The Falcons beat the Bucs 20-17 six weeks ago in Atlanta.  Both teams have two game winning streaks and will be playing for pride tomorrow afternoon.  The Falcons will likely be a run-first team tomorrow splitting the carries between Jerious Norwood and Jason Snelling.  They should both have success against a Bucs’ D that is allowing 156.5 yards rushing and 4.8 yards per carry so far this season.  If the Bucs try to sneak up to stop the run look for Falcons’ QB Matt Ryan to go up top to Roddy White who could have a huge game tomorrow.

Falcons’ linebacker Curtis Lofton better tighten up his chinstrap because the Bucs are going to be running the football tomorrow.  That is because they can’t afford to put the game in Josh Freeman’s hands because he is turning the ball over far too often.  The Falcons’ safeties will be challenged in this game as the Bucs will throw the ball to Kellen Winslow even if they are slanted towards the running game on offense.

PREDICTION:  FALCONS 20, BUCCANEERS 17

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

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 lost the first meeting between these teams 35-27 but that was with a healthy Michael Turner and Matt Ryan.  That won’t be the case this weekend as Chris Redman and Jerious Norwood will likely be starting at QB and RB.  The Saints’ D is starting to show some cracks so the Falcons must be aggressive on offense this Sunday.  Redman should come out throwing the ball to Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez against a Saints’ D that is allowing 230.0 yards passing per game this year.  Jerious Norwood and Jason Snelling will have to step up in this game as the Saints are allowing 112.9 yards rushing per game and 4.5 yards per carry.  If the Falcons can get a ground game going then they can keep the ball away from Drew Brees and the Saints’ offense.

The Saints are almost impossible to defend as they rush for 142.6 yards per game and they pass for 286.4 yards per game.  So it’s pick your poison on defense.  If you cheat up to deal with Pierre Thomas, Mike Bell and Reggie Bush then Drew Brees goes up top.  If you play extra DBs to slow the passing game then they just run the ball.  The best way to give the Falcons a chance to win this game is to keep the ball away from the Saints’ offense and that is not easy.

PREDICTION:  SAINTS 33, FALCONS 17

The Atlanta Falcons (6-5) are hosting the Philadelphia Eagles (7-4) Sunday in what will be Michael Vick’s first time back in Atlanta since his dog fighting scandal forced him out of the NFL.  Vick doesn’t play much for the Eagles, but there will still be a lot of buzz in the ATL surrounding Vick’s return and it will be interesting to see the reactions.  As far as the game goes, the Falcons have been hit by the injury bug hard, so this will be a difficult one for them to win.  Matt Ryan is out with turf toe and it looks like Michael Turner may not be able to go as well, as he re-injured an ankle sprain last week.  That means Chris Redman will be the starting quarterback and the veteran had a pretty solid game last week going 23/41 for 243 yards and 2 touchdowns.  It was against the 1-10 Bucs though, so I woudn’t expect a similar performance from Redman.

The Falcons are going to need a great game out of their defense if they want to pull out a win.  They have been giving up 375 total yards per game on average, and they will not win if they give up that many yards to Donovan McNabb and the Eagles’ offense.  McNabb will not have his go-to receiver in this game though, as DeSean Jackson is out with a concussion.  They will probably hand the ball off a little more because of this, so the Falcons need to be ready for LeSean McCoy who averages 4.3 yards per carry.  With the Falcons two key offensive positions not at full strength, I just don’t see them winning this one.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Atlanta Falcons 17, Philadelphia Eagles 28