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.