J.T. Olsen – Bucs Report
Special to Sports Talk Florida
It’s a quick turn around this week as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers travel to Atlanta for Thursday night football. This is a critical division game as the Bucs look to keep control of the NFC South. If they can beat the Falcons here then there is no doubt that Todd Bowles will have his team in the driver’s seat for another division crown.
However, this will be no easy task. Most experts picked the Falcons to win the NFC South in the preseason. This is in large part due to an upgrade at quarterback as well as a change in coaching staff. So far the needle is pointing up for Atlanta despite their 2-2 record.
Can the Bucs bury the dirty birds and start to distance themselves in the playoff race? Or will they come out flat again following a big win? I looked at the matchups in this game in this week’s Skeleton Keys to Victory vs the Falcons.
Attack The Right Wing Of The Falcons
We have talked a lot about the injuries that the Bucs have been dealing with this year. Rightfully so considering the caliber of players they have been missing and that they had 40% of their roster on the injury report going into Sunday’s game vs the Eagles. However, the Buccaneers are certainly not alone in terms of dealing with injuries.
The Falcons have their starting center Drew Dalman currently on injured reserve. They also have their starting right tackle Kaleb McGary banged up with a knee injury and his status is unclear going into this game. This is essentially half of the Falcons offensive line that is hurt.
Specifically the right half of their offensive line. With only all pro guard Chris Lindstrom healthy on the right side of the line, this is an area that the Bucs can attack. Both in terms of a lack of talent and in terms of inexperience, the Falcons could be weak on that side going into this game on Thursday.
Steer Clear Of Safeties
The Falcons defense has looked impressive this year. They haven’t allowed more than 24 points in any game, despite their 2-2 record. This is not surprising considering new head coach Raheem Morris cut his teeth as a defensive coordinator in the NFL before becoming a head coach.
The foundation of this all starts on the back end. Atlanta rolls out the best safety duo in the NFL in Jesse Bates (who is a top three safety in football) and Justin Simmons. They are both dangerous playmakers who can change the outlook of a game single handedly.
Staying away from these two will be critical. This won’t be easy because the entire Falcons secondary is good, especially outside cornerback AJ Terrell. But the game plan should be similar to what we saw against the Eagles; quick throws and attacking linebackers and corners who are one on one in coverage.
Make The Falcons Fly High
The Falcons are a team who is built to run the ball. They spent a top ten pick on running back Bijan Robinson and they have an excellent offensive line. So, naturally, you want to make them beat you in a different way.
This is part of why the Falcons received so much hype in the offseason. The addition of quarterback Kirk Cousins was supposed to mean that Atlanta could air it out when teams took away that strong rushing offense. However that really hasn’t been the case thus far.
Cousins is averaging just 216 passing yards a game this year as well as one touchdown and one interception. For those kinds of numbers they really just could have kept Desmond Ridder from last year. The goal should be to force Cousins to prove that he can carry this offense and until he does then focus on stopping the run.
Overall
This is a game that both teams have circled and both understand the importance of. These are the two best teams in the division and gaining ground on the other in these head to head matchups means a lot. I won’t call it a must win game, but it is very important.
Right now it seems like the Falcons haven’t quite found their footing yet. And while a month ago I would have called this game a loss in a series split this year, here and now the Bucs are playing better than Atlanta. This is no layup, especially on the road, but I expect the Bucs to win.
Prediction
Buccaneers – 27
Falcons – 20
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