looks like scattered T-Storms all weekend long in Miami, a bad weather game would be even better If Ryan played for the Colts yesterday he might've gotten sacked 6-8 times, and Ryan's protection won't be as good as Luck's was. That hyper aggressive defense, in a stadium that will be packed and loud for a change, Falcons coming in battered and bruised with a home night game vs Tom Brady next week, sounds like a win to me.
The difference in this game is going to be the HEAT and HUMIDITY and the guys in the trenches. Expect a war in the 1st half and an Atlanta lead at halftime. Then a typical September home game 2nd half when we had good teams and the best home record in September of All-Time. 1:00PM is no different than 4:00PM in South Florida...It is planet Mercury. The crowd will be pumped - The game Sold Out - The Team will be pumped this has all the right mixture for 3-0 - All the way down to not having to tackle Stephen Jackson all day long. The Atlanta trenches will wilt, our D-Line will start to have their way. Matt Ryan is a stationary QB. These are signs that point bad for Atlanta. RELEASE THE KRACKEN !! Cam Wake led Dolphins beat Atlanta... Miami wins its home opener and starts 3-0.
Agreed Gm, We need to hit the statue all game. If we can get out to an early lead and make them totally one dimensional we could get lots of hits and picks in this game. Grimes on Jones is going to be big. Bracket coverage on Jones and Gonzalez unless we feel he isn't an issue. White hopefully isn't at full strength. I don't hope for injuries but if guys are hurt already we need to take advantage of them.
Local guys here on Atlanta radio expressing concerns about the injuries and what it does to their superbowl expectations. They also just said Kansas City and Miami are pretenders and won't make the playoffs. Carl Dukes/Kordell Stewart thinking that Atlanta will still roll over Miami despite the injuries.
Ian Rapoport @RapSheet6m More not-so-great news for the #Falcons? RB Steven Jackson (thigh) may miss 2-4 weeks, source says. Officially viewed as week-to-week though Don't know if he'd be better for us playing hurt or not ??
It was something along the line that if you look at them in the last 4 years their numbers are not impressive. That they tend to beat up on weak teams, however not do too well against stronger teams.
Isn't that the really nice dude that we all liked and was rooting for , if so, good boost to team morale, he was very well liked last year.
yeah looks that torn ACL is behind him, wasn't he last years AJ Francis ? kid flashed in preseason if i remember correctly
Yeah, great character guy, Ireland Didnt want to part with him..there was just something about him, besides some endearing qualities, he flashed an incredible motor, is very strong, and has an incredibly built physique.
ACL and MCL. Tore them in Jets training camp last year. He was just waived by the Saints. http://www.canalstreetchronicles.com/2013/8/31/4680182/saints-roster-cuts-2013-isaako-aaitui
So it seems as though Soliai won't be playing on Sunday http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/s...ns-dt-paul-soliai-knee-could-miss-sund/nZzTn/
Other sources have said its too early to tell. Still, at least its a short term injury. Plus, we have Odrick and Starks. Hurts the run defense, but Atlanta certainly wont be running the way that they would have before anyways. In fact, if we're in nickle most of the game, would Soliai have been on the field much anyways?
It is early, but with the depth we have at DT there is no need to rush him. Patterson started last week the same way, and while he was active he didn't play in the game. If Jackson wasn't hurt this would sting more, but it still will affect the run D.
We need to remember...this is a revenge game for our #1 CB...he knows these guys...I say he has a big day and scores some points.
Maybe, maybe not, but what they HAVE shown is they don't shy away from a tough, back-and-forth game, and can adjust with the punches. Patterson was dressed but didn't play...he was there if they thought they REALLY needed him, and they obviously didn't, so I think that says something about their confidence in their coaching ability and players...and it worked (thank God!).
That was only one comment. I think the Falcon fans for the most part gave their honest opinion on the game. Obviously they haven't followed the Dolphins as closely as they have followed their own team. Based on the records of the two teams over the past few years, I can certainly understand why these Falcon fans would expect their team to beat the Dolphins. Most Dolphin fans believe that the Dolphins have a very legitimate chance of beating the Falcons. So basically it comes down to the fans of each of these teams expressing comments which support their own team. There is certainly nothing unusual about that.
True jw3102... They've beat us up a couple times. Luckily that was a much different team. As dangerous as Julio is, I'm just as concerned about Gonz. Dude has always burned us, going back to KC. How the heck do we stop him? I say we double-up on Julio and Gonz, and go man against White and Douglas. If Soliai is out this week, I think Starks is gonna have a monster game. He is surely out to prove a point, and that would give him the stage.
That's basically what we did with Wayne and Fleener so thinking we may approach Jones and Gonzo in the same manner makes sense. As I think about it, this opponent may be very similar to Indy. They both have very good QBs, a very good #1 WR and a good TE. They will both be missing their top RB and should have below average run games. (Atlanta would be much better offensively if White and Jackson were healthy, but we're talking about this Sunday). Overall, they have both been top third offenses. Defensively, both have been bottom third defenses overall, but Atlanta has been better against the run. Atlanta has allowed a few more points per game. Atlanta should be further hurt against the pass with the loss of Biermann. The differences are that Luck was a much stronger and more mobile QB and that Atlanta's pass rush seems weaker. I do think Atlanta has a better WR in Jones and a better long pass game. That long game could be a concern if Clemons is out, but the less mobile QB will help us as those types tend to give us problems. We've also struggled with giving up too much pass pressure so their's being lessened helps. Before the season I had Atlanta as tougher game for us than Indy, but with the injuries my opinion is reversed. I still see it as a close game, but I give us the advantage. I also gave us a slight advantage against the Colts and I think we have an even better chance of beating Atlanta.
we are pretty banged up too btw, 15 players on the injury report, but i would guess only Paul, Clemons really questionable, i'm worried about clemons, a backup S against Ryan could spell doom
We don't have the secondary to cover what they have effectively...the key is to get to Ryan. The later the day gets and the more fatigue sets in - the easier that will become. Hopefully, we'll blitz like mad men early in the game and rush 4 or 5 later. Hope Sols is ready to go, because a 3 man Ro at DT will be nice. We'll see how the weather goes...you never know down here. Monsoon or Mercury HOT as @##@. I like our chances, they are one banged up football team and in key areas. We have generally been able to stay relatively healthy and after the Keller thing, we deserve that.