Although the Atlanta Falcons (6-5) came out with the win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-10) on Sunday, they ended the day with two big losses.  Quarterback Matt Ryan and running back Michael Turner both left the game due to injuries.  Ryan injured his toe early in the game, while Turner re-injured an ankle sprain he has been battling back from.  The good news for the Falcons is that backup quarterback Chris Redman played very well in Ryan’s absence.  Redman went 23/41 for 2 touchdowns and 243 yards, including a game winning pass with only 23 seconds left.  Turner left early in the 3rd quarter, but was still the leading rusher with 33 yards on 12 carries.

The Falcons defense did not play very well against the Bucs’ young quarterback Josh Freeman.  Freeman had his best game, throwing for 2 touchdowns and 250 yards on 20/29 passes.  They did do a good job slowing their running game down, holding them to 73 yards as a team, but they are one of the worst teams in the league so it’s nothing to be too proud about.  The Falcons’ also gave up a blocked punt, which led to an easy score for their offense.  That score gave the Bucs the lead and almost ended up being the go-ahead score.  Redman was able to lead the Bucs to a comeback though with his 5 yard touchdown pass to Roddy White with only 23 seconds left.  The Falcons should be happy to escape with a win in this one, but they need Ryan and Turner to get healthy if they want to keep their season alive.

The Atlanta Falcons (5-5) are happy to be back at home this week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-9).  The Falcons have been awful on the road, with a 1-5 record including two straight losses the past two weeks.  The Falcons are a different team at home though, and are looking to stay undefeated at the Georgia Dome this season.  It shouldn’t be too difficult of a task for Matt Ryan and the Falcons’ offense to put some points up against a weak Bucs’ defense.  Even though Michael Turner is questionable (ankle) for this game, I still think the Falcons should run the ball often.  The Bucs give up 169 rushing yards per game and Jason Snelling has proven he can make some plays at running back for the Falcons.  If the Falcons give him enough carries I think Snelling may get his first 100 yard rushing game of the season.

The Falcons’ defense needs to be prepared to stop the run.  The Bucs’ do not have a reliable quarterback in Josh Freeman, who is a rookie and has 11 turnovers in just three starts.  That means the Bucs will try and win the time of possession by handing the ball off as much as possible.  Cadillac Williams will get most of the carries, but the Bucs have been using as many as three running backs to attack defenses.  The Falcons give up 126 rushing yards per game, so the Bucs will likely have some success on the ground.  The Falcons need to limit that success and not let the Bucs hang around too long in this contest.  The Falcons should beat them easily and improve to 5-0 at home.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Atlanta Falcons 27, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 13

Some “experts” criticized the Falcons for trading a second round pick last April for future Hall of Fame TE Tony Gonzalez but I wasn’t one of them.  I knew that Gonzalez would give Matt Ryan a safety net on passes over the middle that he had not had before.  Gonzalez has responded by catching 52 passes for 583 yards (11.2 avg) with 5 TD grabs so far this season.  Gonzalez is a gamer too so I think he will play even better than he already has down the stretch for the Falcons this year.

The offense played well for the Falcons today especially in the 4th quarter but the defense cost them again.  Matt Ryan was very solid for the Falcons in this game as he completed 26 of 46 passes for 268 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 INTs.  Both of his TD passes were thrown in the 4th quarter with one of them coming with only 28 seconds left in the game to send it to O.T.  He also carried the ball 5 times for 14 yards (2.8 ypc) today.  Jason Snelling did a solid job of filling in for the injured Michael Turner.  He carried the ball 25 times for 76 yards (3.0 ypc) with 2 TD runs and he also caught 3 passes for 13 yards (4.3 avg).  TE Tony Gonzalez led the way for the Falcons today in the passing game with 8 grabs for 82 yards (10.3 avg) with a TD grab.  Michael Jenkins pitched in with 6 catches for 76 yards (12.7 avg) today.  The Falcons finished up with 352 total yards on offense in this game (90 rushing, 262 passing). 

The defense was led by LBs Curtis Lofton (11 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss) and Mike Peterson (11 tackles).  Cb Brent Grimes pitched in with 10 tackles, 2 passes defensed and a INT.  The Giants finished up with 456 total yards in this game (88 rushing, 368 passing) today.  The Falcons are now 5-5 on the season.

Michael Jenkins has not improved one bit since joining the Falcons six years ago.  He just seems to be the latest of the overrated players from Ohio State.  He has played in 9 games this year for the Falcons and he has caught 27 passes for 310 yards (11.5 avg) with 0 TD grabs.  In six years with the Falcons, Jenkins has played in 86 games in which he has caught 212 passes for 2,682 yards (12.7 avg) with 17 TD grabs.  The Falcons need Jenkins to step up or he needs to sit down because he has not been a good WR in the NFL yet in his career.