The Falcons Look to Right the Ship vs. 49ers

Atlanta Falcons: 2 - 1 Game time: 4:15pm Eastern The Falcons return from their bye week to face the surprisingly tough San Francisco 49ers, their second road game in a row. Their last trip, up to Foxboro to take on the enigmatic Patriots, did not go so well. That loss sits especially poorly with me, because it came against a team that did not look very good. Tom Brady was not crisp, throwing for just over 50% on the day, with just a single touchdown (not to Randy Moss). What was very frustrating was the Falcons' inability to stop the Pats on 3rd down (and in a couple of instances, 4th). Part of this was due to Fred Taylor picking apart the Falcons' run defense and keeping the ball in Brady's hands (nearly 40 minutes of the game!). Frankly there are several things that went wrong for the Birds, and these are things that will have to be corrected for today's game against the 9ers: First and foremost, the Falcons really need to win in the time of possession game, and this starts with the running game. Michael Turner was stifled against the Patriots, and Jason Snelling didn't provide the same one-two punch effect that Jerious Norwood does. The 3-4 defense seems to be anathema to the Falcons' running offense, and the 49ers employ a (thus far) successful 3-4 defense. Turner (and more specifically the O-line) will have to find and create holes in this defense and keep the 49ers' offense off the field. The defensive line needs to step up. The good news for the Falcons front four is that Frank Gore is out for the 49ers. Glen Coffee is a talented back, so it will be up to the front line to keep his production down. More importantly, the pressure on the quarterback will also have to improve. It started strong strong - they sacked Chad Pennington 4 times, then Jake Delhomme once, but barely got a finger on Brady (and think what you want of the officials and their desire to protect Brady...). Shaun Hill needs to feel uncomfortable and off balance, and hopefully error prone. It's up to John Abraham to set the tone. The Falcons offense needs to cut loose. Roddy White's production hasn't been up to last year's level, and Matt Ryan hasn't really tested any team's deep defense. It's time for that to change. Tony Gonzalez was kept under wraps by the Pats' defense (a bracket coverage, he called it), but forcing the defense to spread out down field takes that option away. White, Gonzalez, Michael Jenkins, Brian Finneran, Norwood, Turner - Matt Ryan has an arsenal, and he has demonstrated that he's good enough to use it; turn him loose. Tye Hill got plenty of work during the bye, and Brian Williams thus far has been the only corner to have stepped up, so don't be surprised to see Hill get plenty of playing time today. The Falcons may not be done making moves - it has yet to be proven that they can adequately replace Peria Jerry for the season, so look for Thomas Johnson and Trey Lewis to play with their hearts on their sleeves. I wouldn't be shocked to see Jamaal Anderson lining up in the middle with greater frequency either, which would open more game time for Kroy Biermann and Lawrence Sidbury, a move that has very little downside. Two weeks ago, the Patriots told the Falcons that they aren't an elite team. Today, it's time to say "We're closer than you think."