Atlanta Falcons: 5 Players to Watch at Titans
By John Buhler
Iowa. Adrian Clayborn. 99. player. 44. . DE
The Atlanta Falcons’ pass rush has lagged behind the two other layers of their defense in 2015. Atlanta is not effectively disrupting the passer until late in ball games when the levee finally breaks. The Falcons are giving up way to many 8 to 13 yard passes, especially on 3rd down.
So with the mini bye, HC Dan Quinn essentially called out his pass rushing unit to perform better after a lackluster showing against Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints. While Quinn in a way singled out rookie OLB Vic Beasley, I think that DE Adrian Clayborn will actually rise to the occasion in Week 7.
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Mettenberger is a prototypical, big arm, pocket passer with limited mobility. While Mettenberger has the arm talent to make all the throws, he does tend to gun-sling a bit more than he should and tries to force things that aren’t there. After an ACL tear in LSU’s rivalry game with Arkansas in 2013, Mettenberger seems even more limited moving around in the pocket.
Look for Adrian Clayborn to present several mismatches on a halfway decent Tennessee Titans offense line. Unless Titans HC Ken Whisenhunt commits to running the football mostly with RB Bishop Sankey, Mettenberger wants to stay upright in the pocket. Since he doesn’t have anywhere near Mariota’s shiftiness, Clayborn will have 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble on the backup QB on Sunday.
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