Scouting the Enemy: Cat Scratch Reader gives us some intel on Falcons

by MaPatsFan on Sep 24, 2009 12:47 PM EDT in New England Patriots News

A few days before gameday. This is a big one, in my mind. Tom Brady and the offense have looked a bit out of sorts, so it'll be interesting to see how this pans out.

As a new feature for this week's matchup, SB Nation bloggers are sharing intel on upcoming matchups with our upcoming opponent's previous rival, the Carolina Panthers in this case. I contacted Jaxon, blogger at Cat Scratch Reader, for some advice on playing the Falcons:

Focus on DE John Abraham and you can limit their pressure on the QB

LB Mike Peterson has provided a leadership boost so need to limit his impact somehow

Must stop RB Michael Turner or they will kill you with the play action to TE Tony Gonzales or WR Roddy White

Speaking of Gonzales, Ryan already has him on speed dial. Pray you can keep him from completely destroying you.

The Falcons o-line is better than advertised or our d-line is just weak. (Don't answer that)

QB Ryan can make mistakes so the secondary will have chances to get their hands on the ball

Delhomme threw for 300 yards so Brady should make his Fantasy owners happy this week.

Hmm... Tony Gonzales and Matt Ryan sound like a duo to watch out for. Hopefully, our CB corps are up to the challenge. Just coming off a loss to a blitzing, pass rushing team, I think limiting John Abraham is on the money. Thanks to Jaxon at Cat Scratch Reader for his info and insights.

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this should be a good offensive game.

if brady plays better.

by patriotguy on Sep 24, 2009 2:19 PM EDT reply actions

Brady to Moss = Victory

I think it is a simple formula

Jack of all trades-Master of None.....

by Yardpenalty.com on Sep 24, 2009 4:39 PM EDT reply actions

brady to moss, welker, and anyone else as well.

by patriotguy on Sep 24, 2009 6:16 PM EDT up reply actions

awesome write up

and cool feature. Jaxon is a good guy, I enjoy blogging with him, a very friendly and fun rival fan.

I think it’s cool how opposing teams have noted the impact of our off-season acquisitions (and it should be noteworthy coming from a fan who is used to their team playing us twice a year). Brian Williams, our FA CB acquisition is also pretty solid in coverage but is a bit slow, not the best option for matching up with NE receivers (but unfortunately, the best option we have).

I really don’t think the Panthers D-Line is weak as Peppers is a player that could be a nightmare for most. Sam Baker, or other first round pick from last season, was handling Peppers and one of the Panthers linebackers 2 on one at one point. The kid has pro-bowl potential, but makes a lot of mistakes. The weakness in the O-Line is at Justin Blalock, the LG that lines up next to Baker. All of our sacks and most of our QB hurries have come from inside the left side, his responsibility.

The Falcons strength on defense is the front 7. The 4 guys around them are what make most of us fans a little nervous. Successfully stretching the field is the key to picking apart this defense.

know what you believe in and why you believe in it

by MentallyMIA on Sep 25, 2009 12:39 AM EDT reply actions

Good points

In your opinion, how is the Falcons’ pass rush? We don’t see you guys a heck of a lot (once every 4 years) so it’s a little hard to gauge.

Blogger at SBNation's Patriots blog, Pats Pulpit

by MaPatsFan on Sep 25, 2009 7:46 AM EDT up reply actions

the Falcons pass rush is actually really good with the right personell

and this is solely referring to the front 4. Abraham and Biermann (the only white guy on defense, he’s a no name right now, but you can’t miss him – he got 2 sacks and a forced fumble against Miami’s Chad Pennington). The Panther’s O-Line was able to keep them quiet after they managed 4 sacks on the Phins (2 from Abraham, 2 from Biermann), but there were many occasions where Babineaux (our veteran DT who had 2 sacks last season) was in Delhomme’s face last week and Abraham and Biermann are often seen running around in the backfield.

Nicholas and Mike Peterson (our two OLBs) are very fast, but they rarely get pulled out of coverage. When they do, they normally wind up in the QBs face (I believe Nicholas has a sack this season). Brian VanGorder (our DC) has been known for occasionally throwing in a CB blitz and the Falcons have a lot of really fast CBs (Brent Grimes got a sack in the preseason on Phillip Rivers and Chris Owens, our rookie CB ran a 4.3 40 at the combine).

know what you believe in and why you believe in it

by MentallyMIA on Sep 25, 2009 5:20 PM EDT up reply actions