Can we please see some light at the end of the tunnel?
The Falcons had a very tough task this past Sunday when they faced a talented and experienced Buccaneers defense. With a very good front seven and an aggressive defensive coordinator in coach Todd Bowles, the Buccaneers defense played as expected.
However, it was actually encouraging to see the Falcons offense get into a rhythm and begin to show some productivity in the red zone. Although the ending isn’t what we wanted, there’s certainly plenty for this Falcons offense to build on going into this Sunday against the Giants defense.
That being stated, this Giants defense isn’t to be overlooked. With youth and talent at all three levels of their defense, let’s see how the Falcons offense stacks up against the Giants defense.
In the trenches
When looking at the Giants defense, it’s easy to see that they definitely have some size and talent up front. Leonard Williams, who was acquired from the Jets, and Dexter Lawrence, a 2019 1st round draft pick, anchor this Giants defensive line. Add Austin Johnson and Danny Shelton, and you have a defensive line that could give the Falcons offensive front some trouble owing to their size and strength.
Although the Falcons looked better against the Buccaneers, they still had some trouble upfront, especially up the middle. The offensive line definitely showed some good things, but overall, it’s still a young unit. We will need to see better line calls and blitz and stunt recognition by center Matt Hennessy and crew, and we certainly want to see this unit improve week by week. However, Coach Smith will still have to call a good game to give Matt Ryan some time to throw, as there are probably more tough times ahead for the interior of the offensive line.
Advantage: Giants
The skill positions
The Giants have some interesting pieces at the LB position that are led by Lorenzo Carter, Blake Martinez and Oshane Ximines. Although they’re a fairly young group, they’re very tough and are coming along well in the defensive scheme. The Giants also have some talent on the back end. They have James Bradberry and newly acquired Adoree’ Jackson at the CB position, and Jabril Peppers and Logan Ryan as their starting safeties, and while it’s a good group it hasn’t been great on the field so far. This secondary group is a group that likes to force offenses to throw underneath, so expect to see more of that by the Falcons offense. We’ve already seen a lot of it.
We finally got to see the skilled positions for the Falcons offense perform against the Buccanneers. Calvin Ridley and Cordarrelle Patterson had some really good reps in the red zone, and the unicorn whose name is Kyle Pitts showed why he’s primed to be an All-Pro. Although the possible loss of Russell Gage could hurt the unit as a whole, the Falcons still have the pieces to really make a big impact against this Giants defense.
Advantage: Falcons
Overall
The Falcons absolutely have a chance to build on their positives against the Giants this Sunday, but they’ll be facing another talented defensive front. The hope this coming Sunday is that the offensive front continues to improve, but most importantly the gameplan and play calling improve.
The Giants defense can be exposed by this Falcons offense if Coach Smith calls a good game, because they have talent but are not necessarily great. Smith has been good at using pre-snap motion, which he will certainly want to continue. After seeing what the Broncos did, the Falcons can expose the Giants secondary in man coverage by using some bunch sets, isolations, and some good route concepts. That will have to include moving Pitts around for favorable matc ups and involving him even more, because he can create chaos and new opportunities for the offense.
It will have to be the best game they’ve put together so far, but a good day for the offense is within reach.
Advantage: Falcons
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