The Falcons used a first round pick on linebacker Sean Weatherspoon and he got off to a fast start to his NFL career.  In his first three games for the Falcons, Weatherspoon had 24 tackles and 1 sack.  But he injured his knee which caused him to miss some time and he doesn’t appear healthy quite yet.  Weatherspoon has played in 6 games for the Falcons so far this year and he has 32 tackles, 1 sack and 1 pass defensed.  The Falcons really like what they have seen out of Weatherspoon and the defense could really use him down the stretch this year if he can get close to 100% healthy.

28-year old RB Michael Turner only played in 11 games last season and the Falcons really missed him despite Jason Snelling’s play.  They would have made the playoffs last season if Turner had been healthy.  Turner is making up for lost time this season.  He has played in 11 games for the Falcons so far this year and he has carried the ball 223 times for 974 yards (4.4 ypc) with 7 TD runs.  He has also added 11 catches for 73 yards (6.6 avg) this year.  Turner has rushed for over 100 yards six times already this year and his play is making things a lot easier for Matt Ryan this year.  Despite all of the talk about “Matty Ice” the Falcons would be in big trouble if something were to happen to Turner as it showed last season.

The Packers tied this game with 56 seconds left setting the game up for O.T. right?  Not with “Matty Ice” in charge of things.  Eric Weems returned the Packers’ kickoff 40 yards and 15 yards was tacked on due to a facemask penalty on linebacker Matt Wilhelm of the Packers.  Ryan started with the ball on the Packers’ 49-yard line.  Ryan then completed 4 passes to set up Matt Bryant for a 47-yard field goal which he made with 9 seconds left sealing yet another home win for the Falcons! 

Matt Ryan completed 24 of 28 passes for 198 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs in this game as he was dinking and dunking.  Michael Turner led the way on the ground for the Falcons in this game with 110 yards rushing on 23 carries (4.8 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Jason Snelling pitched in with 7 yards rushing on 4 carries (1.8 ypc) and he also caught 4 passes for 32 yards (8.0 avg).  TE Tony Gonzalez (6 rec, 51 yards, TD) and WR Roddy White (5 rec, 49 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Falcons yesterday.  The Falcons finished up with 117 yards rushing on 27 carries (4.3 ypc) and they also completed 24 of 28 passes for 178 yards.

CB Brent Grimes (7 tackles), CB Brian Williams (7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and 1 QB hit) and safety Thomas DeCoud (7 tackles, 1 pass defensed) led the way for the Falcons’ D in this game.  The Packers finished up with 77 yards rushing on 23 carries (3.3 ypc) and they also completed 26 of 35 passes for 341 yards.  The Falcons are now 9-2 on the year.

This is going to be a war this Sunday in the Georgia Dome.  The Falcons have won 4 games in a row and they are 5-0 at home this year outscoring the opposition 149-95.  The Packers are coming into this game RED HOT as they have won four games in a row by a combined score of 113-34!  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Falcons have the ball:  The Falcons are going to come out running the ball for a couple of reasons.  1.) Michael Turner and Jason Snelling should have success against a Packers’ D that is allowing 112.1 yards rushing per game and 4.5 yards per carry and 2.) the Falcons want to control the clock and keep the Packers’ high octane offense off the field.  The Packers have 29 sacks and 15 interceptions so Matt Ryan is not only going to have to get rid of the ball quick but he’s also going to have to be careful. 

When the Packers have the ball:  The Falcons better get pressure on Aaron Rodgers or the secondary is going to have a long afternoon.  The Packers have quality WRs in Greg Jennings, Donald Driver, Jordy Nelson and James Jones and Rodgers likes to throw to all of them.  So if you double cover one of them he just throw it to someone else.  The running game is pretty much an afterthought with the Packers as they don’t use Brandon Jackson much.

PREDICTION:  FALCONS 27, PACKERS 24

The Rams had a 17-16 lead with 11:56 left in the third quarter before the Falcons got serious rolling off the last 18 points in this game.  Matt Ryan was solid in completing 26 of 39 passes for 253 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 INTs.  Michael Turner led the way on the ground for the Falcons in this game with 131 yards rushing on 28 carries (4.7 ypc) with a TD run.  Roddy White (9 rec, 83 yards), Michael Jenkins (5 rec, 58 yards), Tony Gonzalez (4 rec, 46 yards), Justin Peelle (2 rec, 14 yards, TD) and Brian Finneran (1 rec, 12 yards, TD) all pitched in for the Falcons in the passing game.  The Falcons finished up with 138 yards rushing on 31 carries (4.5 ypc) and they also completed 26 of 39 passes for 253 yards as they had possession of the ball for 35:55.

The defense put up a decent effort in this game but they were helped by the offense who were hogging the ball.  The Rams finished up with 71 yards rushing on 12 carries (5.9 ypc) and they also completed 27 of 42 passes for 233 yards.  The Falcons are  now 8-2 on the year.

The Falcons are hot right now as they have won three games in a row.  But, they are only 2-2 on the road this year and they are visiting a snakepit.  The Rams are 4-1 at home this year and they have outscored their opponents 103-63!  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Falcons have the ball:  The Falcons always come out running the ball so look for Michael Turner to challenge the Rams’ run D which is giving up 97.8 yards rushing per game and 4.2 yards per carry.  If the Rams can’t get Turner going they will just turn Matt Ryan loose like they did last week against the Ravens.  The Rams have 28 sacks this year so they are going to be bringing the heat on Ryan.  The problem with that is his favorite receivers (Roddy White, Tony Gonzalez and Jason Snelling) are all adept at catching short passes and getting yardage after the catch.

When the Rams have the ball:  The Rams are likely going to have a very similar offensive gameplan as the Falcons.  They will be feeding the ball to Steven Jackson against a Falcons’ D that is allowing 98.1 yards rushing per game and 4.2 yards per carry.  The Falcons are giving up 245.3 yards passing per game so Sam Bradford will likely be able to make some plays down the field in this game. 

PREDICTION:  FALCONS 23, RAMS 20

51-year old head coach Mike Smith has the Falcons flying high right now.  They are 7-2 on the season which has them in first place in the NFC South, 1 game ahead of the Bucs and Saints.  The Falcons are 2-0 in the division so they can pretty much control things by winning the last four division games (2 are against the Panthers).  The Falcons are now 27-14 (65.9%) in the last three years under Mike Smith as he’s quickly becoming the best coach in team history. 

29-year old WR Roddy White has been a sight to behold this year.  Teams must be too dumb to double cover him which is a huge mistake that the Falcons hope continues.  White has played in 9 games for the Falcons so far this year and he has 70 catches for 934 yards (13.3 avg) with 7 TD grabs.  Matt Ryan has completed 70 of 105 passes (66.7%) to White so far this year.  White has now played in 89 games in his first six years with the Falcons and he has caught 385 passes for 5,623 yards (14.6 avg) with 34 TD grabs.  He is truly having a year for the ages for the Falcons.

When Todd Heap scored a TD with 1:05 left in the game to give the Ravens a 21-20 lead, the Falcons looked like they were in trouble.  But, that’s when Matt Ryan went to work as it only took him 45 seconds to lead the Falcons on a 80-yard TD drive to cap a very impressive home win last night.  Matt Ryan completed 32 of 50 passes for 316 yards with 3 TD passes and 0 INTs.  He also carried the ball 1 time for 5 yards last night.  Michael Turner had a tough night with only 39 yards rushing on 17 carries (2.3 ypc).  Jason Snelling pitched in with 3 carries for 11 yards (3.7 ypc) and he also caught 6 passes for 56 yards (9.3 avg) with 1 TD grab last night.  Roddy White was outstanding last night as he caught 12 passes for 138 yards (11.5 avg) with 2 TD grabs including the game winner with only 20 seconds left in this game.  WR Michael Jenkins (5 rec, 48 yards) and TE Tony Gonzalez (4 rec, 38 yards) also helped out in the passing game for the Falcons last night.  The Falcons finished up with 60 yards rushing on 23 carries (2.6 ypc) and they also completed 32 of 50 passes for 302 yards as they had possession of the football for 35:09 in this game.

The defense was great in the first half last night but they stumbled after halftime.  LB Curtis Lofton led the way for the Falcons’ D last night with 10 tackles.  CB Brent Grimes had 6 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception but he also got torched for 2 TDs.  LBs Stephen Nicolas (6 tackles) and Coy Wire (fumble recovery) also helped out on D for the Falcons last night.  The Ravens finished up with 116 yards rushing on 21 carries (5.5 ypc) and they also completed 22 of 34 passes for 204 yards.  The Falcons are now 7-2 on the season as they remain in first place in the NFC South.

The Falcons love playing at the Georgia Dome.  Head Coach Mike Smith is 17-3 in this building and starting QB Matt Ryan is an amazing 17-1 at home.  The Ravens are 2-2 on the road this season.  Both of these teams are in first place in their divisions so this is a HUGE game for both of them.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Falcons have the ball:  I don’t look for the Falcons to change anything tonight against the Ravens whose D is vastly overrates.  The Ravens are giving up 104.8 yards rushing and 4.2 yards per carry so I look for Michael Turner to get his fair share of yards on the ground tonight.  Matt Ryan will need to be careful with the football with safety Ed Reed back as he already has 3 interceptions in only two games.  But, Ryan is usually smart with where he goes with the football as he only has 5 interceptions so far this year.  Roddy White is going to give it a go tonight despite being a tad banged up so look for Ryan to look to Michael Jenkins & Tony Gonzalez a little more than usual tonight.

When the Ravens have the ball:  The Ravens present a lot of challenges for the Falcons as they have a solid running game with Ray Rice & Willis McGahee and they have a good passing game too.  The Falcons’ front seven will have to handle rushing Joe Flacco and stopping the running game as the corners and safeties are going to have their hands full trying to stop the passing game.  Anquan Boldin, Derrick Mason, Todd Heap and T.J. Houshmandzadeh give Joe Flacco a nice array of receivers.

PREDICTION:  FALCONS 27, RAVENS 23