The Falcons are now 0-2 on the road this year after losing to the Bucs in Tampa last weekend.  But, the Bucs and Bears are both much better teams than the Seahawks, so I think the Falcons are going to break the seal on the road this weekend.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Falcons have the ball:  The Falcons should come out throwing the ball against the Seahawks.  The Seahawks have only five sacks so far this year, so Matt Ryan (he has been sacked 13 times already this year!) should have time to throw the ball this Sunday.  Look for Ryan to keep the passing game short to WR Roddy White and TE Tony Gonzalez, before attacking over the top to rookie WR Julio Jones.  The Seahawks are giving up 218.3 yards passing per game, so I think the Falcons are going to have a good passing day.  That doesn’t mean that Michael Turner isn’t going to get his carries though.  He will likely have to earn every yard he gets this Sunday as the Seahawks are only giving up 3.1 yards per carry so far this year.

When the Seahawks have the ball:  The Seahawks would probably benefit in trying to get RB Marshawn Lynch the ball early in this game.  If he has success running the ball, it will keep the Falcons’ pass defense honest while also slowing the pass rush a bit.  Tarvaris Jackson has already been sacked 14 times already this year, so DEs John Abraham and Ray Edwards could be living in the Seahawks’ backfield this weekend.  Jackson’s favorite receiver is Sidney Rice, so the Falcons should consider double covering him and dare Jackson to beat them by throwing to someone else.

PREDICTION:  FALCONS 30, SEAHAWKS 14

35-year old TE Tony Gonzalez is proving that he still has a lot left in the gas tank so far this year.  Gonzalez has played in all three of the Falcons’ games so far this year and he has caught 14 passes for 173 yards (12.4 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  He has even been a bigger part of the offense so far this he was in his first two years with the Falcons.  Gonzalez played in 32 games in his first two years with the Falcons (2009 and 2010) and he caught 153 passes for 1,523 yards (10.0 avg) with 12 TD grabs.  The Falcons need Gonzalez to keep up the good work as he is Matt Ryan’s security blanket.

The Falcons’ offense wasted a really good effort from the defense yesterday in Florida.  Matt Ryan completed 26 of 47 passes for 330 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT.  He also carried the ball 1 time for 12 yards but he lost 2 fumbles!  Michael Turner didn’t get anything going on the ground as he only carried the ball 11 times for 20 yards (1.8 ypc) yesterday.  WRs Roddy White (9 rec, 140 yards) and Julio Jones (6 rec, 115 yards) led the way for the Falcons yesterday in the passing game.  WR Harry Douglas (5 rec, 35 yards) and TE Tony Gonzalez (2 rec, 18  yards, TD) also pitched in for the Falcons.  The Falcons finished up with only 30 yards rushing on 15 carries (2.0 ypc) but they also completed 26 of 47 passes (55.3%) for 295 yards in this game as they only had possession of the ball for 24:08.

The defense played their best game of the season without a doubt for the Falcons.  LBs Sean Weatherspoon (11 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss) and Curtis Lofton (11 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss) led the way for the Falcons in this game.  Safeties Thomas DeCoud (9 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception) and William Moore (4 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception) also had solid games for the Falcons.  The Buccaneers finished up with 115 yards rushing on 36 carries (3.2 ypc) and they also completed 22 of 32 passes (68.8%) for 180 yards.  The Falcons are now 1-2 on the year.

The Atlanta Falcons and Buccaneers both won games with big comebacks last weekend.  So it’s possible that they could both have let downs, but I have doubts about that.  The Falcons swept the Bucs by outscoring them 55-45 in two very competitive games last year.  Here is a look at the matchups this Sunday in Tampa:

When the Falcons have the ball:  The Falcons are going to come out running the ball against a Buccaneers’ D that is allowing 156.0 yards rushing and 4.6 yards per carry so far this year.  Michael Turner is in line for a big game and he rushed for 195 yards and 3 TD runs in the two games against the Bucs last year.  The Buccaneers need to get pressure on Matt Ryan or he’s going to have success throwing the ball as opposing QBs have a 102.1 QB Rating against them so far this year.  WRs Roddy White, Julio Jones and TE Tony Gonzalez give Matt Ryan a very impressive trio to throw the ball to.

When the Buccaneers have the ball:  The Buccaneers are likely to also come out running the ball as LeGarrette Blount had success running against the Falcons last year.  He carried the ball 33 times for 149 yards (4.5 ypc) with 1 TD run against them in 2010.  Blount is a big boy, but he’s not much of a pass catcher or blocker, so the front seven will have to deal with him.  The Falcons are giving up 301.5 yards passing per game so far this year, and WR Mike Williams (10 rec, 157 yards, 2 TD) grabs played well against them last year.  The Falcons much get a good pass rush on Josh Freeman to try to force him into making some mistakes this Sunday.

PREDICTION:  FALCONS 27, BUCCANEERS 23

26-year old QB Matt Ryan has not been too consistent this year for the Falcons.  He has played in both games for the Falcons so far this year and he has completed 48 of 75 passes (64%) for 514 yards with 4 TD passes and 3 INTs (85.1 QB Rating).  Ryan has also carried the ball 4 times for 6 yards (1.5 ypc) so far this year.  The Falcons brought in rookie WR Julio Jones and RB Jacquizz Rodgers in the draft to help amp up the offense even more in 2011, so they need Ryan to get into a positive groove.  The Falcons are going to have to score points to win this year as they have already allowed 61 points in 2011.

The Falcons were motivated last night in Michael Vick’s return to Atlanta.  They forced him to lose two fumbles and throw an interception before they knocked him out of the game due to a concussion.  Matt Ryan was solid as he completed 17 of 28 passes for 195 yards with 4 TD passes and 2 INTs.  Michael Turner had a huge game with 114 yards rushing on 21 carries (5.4 ypc) with 1 TD run and he also caught 1 pass for 32 yards.  Rookie RB Jacquizz Rodgers looked solid as he carried the ball 3 times for 17 yards (5.7 ypc) in this game.  Fullback Ovie Mughelli had 1 carry for 1 yard he also caught 1 pass for 1 yard and it went for a TD.  TE Tony Gonzalez had an incredible game for the Falcons last night as he caught 7 passes for 83 yards (11.9 avg) with 2 TD grabs and they were both outstanding catches.  WR Roddy White only caught 3 passes for 23 yards (7.7 avg) but one of them went for a TD.  The Falcons finished up with 138 yards rushing on 29 carries (4.8 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 28 passes (60.7%) for 180 yards as they had possession of the ball for 29:57.

The defense didn’t play well as a whole in this game but they made big plays when they had to.  LBs Sean Weatherspoon (10 tackles) and Curtis Lofton (10 tackles and 2 passes defensed) led the way for the Falcons on D in this game.  CB Kelvin Hayden (interception), LB Stephen Nicolas (fumble recovery), DE Ray Edwards (fumble recovery) and DT Peria Jerry (forced fumble) all made big plays in this game for the Falcons.  The Eagles finished up with 133 yards on 30 carries (4.4 ypc) and they also completed 26 of 37 passes (70.3%) for 314 yards.  The Falcons are now 1-1 on the year.

The Falcons had to be very disappointed in how they played last weekend in Chicago.  The home opener tomorrow night is against Micheal Vick and his Eagles.  I look for the atmosphere to be electric in this game.  Here is a look at the matchups:

When the Falcons have the football:  The Eagles have a weakness at linebacker, especially in the middle where rookie Casey Matthews is starting.  The Falcons gave up 154 yards rushing (5.9 ypc) to the Rams last weekend.  Look for Michael Turner to have a very, very heavy workload in tomorrow’s game against the Eagles.  Matt Ryan is going to be challenged by the Eagles’ secondary, as they have an impressive bunch at CB.  I still look for Ryan to challenge the Eagles on the shorter stuff to WR Roddy White and TE Tony Gonzalez.  I also look for him to take some deep shots for rookie WR Julio Jones.

When the Eagles have the ball:  OLBs Sean Weatherspoon, Steven Nicolas and DEs John Abraham and Ray Edwards are going to have to set the edge and contain Michael Vick in the pocket, where he’s least effective.  MLB Curtis Lofton will be the guy mostly responsible for stopping Vick when he takes off running and he will also have to deal with Lesean McCoy quite often, as he is a very underrated RB.  The Falcons hope that John Abraham and Ray Edwards get consistent pressure on Michael Vick which would help the corners have a better chance of being effective against WRs Desean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin and Jason Avant.

PREDICTION:  FALCONS 30, EAGLES 27

The Atlanta Falcons need 27-year old Peria Jerry and 24-year old Vance Walker to step up starting this Sunday against the Eagles.  Jerry and Walker both played against the Bears and they each had 1 tackle.  Jerry is in his third year with the Falcons and he has played in 19 games in which he has 11 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks and 1 pass defensed.  Walker is also in his third year with the Falcons and he has 30 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss and 2 passes defensed.  Starting DTs Jonathan Babineaux and Corey Peters are both out for this Sunday’s game against an Eagles team that rushed for 236 yards and 7.4 yards per carry against the Rams last week.  So the Falcons need Peria Jerry and Vance Walker to step up starting this Sunday.

The Falcons have lost 29-year old DT Jonathan Babineaux for the next 3-5 weeks due to a partially torn MCL.  Babineaux played against the Bears last week and he had 1 tackle.  He has now played in 94 games in his first 7 years in the NFL and he has 218 tackles, 18 sacks, 40 tackles for a loss, 7 forced fumbles, 7 fumble recoveries, 13 passes defensed and 2 interceptions.  This is a huge blow to the Falcons’ run defense which isn’t good with the Eagles coming to town with Michael Vick and Lesean McCoy this weekend.

23-year old linebacker Sean Weatherspoon had his rookie season cut last year due to injury.  He played in 11 games for the Falcons last year and he had 42 tackles, 1 sack and 1 pass defensed.  It appears that Weatherspoon is going to try to make up for lost time in 2011 based on how he played yesterday.  Weatherspoon had 10 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss and 1 pass defensed against the Bears yesterday, when a lot of his teammates appeared to be sleepwalking.