27-year old punter Michael Koenen is likely done for the year after suffering a concussion last weekend.  He has played in 15 games for the Falcons this season and he has punted the ball 58 times for 2,493 yards (43.0 avg).  Koenen only has 3 touchbacks (5.2%) and he has pinned the opposition inside their own 20-yard line 18 times (31%) this year.  The Falcons won’t likely have to punt much this weekend against the Bucs.

24-year old QB Matt Ryan regressed some in 2009 but his numbers aren’t too far off from his rookie season.  He has been dealing with a bad toe for a while and that has dogged him hurting his performance.  Ryan has played in 13 games for the Falcons this season and he has completed 240 of 416 passes (57.7%) for 2,693 yards with 20 TD passes and 12 INTs (81.1 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 29 times for 46 yards (1.6 ypc) with 1 TD run this year.  Look for Ryan to rebound with a eye-popping 2010 season if he can stay healthy.

The Falcons totally destroyed the Bills yesterday.  Matt Ryan had one of his best games in quite some time as he completed 18 of 35 passes for 250 yards with 3 TD passes and 0 INTs.  Jason Snelling led the way on the ground for the Falcons yesterday by rushing for 68 yards on 15 carries (4.5 ypc).  Jerious Norwood pitched in with 52 yards rushing on 13 carries (4.0 ypc) against the Bills.  Roddy White was outstanding for the Falcons yesterday with 8 grabs for 139 yards (17.4 avg) with 2 TD catches.  Marty Booker pitched in with 4 catches for 57 yards (14.3 avg) with 1 TD grab.  The Falcons finished up with 391 total yards on offense (157 rushing, 234 passing) in this game.

CB Brent Grimes led a dominating effort by the Falcons on D with 9 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception.  DE Lawrence Sidbury returned a Fred Jackson fumble 11 yards for a TD yesterday.  The Bills finished up with only 178 total yards on offense (40 rushing, 138 passing) in this game.  The Falcons are now 8-7 on the year.

This is a game that the Falcons should be able to control.  The Falcons will likely come out running the ball against a Bills’ D that is allowing 165.6 yards rushing and 4.8 yards per carry.  That sets up Jason Snelling to have a good game.  When the Bills creep up to stop the run look for Matt Ryan to attack them deep off of play action.  Roddy White could be in store for a huge game this week with safety Jairus Byrd and CB Terrence McGee both out for the year due to injury.  The Bills don’t have much of a pass rush so Matt Ryan should have time to throw the ball and his main target in the passing game this week will likely be TE Tony Gonzalez.

Defensively the Falcons should go all out to stop the run and dare the Bills to throw the ball with Brian Brohm likely getting his first NFL start for the Bills on Sunday.  But, the Falcons have not rushed the passer too well this season and they are allowing 254.8 yards passing per game so maybe Brohm will be able to make some plays.  Without the threat of a TE doing anything in the passing game for the Bills look for the Falcons’ safeties to help over the top with Terrell Owens and Lee Evans. 

PREDICTION:  FALCONS 33, BILLS 13

33-year old linebacker Mike Peterson has not been acting his age this year as he is still playing well.  Peterson has played in all 14 games for the Falcons this season and he has 100 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, 2 forced fumbles, 7 passes defensed and 1 interception.  Peterson has really given the defense a lift as he and Curtis Lofton make it very hard for teams to run against the Falcons.

With Michael Turner and Jerious Norwood both missing quite a bit of time due to injury Jason Snelling has gotten his big chance to show what he can do.  The 25-year old Snelling has played in 12 games for the Falcons this season and he has carried the ball 102 times for 398 yards (3.9 ypc) with 4 TD runs and he has also caught 26 passes for 232 yards (8.9 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Snelling has really helped the Falcons keep the offense going despite using their third string RB.

The Atlanta Falcons (7-7) were in a defensive battle to say the least against the New York Jets (7-7), and won a low scoring affair.  Matt Ryan and the Falcons offense struggled most of the game, but they came through when they needed them most.  With only minutes left, the Falcons offense had only 165 yards before Ryan led them on a 73-yard game-winning drive.  It ended with Ryan hitting Tony Gonzalez for an 16-yard touchdown with only 1:38 to go.  Ryan finished 152 yards and 1 touchdown on 16/32 passes.  Running back Michael Turner tried to play through an ankle injury, but he hurt it again on only one carry and may be out next week.

The Falcons defense did give up a lot of yards, but they picked off Jets’ rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez three times.  They gave up one big play to the rookie when he hit Braylon Edwards for a 65-yard touchdown and the Jets only score.  The Falcons also did a decent job containing Jets’ running back Thomas Jones.  Jones got 52 yards on 19 carries, but his backup Shonn Greene was successful getting 30 yards on 8 carries.  This was a nice spoiler win for the Falcons who were already eliminated from the playoffs, while the Jets were still clinging to their playoff hopes.

It looks like the Atlanta Falcons (6-7) might be getting Matt Ryan and Michael Turner back this week against the New York Jets (7-6), as they participated in practice in “limited” roles.  They are listed as questionable though, so you will have to wait and see until gametime whether or not they play.  Either way, the Falcons will need a very strong effort out of running back Jason Snelling because even if Turner does play he will still be limited.  The Jets have a very strong run-defense though, so if they can’t get their running backs going they might be in some trouble.  If Ryan can’t go, Chris Redman will be the starter again and he needs to make sure he takes care of the ball.  Redman has shown flashes of great play, so if he can give the Falcons a consistent performance it will bode very well for them.

The Falcons defense should put as much pressure on the Jets’ rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez as they can.  When Sanchez is forced out of the pocket he has made a lot of mistakes this year.  He has thrown 17 interceptions, so the secondary should be ready for some interception opportunities.  They probably are going to keep the game-plan conservative though, so Thomas Jones will be getting a lot of carries for the Jets.  Jones has been running the ball well, and the Falcons need to try and keep him out of the endzone.  The Jets look like the stronger team at this point, but if Ryan and Turner are back for the Falcons it could be a different story.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  New York Jets 27, Atlanta Falcons 17

The Falcons have lost 33-year old WR Brian Finneran for the year due to a torn left PCL.  Finneran played in 10 games for the Falcons this season and he caught 11 passes for 111 yards (10.1 avg).  It’s a shame to see Finneran get hurt again as it seems like he has been rehabbing more than playing the last few years for the Falcons and it has also hurt the team as he is a good player when healthy.

The Falcons fought hard today before falling to the Saints.  Chris Redman was on his game today completing 23 of 34 passes for 303 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT.  Jason Snelling was a busy body for the Falcons today as he carried the ball 10 times for 37 yards (3.7 ypc) with a TD run and he also caught 4 passes for 65 yards (16.3 avg).  Jerious Norwood pitched in with 33 yards rushing on 9 carries (3.7 ypc).  Michael Jenkins had one of his best games of his career today with 3 catches for 83 yards (27.7 avg) with a TD grab.  Tony Gonzalez pitched in with 6 grabs for 50 yards (8.3 avg) yesterday.  The Falcons finished up with 392 total yards on offense (89 rushing, 303 passing) despite only having the ball for 23:16!

The Falcons didn’t play too well on D in this game.  LBs Stephen Nicolas (9 tackles) and Mike Peterson (8 tackles) both had decent games for the Falcons today.  The Saints finished up with 391 total yards on offense today (95 rushing, 296 passing).  The Falcons are now 6-7 on the year.