32-year old DE John Abraham only had 5.5 sacks last season as it looked like he might be on the downside of his NFL career.  But this season he has stepped up.  He has played in 8 games this year and he has 17 tackles, 6 sacks and 2 passes defensed.  Abraham has now played in 64 games in his five years with the Falcons and he has 140 tackles, 8 passes defensed, 42 sacks and 13 forced fumbles.  The Falcons need Abraham to keep getting to the opposing QB as they only have 16 sacks this year as a team!

25-year old QB Matt Ryan continues to be a solid QB for the Falcons.  Ryan has started all 7 games for the Falcons so far this year and he has completed 156 of 252 passes (61.9%) for 1,714 yards with 12 TD passes and 5 INTs (89.6 QB Rating).  Ryan has also carried the ball 25 times for 64 yards (2.6 ypc) so far this year.  Ryan hasn’t crossed over into the top cusp of NFL QBs but he’s definitely on the second tier right now.  The Falcons are in position to make a deep run in the playoffs this year but they need to keep Ryan healthy to realize that goal.

28-year old WR Michael Jenkins missed the first five games of the year for the Falcons due to injury.  But he has been making up for lost time since his return to action.  In his first two games this year for the Falcons, Jenkins has caught 8 passes for 124 yards (15.5 avg).  He has now played in 94 games in his 7 years with the Falcons and he has caught 243 passes for 3,131 yards (12.9 avg) with 18 TD grabs.  Falcons’ QB Matt Ryan can now really make other teams pay for double teaming Roddy White all the time because Jenkins is a solid WR.

26-year old RB Jason Snelling knows that he’s not going to get a lot of P.T. unless Michael Turner gets dinged up.  But he makes the most of the chances he does get.  Snelling has played in 7 games for the Falcons so far this year and he has carried the ball 61 times for 265 yards (4.3 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He has also caught 17 passes for 101 yards (5.9 avg) with 1 TD grab so far this year.  Snelling has now played in 44 games in his first four years with the Falcons and he has carried the ball 231 times for 983 yards (4.3 ypc) with 7 TD carries.  He has also caught 55 passes for 449 yards (8.2 avg) with 2 TD grabs in his time in Atlanta.  I’m certain that Snelling would be a 1,000+ yard rusher if he were the main back for the Falcons or some other team so he’ll just have to bide his time until his big chance comes along.

25-year old safety William Moore didn’t show much as a rookie last season as he played in 2 games and he had 2 tackles.  Moore has really stepped up this year so far for the Falcons as he is turning into a playmaker.  Moore has played in all six games for the Falcons and he has 21 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 3 passes defensed, 3 interceptions (78 return yards), 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovery so far this year.  The Falcons will continue to give Moore a lot of P.T. especially with him making so many big plays already this year.

34-year old TE Tony Gonzalez keeps rolling along for the Falcons on his way to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.  Gonzalez has played in 5 games for the Falcons this year and he has caught 24 passes for 246 yards (10.3 avg) with 1 TD grab so far this year.  He has now played in 21 games in two years with the Falcons and he has caught 107 passes for 1,113 yards (10.4 avg) with 7 TD grabs in Atlanta.  Gonzalez has now played in 211 games in his NFL career and he has caught 1,023 passes for 12,053 yards (11.8 avg) with 83 TD grabs.  Gonzalez is #7 all-time in NFL history in catches (1 behind Isaac Bruce), he’s #17 in receiving yards and he’s also #18 in TD grabs.  Look for him to keep climbing up those lists as he is Matt Ryan’s second favorite target in the passing game.

Matt Ryan had a outstanding rookie year in 2008 but last year he was banged up and not as good.  This year though it appears as if Ryan is back with a vengeance for the Falcons.  He has completed 93 of 149 passes (62.4%) for 978 yards with 6 TD passes and 3 INTs (86.5 QB Rating) in his first four games this year.  Ryan has also carried the ball 18 times for 51 yards (2.8 ypc) so far this year.  Ryan has benefitted from a healthy Michael Turner as the Falcons are rushing for 144.8 yards per game and 3.9 yards per carry so teams have to play the Falcons’ passing game legit without extra DBs on first and second down.  I look for Ryan to have a big year as long as he stays healthy.  He is really turning into a leader with two game winning drives on the Falcons’ last possession against both the Saints & 49ers the last two weeks.

The Falcons are averaging 160.3 yards rushing per game (2nd in NFL) and they are averaging 4.0 yards per carry.  The credit should go to the offensive line as well as RBs Michael Turner and Jason Snelling.  Turner has carried the ball 58 times for 231 yards (4.0 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He has also caught 3 passes for 18 yards (6.0 avg) so far this year.  Turner is taking the fight to the defense so far this year for the Falcons.  Jason Snelling has filled in for Turner when he was banged up and when he needed a breather so far this year.  Snelling has carried the ball 40 times for 195 yards (4.9 ypc) with 2 TD runs so far this year and he has also caught 7 passes for 69 yards (9.9 avg) with 1 TD grab.  The Falcons need Turner & Snelling to keep up the good work to keep the offense balanced.

WR Roddy White is off to another outstanding start for the Atlanta Falcons this year.  He has already caught 20 passes for 189 yards (9.5 avg) with 1 TD grab for the Falcons this year.  One sign of trouble though is that he has been targeted 35 times by Matt Ryan so far which is 24 more times than the next receiver on the Falcons (Harry Douglas).  I doubt that the Falcons can sustain success on offense only throwing to one player so Tony Gonzalez, Harry Douglas and Eric Weems need to step up.