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I am getting pumped up for next week and have noticed a few things on the Patriots team that can not be ignored.The Patriots are more of a passing team than running.Keys to the game:

1.Get a pass rush on Brady and make him throw the ball when he doesn't want to.Easier said than done.The Patriots despite rookie linemen on the offense still don't give up many sacks.If the falcon's don't get a rush on Brady the secondary could get picked apart.I mean for 350-400 yards against Brady.
2.Continue to have a balance attack.I know the running game looked good but that was Minnesota not New England.New England has not been getting pressure on the QB so this would be a good time for Vick to throw the ball.
3.Patriots after a loss - you can bet Billichek will have this team study hard this week.Champions don't become champions without some character.I only hope Mora prepares equally as hard.Billicheck given time can find a teams weaknesses and make you do what you don't want.Vick's passing game has got to be on since I think New England shuts down the Falcon running game.
4.This is a statement game i have said all along that you have to beat good teams consistently for yourself to become a champion.Will see how much character the Falcon's have.
5.Keeping up with Tampa and Philly -on a side note the falcon's must win and not let Tampa build on its one game lead.Philly is tied and I expect them to roll over team so the pressure is on for home field advantage.

After today's route the falcon's should be very confident but also keep in in respect to who they played a not very good viking team.New England has had a lot of personel changes so will see what they are made of. One trap the Falcon's could fall into in thinking they can run on any team which we saw last year in the playoffs quality defenses will take away your best asset.If they can't slow the falcon run attack down then the Falcon's could roll over the Patriot's. I think Vick(I expect him to play against the champs) will be out to prove he can pass on anyone and the Patriots are a god team to see how far he and the falcon's have come.

It's true the Patriots' back 7 is not as strong as it used to be. And they are susceptible to the run. They currently rank 23rd vs. the run (we rank 22nd), so there's a chance. But it is doubtful the Falcons will have the same kind of success running the ball vs. New England as we did vs. the Vikings.

Althoguh the Patriots have never played against Vick, I don't see them being intimidated at all by him like it seemed the Vikings were this past week. In the past, they've done a good job attacking QBs and turning their strengths into weaknesses. Their defense is clearly not as strong as it has been, but that doesn't mean we should underestimate their abilities.

I think the keys will be the same as they always seem to be:

1. Get off to a good start offensively. This doesn't mean we have to go up 14-0 on our first two drives like we did vs. Minnesota, but we need to show that we can move the ball, and hopefully get some points out of our initial drives (3, 7, 10?).

2. Do a better job stopping the run this week. Dillon hasn't really had any big games. His season high has been 63 yards, but I'm hoping we can have even greater success.

3. Put pressure on Brady. Brady can be forced into mistakes, but I don't think it's something that you can really rely on. I think the best way to stop him is to keep him from throwing the ball, which is sacking him!

Antonio Gates had a big game this past week (6 catches, 108 yards) as did LT (124 yds, 2 TDs). I think we're going to need similar performances by Crumpler and Dunn if we're going to have any chance of winning. It would probably be stupid to expect Vick to have a Brees-like game (79.5% comp%, 248 yds, 2 TDs), but he started off very well vs. Minnesota, and a similar start will go a very long way to a W.

Our first real test since the Eagles game...will be this coming Sunday against Tom Brady & the Patriots. After our stellar performance against the Vikings, it is hard to tell where our real weaknesses are on this team. Still, if we have any the Patriots will find them & exploit them mightily. What will be the points of attack for the Pats?

Their spread passing attack will give us fits because Brady gets rid of the ball quick & the Pats' O-line has the ability to slow down any pass rush. I think the key to stopping their passing game will be DeAngelo Hall. He has proven to be the most dangerous cover corner in the league right now with his 3 picks while in man coverage against 3 different teams. They will know where DeAngelo is on every play and they will challenge him a few times, but they will mostly be looking to go away from him in the passing game & we have to use that to our advantage.

Another issue will be Corey Dillon. No doubt he is a beast and we will have to contain him & try to keep Hartwell on the field more. Hartwell can cover Dillon in the passing game so I think we will see a lot more of him this Sunday than we have been. If we fall into that trap of playing nickel without our run defenders Dillon may have a huge day.

Our safeties will have to watch out for Brady going over the top. He doesn't miss those throws and if our DB is beat it's going to be a big problem. I'm hoping they use Carpenter to cover Webster's back because I doubt any of these WR's can beat Hall deep. The TD he gave up at the end against Minnesota was a fluke.

Offensively this is going to be a tough game. If Vick's passing is off or if our WR's can' get open, we're going to have a huge problem. We will not be able to run on the Pats like we have everyone else, it's just not going to happen. The 3-4 is the perfect weapon to keep Vick in the pocket and Vick won't be busting any big runs around the edge this week. Expect to see a guy coming off the corner on 80-90% of the plays we run to keep Vick honest. We're going to have to run the double TE or keep our RB's in more than any other game we play this year.

This is the best defense we're going to see this year bar none. Tampa, Philly, and some others are very good but the Patriots D is the most consistently solid D in the league. The Chargers game was a fluke. The Pats were coming off a very tough Steelers game, kind of like when we played the Eagles, and had lost 2 of their best players for the season. Let it be known, the Patriots will right their ship. They realize that we are the iminent threat to their dynasty right now and they will be coming to play this week..Expect Ashmore to be playing Right Tackle still because our best DE is on his side. Expect them to have someone playing a solid safety in place of Harrison. Expect them to contain Vick & force him to pass to Jenkins & Finn, because Crumpler will be double teamed religiously.

Vick will need to throw more of those sweet flare passes to Dunn. He will also need to use Finneran's size to his advantage. Vick will need to not key on Crumpler. He will also need to give Jenkins a lot of looks. Most importantly Vick will have to spread the ball around, make no mistakes, and run up the middle if it opens up. This game is, most importantly, show how good our coaches are really doing with this team. The Pats always have an excellent gameplay & show up prepared, and this game will test our coaching staff like no other game ever has.

"Working together, with our common faith, we cannot fail." -President Jimmy Carter

Brady does an excellent job spreading the ball around. Of course Givens and Branch are the focus of the passing game, but the Patriots don't have a problem going to a guy like Dwight, Watson, or another backup if they need a big play. And that's what scares me about their passing game. We're going to need all 5 corners to step up this week: Cash, Hall, Webster, Morton, and Rossum. In the season opener, the Raiders played a lot of zone against the Pats, which I thought was a huge mistake. The Pats WRs are quick and small and can easily find soft spots in zone coverages. I think the Falcons are going to have to bite the bullet and play a lot of man, which I've seen them do over the past few weeks.

Hall is definitely going to need to step up. I'm not sure you can say he's shut down anybody. T.O. had over 100 yards in Week 1, and although he didn't get into the endzone, he did have a pretty good game. Hall played well considering he was on an island with T.O., but he didn't shut him down. Darrell Jackson followed up with a good performance in Week 2, and Hall looked outmatched. Against the Bills, he played well, but he got a lot of help from Losman's poor passing and Mularkey's unwillingness to throw. This past week, the front 7 stepped up and put a lot of pressure on Culpepper, basically making Hall's job very easy. But I think if we're going to beat the Pats, he may need to have his best game yet.

I think one very key stat is this:

The Pats have not lost two games back to back since December 2002. But one positive, under Mora, the Falcons are 2-0 when they follow a home win with a consecutive home game.

I don't think you're giving Hall enough credit. T.O., since playing us, has gone on to catch as many TD's as our whole team, if not more. In the Seattle game we played a lot of zone and Hall wasn't on Jackson all game. He was, however, in the vicinity of one big play of about 40 yards. Bills & Vikings don't need mentioning, but the linemen said in interviews after the Vikings game that it's easy to sack the QB when the secondary is covering the receivers. D.Hall is tied for 2nd or 3rd in the league in INT's even though teams are trying to avoid throwing to his side of the field.

TO was shut down (7 catches in 20 passes to, 0 TD's, 1 INT), Jackson only had one really big play against Hall and a few short catches, and that TD against the Vikings was a fluke. To say D.Hall isn't playing at a Pro Bowl level is like saying Rod Coleman or DeMorrio Williams aren't playing at a Pro Bowl level. Is he Deion Sanders reincarnated? No, because he will come up & flatten a RB, but he is as dominant a corner as there is in the NFL right at this moment...which is scary since he's a 2nd year player.

i think both teams are going to play hard. it's a pivotal game for both teams. one is percieved as on the decline and out to prove they are still the champions. especially after a such bad loss they are going to be fired up. the other is a team on the rise who want to prove they are an elite team. they are playing at home and will be fired up after a big win. the falcons will be almost as pumped for this game as the eagles. there's no vengeance here but still they should be hungry to defeat the champs. its gonna get ugly. i really like the way the falcons are playing. i gotta give them the slight edge.17-14 falcons.

Saying the Pats have the best D in the league may have been true at one time, but not now, nor is that Defense built to stop our offense. To stop Vick you need speed and they don't have what Philly and Tampa have (The only two teams that consistantly give use trouble). The reason they have been so good is their scheme AND their players. Well they don't have really any of those players and the schemes that could break down Indy or Pitt passing attacks while stuffing a single type of back (Edge/Bettis) cannot handle throwing Vick into the mix. They had no answer for LT last week (although his longest run was only 11 yards), and Brees was not sacked and picked their 5th and 6th string DBs in the backfield apart. These are not the Dynasty Patriots to be sure. If Vick is healthy enough to run then the game should be another long one for NE.

MF1[/quote]

relax guys. i've got tickets. i've been to 7 falcons games the past 3 yrs and have never witnessed a loss. it's the karma.

btw this week was the first time I've seen the entire defense on the field at the same time. i think you guys may be underestimating the wallop we will pack this year on D.

also NE looks like they are missing Bruschi, and REALLY missing Weiss. he's showing what he brought to the table now at ND. i think NE has been doing it early this year with smoke and mirrors. we'll see Sunday.

Thank the powers that be that we have Karma on our side! Go GSUT!

MF1

More interesting stats I pulled off Patriots.com:

8
The number of consecutive victories the Patriots have earned in games played in domed stadiums, including wins in Super Bowls XXXVI and XXXVIII. The Patriots have not lost a dome game since Thanksgiving Day, 2000 at Detroit.

36.7
The average number of points the Patriots have scored in their last three dome games (40, 32 and 38).

8-0
Tom Brady’s record as a starter in dome games.

16-6
Tom Brady’s touchdown-to-interception numbers in his career in games played indoors.

97.4
Tom Brady’s career passer rating in games played indoors.

4.8
Corey Dillon’s average number of yards-per-carry in his career in domes, exactly a half-yard above his overall career average (4.3). Dillon has run 213 times for 1,012 yards in 12 career indoor games.


Belichick is a defensive guru, and he'll definitely implement something this week that is going to shut down Vick. The question becomes how well do his players execute it next week. The Patriots may not have a blazing fast front 7, but they aren't slow. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Patriots utilize a steady form of zone blitz. The Bills had limited success with it, and so did the Eagles

Key matchups:

Richard Seymour vs. Matt Lehr. With Wilfork lined up over McClure and Shaffer needing to block the OLB (most likely McGinest and Colvin), it will likely mean Lehr and Seymour will be matched up often in 1 on 1 situations. I see no reason why Seymour won't dominate this matchup.

Eugene Wilson/Mike Vrabel vs. Crumpler. I suspect Wilson will get much of the responsibility of shadowing Crumpler, but Vrabel will be used a lot.

Brady Smith vs. Nick Kaczur. Smith is no dominating pass rusher but he's capable of putting blindside pressure on QBs, and has done a good job over his career in forcing fumbles that way (last week vs. Culpepper, recall the Rams game last year). Kaczur is a rookie, so the Falcons have the chance to exploit him.

This week is going to be a good matchup. This might be the most important game of the season. Although the Patriots aren't as strong as they once were, I think there should be few doubts in any's mind that they still are going to be there come January. This is often the time of year they struggle. If you look at their 3 Super Bowl seasons, at this point in the year, they were a combined 7-5 (58% winning pct.). This is usually the time they start to turn things around, as they are 32-4 after this poiint (89%). So a 2-2 Patriots team is not a surprise at this point.

Wow, those are some discouraging stats.

I guess we will just have to rely on GSU's Karma

so are the Pats gonna come out in a three or four man line? I know they've been switching back and forth a lot this year....Bill Belichick is going to have to beat us with scheme because he doesn't have a lot of speed on that defense...I think as far as our cb's vs their wr's we match-up pretty well....we need to stay in Brady's face all day, we may not get a lot of sacks becasue he gets rid of the ball so quickly but if we can stay on him he will struggle....Honestly I don't think Brady is that great of a QB....I think he is a product of the system...I am not sure that he can carry his team on his back for four quarters...I know he can put together last minute drives, and I know he has "moxy" but he has to have his defense play well or else he's just a calmer Jake Delhomme....

If we can establish the run and stop Corey Dillion we can win this game....Honestly if they can't shut down our run game I think we will control the game from start to finish....

I am sure they are gonna keep the box stacked....I just wonder whether or not it will be a 3-4 look or a 4-3....I think they stand a better chance of corraling Vick with a 3-4 but then they would be weaker against Dunn/Duckett....

That is some good stuff you came up with Pudge on the Patriot's.Would you care to post that over at the Roost.I think some of the members are getting giddy the falcons beat the vikings and bills 2 sorry teams. Man,we have our work cut out for us this week.Games like this tell me alot about a makeup of a team.Are the Faclons ready to take the next step since this is a big game? Will our coaches get outcoached and players outperformed by a seemingly less than full strength patriot team.Some folks still think the Falcon's offense all it has to do is run run run and throw one pass to beat all teams.They are dead wrong and Bellickik i expect to come up with something to contain the falcon rushing attack.I think New England's pass defense is still good despite what the stats might say.

You want to be world chanps falcon's then prove it this weekend.This is a statement game and not Buffalo or Minnesota we are playing.

This is a huge statement game for us....I still think that if we can establish the run and Vick can complete about 15-20 passes we will be in good shape....I am curious as to how the NE coaches are going to try and stop Vick...Bellichick is the best game planner in the NFL so I am sure he will have something interesting cooked up....

The Pats will come out in a stacked man 3-4, sending the OLB to the outside to cut off Vick's exit from the pocket. They will force our WR's to beat their DB's in man coverage, not unlike what the Eagles do once the game gets rolling. In effect this means they will be playing a 5-2 with their front seven and probably sending extra blitzers on a regular basis. Everyone in the NFL found out at the Pro Bowl last year that Vick could pick defenses apart if given a comfortable pocket & good receivers. Expect to see lots of pressure and a healthy dose of Roddy White, with our coaches hoping for some big plays from our WR's.

anybody else seen the injury report for NE, something like 14 people on it....sweet....

Start Finneran coaching staff. He has already proven that he can do it...i just don't understand it...


He is a class act too...he recently went to my son's school(in the middle of no-where)to sign autographs...how awesome is that...

BTW, the patriots are really banged up

Besides the victory last week where the falcon's scored 30 on a horrendous defense of the vikings does running the ball all the time or 60% of the time really help against explosive offenses? I think we are getting to giddy about run run run pass.As we saw thrwoing the ball opens the running game up as soon as the falcon's go back to run run run we are going to be going back to the stagnant offense and alot of 3 and outs. Will see sunday!

That's exactly what I've been saying too. This isn't going to be the Vikings D we're playing Sunday. Expect to see our offense stalling unless Vick comes out throwing very well & making good reads.

If BB squats on the run like I think he is we should come out of the tunnel throwing the ball...get them off balance and we can control this game...I don't want to take anything away from NE but I really do think that if we can come out and start quick we can control this game start to finish...we may not win by a ton of points but I think we can control it...