When I sit back and look at how this game could play out, I think just about anything could happen.
There's the potential that either team could blow-out the other:
Falcons are reeling from a divisional loss last week and are playing their home opener. They know going 0-2 to start the season is almost the kiss of death. So, they are likely to pull out all the stops. I don't know how dinged up Julio really is and Roddy has had another week to heal and he still played last week. Harry Douglas never gets any publicity but he's a very, very good WR. So, I'm betting the injury issues are purposefully being hyped by the Falcons. Base upon all of the above, and the Falcons 3 year history of putting up a lot of points, there's a chance the Falcons run the score up on the Rams.
Rams put up good points on a defense that's better (in-general) that what ATL is able to put on the field. The offense had to have gained some confidence last week. Falcons are going to have to pick their own poison. They'll likely try to roll coverage to Cook after how well he played last week, but that means the WR should be getting less attention and Givens is more likely to be able to take the top off. Plus, with the extra attention Cook gets, when he stretches the deep seem, TA should find a lot of open area underneath. Add to it that the Rams defense really should be able to take advantage of a poor ATL offensive line and the potential is there for the Rams to put up plenty of points and limit the Falcons to a few.
However, it’s more likely that this is a close game that comes down to the wire IMHO.
The Rams still need everything to click pretty darned well on offense to put up points and they are still relying on a OL that’s played ONE game as a unit (Yes, they played well in the passing game last week.). The offense is still relying on young, inexperienced players to contribute and a few mistakes by these guys could be enough to make the difference. The Rams likely need to have the advantage in time of possession to come out of the game with a “W” and that means they’ll need to be able to run the ball. They weren’t able to open many holes last week (Avg. less than 3.0 yards per carry against the Cards) and they’ll need to be able to control the clock this week in order to limit the chances ATL gets to put points on the board.
The Rams defensive backfield features 2 highly inexperienced safeties that will be relied upon to stop the “quick strike” tactics of the Falcons. A couple of missed assignments or poor angles could lead to the Rams playing catch-up all game. Additionally, Ogletree is likely going to be dealing with trying to limit a certain HOF tight-end, Tony Gonzalez from being the go-to guys if Jones and White are seriously limited at the WR position. When you factor in the Chris Long is dinged up a bit, there could be a lot of pressure on the Rams D.
Assuming Roddy and Julio are slowed, at least somewhat, the Falcons still have Harry Douglas, Tony G. and Steven Jackson to get the ball to. The advantage in the run game has to go to the Falcons and if this comes down to a game where both teams think they’ll need to run often, it favors ATL. SJ is going to be extra motivated this week and our two S aren’t going to be laying the lumber to SJ like they did to a couple of the RBs in AZ Last week. ATL could decide to take it easy on their WR this week, pound the ball with Jackson based upon the fact that the rams run defense has been pretty poor and just take an occasional shot with the deep ball to see if they can catch the Rams sleeping and to keep them honest.
There are 2 very solid indoor kickers in the game and it’s very possible one of them decides the outcome of this game.
So there it is… Legitimate reasons why this game really could come down to the wire or have one team blow the other out.
Curious to know how others agree or disagree with my assessment.
There's the potential that either team could blow-out the other:
Falcons are reeling from a divisional loss last week and are playing their home opener. They know going 0-2 to start the season is almost the kiss of death. So, they are likely to pull out all the stops. I don't know how dinged up Julio really is and Roddy has had another week to heal and he still played last week. Harry Douglas never gets any publicity but he's a very, very good WR. So, I'm betting the injury issues are purposefully being hyped by the Falcons. Base upon all of the above, and the Falcons 3 year history of putting up a lot of points, there's a chance the Falcons run the score up on the Rams.
Rams put up good points on a defense that's better (in-general) that what ATL is able to put on the field. The offense had to have gained some confidence last week. Falcons are going to have to pick their own poison. They'll likely try to roll coverage to Cook after how well he played last week, but that means the WR should be getting less attention and Givens is more likely to be able to take the top off. Plus, with the extra attention Cook gets, when he stretches the deep seem, TA should find a lot of open area underneath. Add to it that the Rams defense really should be able to take advantage of a poor ATL offensive line and the potential is there for the Rams to put up plenty of points and limit the Falcons to a few.
However, it’s more likely that this is a close game that comes down to the wire IMHO.
The Rams still need everything to click pretty darned well on offense to put up points and they are still relying on a OL that’s played ONE game as a unit (Yes, they played well in the passing game last week.). The offense is still relying on young, inexperienced players to contribute and a few mistakes by these guys could be enough to make the difference. The Rams likely need to have the advantage in time of possession to come out of the game with a “W” and that means they’ll need to be able to run the ball. They weren’t able to open many holes last week (Avg. less than 3.0 yards per carry against the Cards) and they’ll need to be able to control the clock this week in order to limit the chances ATL gets to put points on the board.
The Rams defensive backfield features 2 highly inexperienced safeties that will be relied upon to stop the “quick strike” tactics of the Falcons. A couple of missed assignments or poor angles could lead to the Rams playing catch-up all game. Additionally, Ogletree is likely going to be dealing with trying to limit a certain HOF tight-end, Tony Gonzalez from being the go-to guys if Jones and White are seriously limited at the WR position. When you factor in the Chris Long is dinged up a bit, there could be a lot of pressure on the Rams D.
Assuming Roddy and Julio are slowed, at least somewhat, the Falcons still have Harry Douglas, Tony G. and Steven Jackson to get the ball to. The advantage in the run game has to go to the Falcons and if this comes down to a game where both teams think they’ll need to run often, it favors ATL. SJ is going to be extra motivated this week and our two S aren’t going to be laying the lumber to SJ like they did to a couple of the RBs in AZ Last week. ATL could decide to take it easy on their WR this week, pound the ball with Jackson based upon the fact that the rams run defense has been pretty poor and just take an occasional shot with the deep ball to see if they can catch the Rams sleeping and to keep them honest.
There are 2 very solid indoor kickers in the game and it’s very possible one of them decides the outcome of this game.
So there it is… Legitimate reasons why this game really could come down to the wire or have one team blow the other out.
Curious to know how others agree or disagree with my assessment.
