Atlanta Falcons: How to Improve on Offense Vs. Giants
By John Buhler
The Atlanta Falcons will travel to the Meadowlands to face off with the New York Football Giants on Sunday afternoon.
Atlanta looked good, but not great on offense versus the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football in Week 1. Though QB Matt Ryan threw for 298 yards through the air and had a pair of touchdown passes to WR Julio Jones, Matty Ice had two poor picks and the aerial attack looked flat at times in the second half.
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The defense the Atlanta Falcons will have to go up against in the New York Giants is of a different makeup than the Philadelphia Eagles. New York’s strength defensively is in their secondary, especially their two terrific cornerbacks in Prince Amukamara and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. Philadelphia has one of the better front sevens in football featuring players like LB Connor Barwin and LB Kiko Alonso.
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Though the Atlanta Falcons were solid in the running game on MNF thanks to rookie RB Tevin Coleman‘s 80 yard night, Atlanta will likely need to pound the rock some more against the G-Men on Sunday to hopefully open up the pass against a more talented secondary in New York.
For this to happen, the offensive line will need to build on Monday Night’s strong performance. Atlanta looked impressive on the left side of the line, with LT Jake Matthews and newly acquired LG Andy Levitre factoring heavily in the success of the Atlanta Falcons’ rushing attack. Chris Chester looks rock solid at RG, Ryan Schraeder has settled into a familiar role at RT, and Mike Person did okay in his first professional start at C.
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With the offensive line gaining more continuity in Week 2, Matt Ryan should feel more comfortable in the pocket to deliver more accurate balls against the strong Giants secondary. Though Ryan had a near perfect passer rating when targeting Julio Jones, look for him to improve his connection with newcomers like WR Leonard Hankerson and TE Jacob Tamme.
If those first-year connections aren’t there, the Ryan can feel confident about slinging the pigskin to familiar targets in WR Roddy White, TE Levine Toilolo, and RB Devonta Freeman. The Ryan to White connection is as good as it gets, Toilolo looks much-improved as a pass catcher in 2015, and Freeman has shown explosiveness in check-down receptions for the Atlanta Falcons.
Though OC Kyle Shanahan may want to stretch the field vertically on a few plays in the passing game plan, look for the Atlanta Falcons to use the run to open up the short-to-medium aerial attack in Week 2 versus the New York Football Giants. An improved defense in Flowery Branch, complemented with a more balanced offensive attack should help the Dirty Birds slay the Giants in Week 2 in MetLife Stadium.
Next: Atlanta Falcons Want Different Results Vs. Giants
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