| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Friday, September 24 War Room: Falcons at Rams The War Room Atlanta offense vs. St. Louis defense Tthe Rams defense is definitely coming into its own, particularly along the defensive line. Defensive ends Grant Wistrom and Kevin Carter are both quick, explosive players who are strong at the point of attack. Carter in particular is developing ferocious pass rushing skills and could give Atlanta trouble. In the middle, defensive tackles D'Marco Farr and Ray Agnew are both strong against the run and could give Hanspard fits. The Rams' front four is one of the teams' strong points, but depth is a concern here, and this could hurt the team late in the game if the Falcons are running the ball to hold onto a lead. The Rams will need to pressure Chris Chandler, who is not comfortable throwing on the run, and will attempt to do so with a variety of blitz packages. The only risk in doing so is that this will expose the secondary to single coverage situations. Look for the Rams' linebackers to try and jam O.J. Santiago at the line of scrimmage in order to prevent him from running deep seam routes.
St. Louis offense vs. Atlanta defense After the Falcons' 0-2 start, one thing is for sure -- the defense is not to blame. The unit allowed only 14 points in a Week 1 loss to the Vikings. In Monday night's loss to the Cowboys, one Dallas touchdown was the return of a Danny Kannell interception, while another was set up by the return of a Tony Graziani interception to the Atlanta 10 yard line. The Falcon front seven put up a valiant fight against a well-honed Dallas offensive unit, and kept the Falcons in the game until the end. This week, the unit will face an offensive line with one of the best up-and-coming LOTs in the game in Orlando Pace. Cornerbacks Ray Buchanan and Ronnie Bradford will face a stern test against a deep Rams receiving corps. With the Rams deep speed on the outside, defensive coordinator Rich Brooks will have to see that his corners get help from the safeties. At the same time this opens up the middle for big plays to Rams TE Roland Williams. Atlanta's linebackers, particularly ROLB Keith Brooking, have the speed to take Williams out of the game -- the Falcons defense has to pay careful attention to Williams in goal-line situations, as he caught a short TD pass in Week 1. Atlanta needs to put pressure on Rams QB Kurt Warner and not give him time to look for his dangerous receivers. In the past, Atlanta has been able to do so without taking big risks in the secondary. LDE Lester Archambeau and RDE Chuck Smith have shown the ability to pressure the passer in one-on-one situations and should have success doing so this week against the Rams. A guy to watch is rookie pass rush specialist Patrick Kerney, who may see more time this week, as the Falcons defense has only two sacks in the first two games. Kerney is an athletic speed rusher who will only see action in passing situations, but who could make a positive impact for the Falcons. Special teamsAtlanta KOR Tim Dwight is one of the most explosive special team players in the NFL. Although Dwight has yet to break one this year, it is only a matter of time before he does. The Rams will undoubtedly kick away from Dwight -- in Week 1, the team punted out of bounds four times to avoid kicking to Jermane Lewis. The Rams have a dangerous punt return guy of their own in Az Hakim. Hakim was solid against the Ravens, and broke a 35-yard gain midway through the third quarter. Returning kicks for the Rams is Tony Horne, who averaged 20.3 yards per return against Baltimore. Atlanta PK Morton Anderson is getting up in years and missed a game tying field goal against the Vikings. Given the anemic state of the Falcon offense of late, Anderson needs to revert to his old, reliable self if the Falcons are to win the tight games. Key matchups Agnew is one of the better run-stuffing tackles in the NFL, and could play an integral part in this game. Collins needs to control Agnew, because Hanspard does not have the quicks to get outside. He will earn his money running between the tackles, and Collins' ability to control Agnew will be key to the Falcons' success. Bruce is the go-to guy for the Rams, while the Falcons rely on Buchanan to take such players out of the game. Buchanan has a tendency to gamble and in such situations, either makes a big play, or gets burned deep. This winner of this match-up could put his team over the top. Pace had a big game against Ravens RDE Michael McCrary, but in McCrary's defense, he wasn't at the top of his game, having missed most of training camp in a prolonged contract dispute. Smith will be a much tougher test for Pace, and his ability or inability to control Smith could be the difference in this game.
Atlanta will win if...
St. Louis will win if...
The War Room edge
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|