Didinger: Eagles-Falcons Scouting Report

Sizing up Sundays game between the Eagles (1-0) and the Atlanta Falcons (0-1) at the Georgia Dome.

When the Eagles have the ball

TheEagles had an easy time of it in their last two games against Atlanta,scoring 65 points and rolling up more than 800 yards in a pair oflopsided wins. That was with Donovan McNabb and Kevin Kolb atquarterback. Now they have the dynamic Mike Vick running the offenseand going back to the Georgia Dome where he once was the headliner.

TheAtlanta defense, which was exposed by Green Bay in the playoffs lastyear, looks no better this season. They were shredded by Chicago lastSunday as quarterback Jay Cutler passed for 312 yards and twotouchdowns in a 30-12 rout. The Falcons couldnt stop the pass andcouldnt tackle. The one thing they did well was rush the quarterback(five sacks) so that has to concern the Eagles, who allowed far too manyhits on Vick last week in St. Louis.

If the O-line can protectVick at all he should have fun throwing against this defense. TheEagles have too much firepower for the Falcons. DeSean Jackson had abig game against the Rams (six catches, 102 yards) and Jeremy Maclinand Steve Smith figure to have a bigger role this week. Atlantas bestdefender is Brent Grimes, a feisty little cornerback from Shippensburg (and Northeast High School in Philadelphia),but the other corner Dunta Robinson has been a disappointment. Safety William Moore is a big hitter, but lacks the speed to match upwith the Eagles receivers.

After seeing what Chicagos MattForte did to the Falcons (158 total yards), Andy Reid and MartyMornhinweg should be drawing up a big package for running back LeSeanMcCoy. McCoy comes into the game as the NFCs leading rusher with 122yardsdid you ever think youd see the Eagles under Reid with theNFCs top rusher?and he has a track record of putting up big numbersin domes. In his last three games in domes, McCoy has rushed for 391 yards(8.3 yards per carry) and four touchdowns.

Atlanta hoped toimprove its defense by signing free agent defensive end Ray Edwards,the ex-Viking, but he was invisible last week in Chicago. Their bestdefensive lineman is still 33-year-old John Abraham, who hasnt lost anyof his quickness. Abraham is always a threat rushing off the edge. Hehad 10 or more sacks in three of the last four seasons and he had twosacks of Cutler last Sunday. Abraham is Atlantas best hope of corrallingVick.

Last season the Eagles, playing with Kolb at quarterback,did a good job of neutralizing Abraham. They used misdirection plays toslow him down and ran bootlegs with Kolb rolling away from Abrahamsside. You hardly heard Abrahams name mentioned all day. Vick is adifferent kind of quarterback so the Eagles may employ a differentstrategy, but they have to come up with something to keep Abraham incheck.

Abraham moves around. He usually lines up on the openside away from the tight end to avoid double teams. That means bothtacklesJason Peters on the left, Todd Herremans on the rightwillhave the responsibility of blocking Abraham. It will be interesting tosee if Abraham takes most of his snaps over Herremans since (a)Herremans is new to the right tackle position and (b) that is Vicksblind side.

When the Falcons have the ball

TheAtlanta offense had a frustrating day in Chicago. The Falcons moved theball well (386 total yards) and quarterback Matt Ryan had good numbers(31 for 47 passing), but they killed themselves with mistakes. Theyturned the ball over three times and never did reach the end zone. Theonly Atlanta touchdown was scored by the defense.

The Falconshad breakdowns in key moments. They were four for 13 on third-downconversions and came up empty in the red zone. The big problem was aninability to protect the passer. Ryan was under a heavy rush all day.The Penn Charter product was sacked five times, one of them resultingin a fumble that Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher returned for atouchdown. He also was hurried 13 times.

With all that pressure,offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey had to scale back his play-calling.Of Ryans 47 pass attempts, only three traveled more than 15 yards. Itwas all quick stuff designed to get the ball out in a hurry.

Thatsnot the way this offense is supposed to operate. With a big-timeplaymaker in Roddy White at one receiver spot, the great Tony Gonzalezat tight end and stud rookie Julio Jones on the other side, the Falconsexpect to be a big-play team with Ryan gunning the ball down the field.But they cant play that way unless they protect the quarterback andthey couldnt do it against the Bears.

This week the Falconsface an Eagles defense that recorded five sacks against the Rams. It isa different kind of pressure from what the Eagles have shown in thepast. They dont blitz much at all. They sent an extra rusher on fewerthan 20 percent of the snaps against the Rams, but they generatedplenty of heat from the front four. All five sacks went to the D-linewith Jason Babin getting two.

On the flip side, the Rams hadsuccess running the ball. Even though they lost their top back StevenJackson early in the game, they still gained 154 yards on 26 carries, a5.9 yard average. The Eagles' young linebackers once again had troublegetting off blocks and getting to the football. The Falcons haveMichael Turner, a 245-pound runner with speed. Turner had 100 yards onjust 10 carries against the Bears. If the Eagles miss a tackle or a gapassignment this week, Turner can take it to the house.

So thatis the dilemma facing Mularkey. How does he call this game? He probablywould like to use the no-huddle. It was effective early against theBears and it would keep the Eagles from changing defensive personneland rotating the linemen, which they want to do. But he watched the tapeof the Eagles-Rams game and saw those linebackers on their backs and heis thinking maybe just handing the ball to Turner is the smarter way togo.

My guess is Mularkey opens with the no-huddle to get Ryanand the offense in a rhythm. Once he has the Eagles on their heels, hecan send Turner between the tackles. Use the pass to set up the run, inother words. The Falcons were most effective last week in the no-huddleand a fast pace would make it difficult for a team with as many newparts as the Eagles' defense to adjust and keep up.

Special teams

Itis going to take awhile to get a feel for the two rookies, placekickerAlex Henery and punter Chas Henry. The results last week were mixed.Henery was successful on his one field goal attempt (34 yards), but hehad only one touchback on six kickoffs and in a dome with the new rulesyou would have expected better. Henry had three punts with a long of 39yards.

Dion Lewis, another rookie, had trouble on kickoffreturns, bringing two out of the end zone (unwisely) and both timesbeing tackled inside the 15. Lewis is swift and shifty and probablywill break a few returns, but he has to use better judgment.

EricWeems made the Pro Bowl as a return specialist last season, but he wassmothered in Chicago. He averaged 16 yards on two kickoff returns witha long return of 20 yards. He averaged 3.3 yards on three punt returnswith a long of eight yards. Credit excellent coverage by the Bears.

MattBryant, who once hit a 62-yard field goal to beat the Eagles while inTampa Bay, is the Falcons' placekicker. Matt Bosher is the punter.

Intangibles

TheEagles have owned this series under Andy Reid, winning eight of ninegames against the Falcons including the last four in a rowMatt Ryanhas lost twice to the Eagles, both times in PhiladelphiaAnd, oh yes, Iheard something about this being a homecoming of sorts for Mike Vick.That may create a stir.

Prediction

TheFalcons are a desperate team. They need this win because they have atough game next week in Tampa Bay and an even tougher one against GreenBay in Week 5. If they lose Sunday, they could be looking at a 1-4start. Ill go with the desperate team at home.

Falcons 31, Eagles 28.

E-mail Ray Didinger at viewfromthehall@comcast.net.