Falcons game reminds me of Houston game last year

[mandal24]

Think about it...

Both have explosive offenses with above average quarterbacks...

Andre Johnson compares to Roddy White (edge goes to Johnson)
Steve Slaton compares to Michael Turner (edge goes to Turner)
Matt Ryan compares to Matt Shaub (equal)
Similar Olines
Owen Daniels similar to Tony Gonzalez (edge goes to Gonzo)
Mario Williams similar to John Abraham (equal)

One huge difference. Atlanta's defense is not nearly as good as Houston's.

That difference gives Miami the edge IMO.

 

[Pinkboy]

So then Cobbs needs at least 2 touchdowns today.

And we have to pull out a couple of new wildcat plays out of the hat.

And not let Atlanta have the ball last with a minute to go.

Gotcha.

 

[SRM]

Well, let's hope Ryan doesn't scramble in for a TD on the last play to win the game.

 

[chibully]

yea. Too bad these guys you mentioned on atl are better than the guys on houston, like Matt Ryan.

 

[mandal24]

yea. Too bad these guys you mentioned on atl are better than the guys on houston, like Matt Ryan.

I disagree completely.
Only big advantage for Atlanta is Michael Turner over Slaton. and Gonzalez over Daniels.
Johnson is better than White.
Shaub and Ryan are nearly identical.
Williams and Abraham are similar. Williams is actually better against the run though.
As a whole defense though, Houston is much better. That is why i feel good about this game. We SHOULD'VE won in Houston... We WILL win in Atlanta against a much inferior defense.

 

[RonBrown]

Johnson > White
Slaton < Turner
Schaub > Ryan (Schaub is proven, just has injuries)
Daniels < Gonzalez
Williams = Abraham

Should be a good game, I see the similarities as well now that you mention it.

 

[Kal]

Interesting comparison between Texans and Falcons.

Offensively Schaub is a good QB, but he doesn't have Ryan's ability to read a defence or avoid pressure. Our offensive line is significantly better. Duane Brown is possibly the worst starting left tackle in the league. Andre Johnson is a better receiver than Roddy White, though Jenkins is a better number 2 than Walters imo. Gonzalez is much better than Owen Daniels, no comparison there. Slaton is a good back, but the combination of Turner/ Norwood is far superior. Offensively I believe us to be more balanced and much better than the Texans.

Defensively, they relied heavily on Mario Williams and even then he's nowhere near the pass rusher than Abraham is. Ignore sacks and look at total pressure and Abe is in a world of his own. The downside is that he comes out a lot more, but a player like Chauncey Davis comes in and is very solid against the run. The Texans defensive tackles are good, but you may be surprised bu the play of Babineaux and Trey Lewis. I hate predicting rookies so I'll wait and see what Jerry can do. Linebacker wise Lofton is better in run support than Ryans, but not the coverage backer he was. The other Texans backers were poor.

Secondary wise the Texans didn't have Robinson for the game against you, and their other corners are both worse in coverage than Chris Houston. Our second corner may be a victim, while safety wise its a wash as both weren't/ aren't particularly good.

Special teams - advantage Falcons.

We're a stronger team than the Texans that faced you last year. But then you're a stronger team than the team that faced the Texans as well.

 

[Pinkboy]

Run at Abraham all day Long... Keyword is "Long"... As in JAKE Long.

And pull Donald Thomas around to the left for good measure.

Abraham is playing on a bad knee and we need to run at him because he is not that good against the run.. Knock Abraham and his bad knee out of the game early.

Then pass on their crappy secondary later in the game.

 

[Kal]

Run at Abraham all day Long... Keyword is "Long"... As in JAKE Long.

And pull Donald Thomas around to the left for good measure.

Abraham is playing on a bad knee and we need to run at him because he is not that good against the run.. Knock Abraham and his bad knee out of the game early.

Then pass on their crappy secondary later in the game.

You can't run on what is not in the game. We use Abraham to preserve him. Last year he played in 50% of all running downs (and he actually played reasonably well, he still penetrates in the backfield) and this his total snap numbers will probably drop as we have a deeper rotation at defensive end with the emergence last year of Kroy Biermann as a two way defender and the draft signing of the impressive as far Lawrence Sidbury.

Not saying you can't run against us, but I would imagine Abraham to be the exact type of defender that Long will struggle with in any phase of the game (since the most questionable aspect of Long is his footwork with speedier defenders)

 

[ChambersWI]

yea. Too bad these guys you mentioned on atl are better than the guys on houston, like Matt Ryan.

I dunno about that. Andre Johnson is better than Roddy White. IMO AJ is only behind Fitz when it comes to WRs.

Turner is obviously better than Slaton, but we may do a better job against Turner. Slaton is a speed back, and one thing 3-4 teams do struggle with is speed (mainly because the DL is essentially 3 DTs, and 2 of the 4 LBs were DEs in college), while Turner is gonna pound it up the middle. I think Turner will be huge, but I don't think he'll break any long runs against us.

Mario Williams is better than John Abraham. Abraham is a great speed rusher, but pretty bad against the run. Plus, he's always getting knicked up. Super Mario can speed rush or bull rush.

Gonzo over his career is heads and shoulders about Daniels, but Daniels is a pretty athletic young TE and is essentially another WR. Gonzo was like that, and is still dangerous, but he doesn't have the speed he once had. Still, Gonzo could have a big day.

Matty Ice and Schaub is tough. Ryan had a very good rookie season, but when you look at his numbers they really were average. Schaub gets injured a lot, but he has proven to be a competent starter and is a bit of a threat to run.

The big difference is you have to compare the supporting casts of the teams.

Kevin Walter is a better number 2 than Michael Jenkins

Demeco Ryans is a better MLB than Curtis Lofton (atleast right now)

Dunta Robinson and Fred Bennett are betters CBs than Ben Grimes and Chris Houston.

Jacoby Jones and Andre Davis are probably better 3 and 4 WRs than Harry Douglas and Brian Finneran (?).

Only other advantage I'd give the Falcons is Jerious Norwood who is better than Ryan Moats. Norwood could hurt us this game.

 

[greenmiamicat]

If ATL's D is nowhere close to being as good as HOU's than MIA should score at will today cause HOU's D sucks too.

 

[Kal]

I dunno about that. Andre Johnson is better than Roddy White. IMO AJ is only behind Fitz when it comes to WRs.

Turner is obviously better than Slaton, but we may do a better job against Turner. Slaton is a speed back, and one thing 3-4 teams do struggle with is speed (mainly because the DL is essentially 3 DTs, and 2 of the 4 LBs were DEs in college), while Turner is gonna pound it up the middle. I think Turner will be huge, but I don't think he'll break any long runs against us.

Mario Williams is better than John Abraham. Abraham is a great speed rusher, but pretty bad against the run. Plus, he's always getting knicked up. Super Mario can speed rush or bull rush.

Gonzo over his career is heads and shoulders about Daniels, but Daniels is a pretty athletic young TE and is essentially another WR. Gonzo was like that, and is still dangerous, but he doesn't have the speed he once had. Still, Gonzo could have a big day.

Matty Ice and Schaub is tough. Ryan had a very good rookie season, but when you look at his numbers they really were average. Schaub gets injured a lot, but he has proven to be a competent starter and is a bit of a threat to run.

The big difference is you have to compare the supporting casts of the teams.

Kevin Walter is a better number 2 than Michael Jenkins

Demeco Ryans is a better MLB than Curtis Lofton (atleast right now)

Dunta Robinson and Fred Bennett are betters CBs than Ben Grimes and Chris Houston.

Jacoby Jones and Andre Davis are probably better 3 and 4 WRs than Harry Douglas and Brian Finneran (?).

Only other advantage I'd give the Falcons is Jerious Norwood who is better than Ryan Moats. Norwood could hurt us this game.

I'd argue with the points I've bolded. Firstly Abraham isn't a bad run defender. He's no Justin Tuck but he's better than people give him credit for. He is a much more productive pass rusher than Williams, no denying that. Daniels is a good receiver, but he's not in Gonzalez' league right now. Gonzalez is still exceptional and the best receiving tight end in the league on the back of last year. Plus he is a much better blocker than Daniels who is quite frankly terrible in this respect.

Walters against Jenkins ... I like both ... I'd rather have Jenkins

Ryans is a better coverage linebacker but he is nowhere near Lofton in run support. Ryans makes too many of his tackles downfield and doesn't shed blockers well.

Dunta Robinson didn't play against you guys last year and Bennett didn't start so it's a pointless thing to compare since we're comparing the Texans team that beat you guys, with the Falcons team that will try to beat you guys :)

 

[TXFinFan]

Andre Johnson is so much better than White, it's not funny. Also, Mario and Abraham have the same exact number of sacks over the last 3 years, so it's fair to call them close to equal right now, but Mario is on the way up, and Abraham is on the way down. Mario will be the better player when it is all said and done.

The Falcons have the advantage in the running game, but that's about it.

 

[ChambersWI]

I'd argue with the points I've bolded. Firstly Abraham isn't a bad run defender. He's no Justin Tuck but he's better than people give him credit for. He is a much more productive pass rusher than Williams, no denying that. Daniels is a good receiver, but he's not in Gonzalez' league right now. Gonzalez is still exceptional and the best receiving tight end in the league on the back of last year. Plus he is a much better blocker than Daniels who is quite frankly terrible in this respect.

Walters against Jenkins ... I like both ... I'd rather have Jenkins

Ryans is a better coverage linebacker but he is nowhere near Lofton in run support. Ryans makes too many of his tackles downfield and doesn't shed blockers well.

Dunta Robinson didn't play against you guys last year and Bennett didn't start so it's a pointless thing to compare since we're comparing the Texans team that beat you guys, with the Falcons team that will try to beat you guys :)

yeah I realize the last point. The rest I think is all a matter of opinion. Not blasting you as I do like the Falcons. Just my personal opinion on some of the players differs:buds: