4 Falcons the Colts should gameplan for in Week 3

[birdz4i 9,326]

By: John Alfieri | 19 minutes ago

 

 

The Indianapolis Colts (1-1) and Atlanta Falcons (1-1) are both coming off stressful victories with late fourth-quarter touchdown passes in Week 2.

The Falcons finally got their air-raid offense going with their talented deep-ball thrower, Matt Ryan, struggling but getting the job done when it mattered most.

With an exciting matchup set for Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET, here are four falcons the Colts have to gameplan for if they want to win their home opener:

 

WR Julio Jones

This one is obvious, right? Regarded as arguably the best receiver in football, this 6-foot-3, 220-pound deep threat can put an end to the game quickly if he gets going. The six-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro had five catches for 106 yards, and two scores last week against Philadelphia.

With Pierre Desir still questionable with a knee injury, The Colts secondary will most likely double cover Jones to try and limit his targets. Should Desir miss, rookie Rock Ya-Sin could see plenty of snaps across from Jones.

 

WR Calvin Ridley

Atlanta’s talent at the receiver position does not stop with Julio Jones. Another Alabama wideout, Ridley is in his second year and is already making an impact in the Falcons pass-heavy offense.

Last week against the Eagles, Ridley finished with eight catches for 105 yards and a touchdown. With Jones drawing a lot of attention from corners and safeties, Ridley finds open spots on the field very well and takes advantage of holes in the secondary.

He forms a two-headed monster with Julio that will keep the Colts secondary busy on Sunday.

 

S Keanu Neal

Neal is an incredible run-stopping safety with great coverage skills as well. Last week against the Eagles he had nine total tackles and came up big on the final drive.

He is also a talented blitzing safety as well, providing pressure on Carson Wentz whenever he had the opportunity. The Colts offensive line will have to pick him up if the want to continue to have success moving the ball on the ground.

 

DT Grady Jarrett

One of the unsung heroes of Atlanta’s 24-20 win against Philadelphia last week was Jarrett. He was living in the backfield all night and forced Carson Wentz to make some awkward throws.

He recorded five total tackles, two sacks and two tackles for a loss. Jarrett is a big presence in the middle that can bust through any offensive lineman in front of him. It will be an interesting battle to see Jarrett lined up against Quenton Nelson on Sunday in the trenches.

 

 

https://coltswire.usatoday.com/2019/09/18/indianapolis-colts-atlanta-falcons-week-3-players-gameplan-for/

[⚡Slumerican⚡ 5,094]

If Barner cant return on ST, looks like Ito will probably stand in.. 

[KRUNKuno 6,452]

40 minutes ago, birdz4i said:

By: John Alfieri | 19 minutes ago

 

 

The Indianapolis Colts (1-1) and Atlanta Falcons (1-1) are both coming off stressful victories with late fourth-quarter touchdown passes in Week 2.

The Falcons finally got their air-raid offense going with their talented deep-ball thrower, Matt Ryan, struggling but getting the job done when it mattered most.

[Ovie_Lover 23,726]

1 minute ago, KRUNKuno said:

[OrthoPTSD 209]

Also Grady unsung hero? Do huh?

[GrimeyKidd 896]

2 hours ago, ⚡Slumerican⚡ said:

If Barner cant return on ST, looks like Ito will probably stand in.. 

They did talk up Sheffield there too so id think it would be interesting 

[falconsrsuper 176]

14 minutes ago, OrthoPTSD said:

Also Grady unsung hero? Do huh?

It also reads grady had 2 sacks, I only had him down for one.

[NWFALCON 2,474]

2 hours ago, ⚡Slumerican⚡ said:

If Barner cant return on ST, looks like Ito will probably stand in.. 

I wonder if they bring the Powell kid up from the PS. 

Edited September 19 by NWFALCON

[Faithful Falcon 6,474]

20 minutes ago, GrimeyKidd said:

They did talk up Sheffield there too so id think it would be interesting 

I would like to see that. 

[E. T. 4,862]

Question should be, who do we gameplan for on the Colts? They really seem to be a mystery right now.

[NWFALCON 2,474]

2 minutes ago, E. T. said:

Question should be, who do we gameplan for on the Colts? They really seem to be a mystery right now.

Probably try to contain the run. We have to make them one dimensional. 

[falconsrsuper 176]

 

3 minutes ago, E. T. said:

Question should be, who do we gameplan for on the Colts? They really seem to be a mystery right now.

Their RB marlon mack has 225 yards rushing which should be top 5 rushing. They lost to the chargers in OT in san diego(road game) and they beat a good titans team in nashville(road game). This will be their first home game at lucas stadium.

[E. T. 4,862]

1 minute ago, NWFALCON said:

Probably try to contain the run. We have to make them one dimensional. 

That would be my guess. 

[E. T. 4,862]

1 minute ago, falconsrsuper said:

 

Their RB marlon mack has 225 yards rushing which should be top 5 rushing. They lost to the chargers in OT in san diego(road game) and they beat a good titans team in nashville(road game). This will be their first home game at lucas stadium.

That's what I'm saying, They're kinda flying under the radar right now...we contain him, they may bust us for 400 yds in the air.

[falconsrsuper 176]

2 minutes ago, E. T. said:

That's what I'm saying, They're kinda flying under the radar right now...we contain him, they may bust us for 400 yds in the air.

I agree, Alot of people are thinking this is an easy win. I hope our players/coaching staff arent thinking the same thing. Also another thing to consider is the falcons record vs the AFC hasnt been to good the last few yrs. 

[ATLSlobberKnockers 6,199]

8 minutes ago, E. T. said:

That's what I'm saying, They're kinda flying under the radar right now...we contain him, they may bust us for 400 yds in the air.

Yeah let's make them have to bust us for 400 yds in the air. We get them to pass 40 times we win.

[Hurry_Up_And_Buy 324]

3 hours ago, ⚡Slumerican⚡ said:

If Barner cant return on ST, looks like Ito will probably stand in.. 

Wonder if Russell got any looks? He returned at LSU didn't he?

[PokerSteve 23,436]

30 minutes ago, NWFALCON said:

Probably try to contain the run. We have to make them one dimensional. 

Yep. They're passing game is all just beyond the line of scrimmage, like 5-7 yards. Little to no long passes to worry about. Stop the run because they aren't going anywhere with their passing game.

[Falcanuck 9,947]

You can tell this writer knows nothing about the Falcons

[Beast-N-Da-Sheetz 2,548]

4 hours ago, ⚡Slumerican⚡ said:

If Barner cant return on ST, looks like Ito will probably stand in.. 

 

24 minutes ago, Hurry_Up_And_Buy said:

Wonder if Russell got any looks? He returned at LSU didn't he?

We actually have a few options on the roster for punt return duties. I wouldn't mind seeing Ridley back there. He looked good returning last year in pre season. I know he's a big part of the offense but even AB was still returning punts recently in Pittsburgh.

[Flyin' In DC 1,969]

42 minutes ago, ATLSlobberKnockers said:

Yeah let's make them have to bust us for 400 yds in the air. We get them to pass 40 times we win.

This is my take. We have to stop the run. Their O-line is awfully good. There are also a lot of "experts" picking the Colts

Brissett, I think has to have the run game. Mack is no joke but he is on the injured list today. 

[⚡Slumerican⚡ 5,094]

38 minutes ago, Beast-N-Da-Sheetz said:

 

We actually have a few options on the roster for punt return duties. I wouldn't mind seeing Ridley back there. He looked good returning last year in pre season. I know he's a big part of the offense but even AB was still returning punts recently in Pittsburgh.

Ito seemed to me like he was very hesitant the few looks he got. I dont believe his confidence is where it needs to be to actually return a kickoff, much less a punt. And id definitely rather not see Ridley back there.. Hes too valuable to us imo

[falconidae 21,056]

1 hour ago, ATLSlobberKnockers said:

Yeah let's make them have to bust us for 400 yds in the air. We get them to pass 40 times we win.

Bristle has a YPA of 6.1, he'd need 66 attempts to get to 400.

[NWFALCON 2,474]

19 minutes ago, ⚡Slumerican⚡ said:

Ito seemed to me like he was very hesitant the few looks he got. I dont believe his confidence is where it needs to be to actually return a kickoff, much less a punt. And id definitely rather not see Ridley back there.. Hes too valuable to us imo

We have a good returner on the practice squad. 

[Beast-N-Da-Sheetz 2,548]

14 minutes ago, ⚡Slumerican⚡ said:

Ito seemed to me like he was very hesitant the few looks he got. I dont believe his confidence is where it needs to be to actually return a kickoff, much less a punt. And id definitely rather not see Ridley back there.. Hes too valuable to us imo

Yeah Ito ain't the guy for that but Ridley is a serious threat at PR. It's not often returners get hurt and besides it'll be nice to get points or good field position at least from our special teams.