Michael Vick has taken his play to a new level the last three weeks, using he throwing arm as a weapon.  Vick’s legs have been his main weapon so far this season as he has carried the ball 70 times for 576 yards (8.2 ypc) and 2 TDs.  Vick is almost impossible to corral in the open field.  Now that he’s starting to use that left arm of his as a weapon, the Falcons offense has become even more dynamic.  Vick has completed 54.9% of his passes for 1,362 yards passing with 11 TDs and 7 INTs.  Vick has boosted his QB rating up to 79.0 which is not bad for him.

If Vick continues to throw the ball well, the Falcons will be very tough to slow down on offense.

The Falcons ran into a buzzsaw at Ford Field earlier today.  The offense had trouble with turnovers and the defense couldn’t stop the Lions offense.  Michael Vick completed 17 of 32 passes for 163 yards with 1 TD and 2 INT.  Vick had a good day running the ball with 10 carries for 80 yards (8.0 ypc).  Warrick Dunn had a decent game with 11 carries for 51 yards (4.6 ypc) and a TD, he also caught 3 passes for 20 yards.  Rookie Jerious Norwood carried the ball 5 times for 34 yards (6.8 ypc).  TE Alge Crumpler caught 4 passes for 47 yards and a TD.

The defense didn’t play too well today.  CB Jason Webster led the way with 10 tackles.  Keith Brooking (8 tackles) and Lawyer Milloy (8 tackles and a sack) each played decent.  The Lions ran the ball 27 times for 127 yards (4.7 ypc).  The Falcons defense was shredded by the Lions who completed 20 of 32 passes for 308 net yards passing. 

 

The Falcons are surging right now with Michael Vick’s passing fueling the offense, which has averaged 35.0 points the last two weeks.  The Lions are coming off of their bye week, but they had been playing alot better as of late.

The Falcons are still a running team first on offense, as they are still averaging 210.9 yards rushing per game and 5.7 yards per carry.  When Michael Vick is passing well, like he has the last two weeks, the Falcons are almost unstoppable on offense.  The Lions run defense had played pretty well before their last game, but losing DT Shaun Rogers to a league suspension hurt them real bad and the Jets (who are not a good running team) ran all over them.  Look for Warrick Dunn (637 yards rushing), Jerious Norwood (321 yards rushing) and Michael Vick (496 yards rushing) to have huge games against the Lions porous defense.  Look for Vick to continue to throw the ball well, as the Lions have one of the worst pass defenses in the NFL!  Opposing QB’s of the Lions post a QB rating of 108.8 and complete 70.8% of their passes.

The Lions will come out throwing against the Falcons.  The Falcons allow an average of 234.7 net yards passing per game and the Lions would like to exploit that and get an early lead to try and get the Falcons out of there running game.  Jon Kitna has thrown for alot of yards (1,853) and should have good numbers as long as he doesn’t make a mistake around DeAngelo Hall who already has 4 interceptions this season.  WRs Roy Williams, Mike Furrey and RB Kevin Jones have caught 67.1% of Kitna completions, so the Falcons know who they have to stop.  The Falcons linebackers will have to deal with Kevin Jones who has quietly amassed 740 yards from scrimmage.

The Falcons should win this game and keep rolling.  The Lions will put some points on the board, but what be able to match what Michael Vick can do to their terrible defense!