The Falcons offense has been unstoppable the last two weeks!  Michael Vick is really starting to excel at passing the ball, and it’s causing defenses all kinds of problems.  Vick completed 20 of 28 passes for 291 yards and 3 TDs.  Vick also ran the ball 9 times for 55 yards (6.1 ypc).  Warrick Dunn had his second sub-par game in a row, carrying the ball 20 times for 57 yards (2.9 ypc) and catching 2 passes for 16 yards.  Jerious Norwood carried the ball 9 times for 34 yards (3.8 ypc) and caught 3 passes for 39 yards.  TE Alge Crumpler had another big game, catching 4 passes for 72 yards and a TD.  Ahsley Lelie caught 3 passes for 55 yards.  Michael Jenkins caught 3 passes for 53 yards and a TD.  Fullback Justin Griffith caught 2 passes for 14 yards and a TD.

LB Keith Brooking led the way on defense with 9 tackles.  The Falcons took the Bengals out of their running game, as the Bengals only ran the ball 18 times for 73 yards (4.1 ypc).  The Bengals had success throwing the ball, completing 24 of 36 passes for 258 net yards thru the air.

This was a good win in a tough environment for the Falcons!

Both of these football teams are coming off huge victories!  These teams are so contrasting in style that this will be a very interesting game to watch unfold.

The Falcons offensive strength matches up perfectly with the Bengals defensive weakness, which is running the football.  No team runs the ball better than the Falcons, who are averaging 222.2 yards rushing per game and 6.1 yards per carry.  Look for the Falcons to run the ball until the Bengals front 7 proves they can stop it, which is unlikely because they allow 127.0 yards rushing per game and 4.6 yards per carry.  Warrick Dunn (560 yards), Michael Vick (441 yards) and Jerious Norwood (290 yards) will take turns running all over the Bengals defense.  And if the Bengals creep up too much to stop the run, Vick will just start flipping short passes to TE Alge Crumpler (22 rec, 311 yards) who has a huge size advantage over the Bengals safeties.

Look for the Bengals to come out throwing the football on Sunday.  The Falcons defense is allowing 230.8 net yards passing per game and showed alot of holes last week against the Steelers.  Carson Palmer (1,418 yards passing) needs to get the Bengals on the board early and force the Falcons to play from behind.  If the Bengals do indeed get an early lead, look for them to give the ball to Rudi Johnson (506 yards rushing) to keep the Bengals defense off of the field.

This should be a fantastic football game.  The early part of this game will determine the outcome.  If the Bengals jump to an early lead, they should win the game because they can force the Falcons to try to throw the ball.  If the Falcons get the lead, they will just pound away against the soft run defense of the Bengals and emerge with a win.  This game really could go either way, and it’s impossible for me to pick a winner.

The Falcons offense has been pretty good so far this season.  The Falcons are averaging 20.7 points per game this season.  The Falcons are the best running team in the NFL averaging 222.2 yards rushing per game and 6.1 yards per carry!  The passing offense started to come around against the Steelers, but it’s still only averaging 132.7 yards passing per game.

The defense is holding teams to 17.8 points per game, but they’ve been a little shaky as of late.  The Falcons allow 98.5 yards rushing per game and 3.8 yards per carry.  The pass defense has given up alot of yards, allowing 230.8 net yards passing per game and 59.6% completions!

Sunday’s win over the Steelers was one of the biggest wins the Falcons have had in a long time….and they did it on the strength of Michael Vick’s left arm.  Michael Vick completed 18 of 30 passes for 232 yards with 4 TDs and 2 INT.  Vick also carried the ball 5 times for 40 yards.  Warrick Dunn had a rough time against the Steelers defense, carrying the ball 26 times for 69 yards (2.7 ypc) and a TD.  Rookie Jerious Norwood carried the ball 8 times for 64 yards.  TE Alge Crumpler was outstanding and unstoppable against the small Steelers secondary!  Crumpler caught 6 passes for 117 yards and 3 TDs!  Ashley Lelie caught 4 passes for 58 yards and Michael Jenkins caught 2 passes for 25 yards and a TD.

The Falcons stopped the Steelers running game cold, allowing only 55 yards on 26 carries (2.1 ypc)!  The Steelers were throwing the ball all over the field against the Falcons defense!   The Steelers completed 24 of 35 passes for 418 net yards passing!

What an exciting win.  It was great to see the Falcons open up the offense and let Vick throw the all a little bit.  Hopefully, that will continue!

Edgerton Hartwell will return this week and take back his old MLB job.  Keith Brooking will move from his MLB spot back to outside linebacker and that will put Demorrio Williams back on the bench.