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Posts Tagged ‘Atlanta Falcons’

December 26th, 2010 By Andrew "Mr. Multi-Task" Ryan - Cappersinfo Contributor

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The playoff picture in the NFC has gotten very, very interesting for Monday Night Football this week, and it all wraps up with a clash between the New Orleans Saints and the Atlanta Falcons. These two teams certainly do not like each other, and they played a fantastic duel the first time around in Week 4. K Garrett Hartley missed a chip shot field goal attempt in overtime that would have won the game and put the NFC South at a deadlock. Now, with a two game edge, the Falcons have a chance to put a stranglehold on the conference. Check out our Monday Night Football picks for one of the biggest games of the year!

Matchup: New Orleans Saints @ Atlanta Falcons
Date: Monday, December 27th, 8:30 ET
Location: Georgia Dome, Atlanta, GA
Game Line: Atlanta -2.5
Over/Under 49.5

Saints Notes: With the Tampa Bay Buccaneers winning this week, the pressure is really on the Saints, who know that they need to win this game to avoid what could be a do or die duel against the visiting Bucs next week at the Superdome. Winning this one still leaves a chance there to win the NFC South and the No. 1 overall seed in the conference. Two very notable injuries really could be harmful to the offense's efforts. WR Robert Meachem is the lesser known injury, as he suddenly popped up on the injury report with a toe injury. RB Chris Ivory really needs to get into the fold again, as he has become a critical part of the running game with both RB Reggie Bush and RB Pierre Thomas missing a good chunk of the season. Now, Ivory is the one that is down with a hamstring injury that cost him last week's loss against the Baltimore Ravens. Meanwhile, QB Drew Brees is once again going to have all the pressure in the world on his back. He has already thrown the ball 571 times this year, and he has 4,122 yards and 31 TDs this year. The problem he has is that he has also thrown 19 picks, one of the highest totals in the NFL. WR Marques Colston is the top target for Brees on the year. He has caught 82 passes for 1,002 yards and seven TDs. WR Lance Moore has been the unsung hero as the slot receiver. He has 56 grabs for 662 yards, and he leads the team with eight trips to the end zone on offense. Defensively, allowing at least 27 points three times over the course of the last four weeks really leaves some room for pessimism against one of the best teams that the league has to offer.

Falcons Notes: The equation for the Falcons is simple. They need to win this game or win next week against the Carolina Panthers to snare the top seed in the NFC South. This task really shouldn't be all that difficult considering the fact that QB Matt Ryan has only been beaten once in his career at home. The numbers here just aren't that impressive, as it isn't often that you see a team that is 12-2 that averages 349.4 yards per game and is allowing 332.9 yards per game. Both numbers are very middling in relation to the rest of the league, but the job is still getting done when push comes to shove. Ryan has a lot of great help at his disposal this year, but we can't discount the job that he has done. The former Boston College Eagle has thrown for 3,321 yards and 25 touchdowns this season. RB Michael Turner ran wild on the Saints the first time around in one of his five 100+ yard games on the ground this year. He has 1,256 yards and 11 TDs this year, and he is certainly one of the most used running backs in the NFL. WR Roddy White is arguably the best receiver in the league this year. He has 106 receptions, 1,284 yards, and eight TDs. Don't forget about TE Tony Gonzalez, though. The future Hall of Famer has caught 62 passes for 591 yards and five TDs. Defensively, the secondary has had its moments of failure for the second straight season, but the pass rush this year really has been great. DE John Abraham has picked up 12 sacks this year, and he is well on his way to being one of the top sack leaders in the game.

The Final Word: Atlanta really needs to just put this one away and just move on to the playoffs. The Saints are a solid team, but they really are up against it in this one. As they found out last week at the Ravens, winning on the road in this league is very, very difficult. The task of stopping the Falcons at the Georgia Dome is darn near impossible, though. Atlanta really did outplay New Orleans at the Superdome three months ago, and we wouldn't be surprised if we have the exact same result again on Monday.

Free Pro Football Picks: Atlanta -2.5
Prediction: Atlanta 27- New Orleans 17

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November 11th, 2010 By Andrew "Mr. Multi-Task" Ryan - Cappersinfo Contributor

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The Atlanta Falcons will look to avoid a second straight NFL betting defeat at home against a divisional rival when they take on the Baltimore Ravens on MNF.

Matchup: Baltimore Ravens @ Atlanta Falcons
Date: Thursday, November 11th, 8:20 ET
Location: Georgia Dome, Atlanta, GA
Game Line: Atlanta -1
Over/Under 43.5

Ravens Notes: Last week, the Ravens finally got their defense rolling, holding the Miami Dolphins to just ten points after two straight bad games before their bye week. Baltimore is back atop the AFC North at 6-2 and is tied for the best record in football. With SS Ed Reed back in the fold, there is nothing that this defense can't do. Reed picked off three passes in his first two games back from an injury that cost him the first half of Baltimore's season. The Ravens are only a middle of the road offensive team statistically speaking, as the team ranks between No. 11 and No. 15 in virtually every major category on this side of the ball. However, it seems like just a matter of time before QB Joe Flacco, WR Anquan Boldin, RB Ray Rice, and the gang all shine at one time. Flacco is on pace to throw for nearly 4,000 yards this season, as he has 1,917 yards and 12 TDs on the season. He is hooking up with Boldin on a regular basis. Though the former Florida State Seminole only had two catches for 28 yards last week, he still has 40 grabs for 546 yards and five scores this year. Rice is the more interesting player for the Ravens, as he has 606 yards on the ground and 236 through the air. However, he only has two TDs. Last year, RB Willis McGahee was stealing touchdowns from him, but this year, McGahee only has four scores. DT Haloti Ngata is having himself a Pro Bowl type of season, as he has five sacks already on the campaign. DE Terrell Suggs has 4.5. On the injury front, the only man that is out of the lineup that will be back at some point over the course of the season is SS Tom Zbikowski, who lost his starting job two weeks ago when Reed came back anyway.

Falcons Notes: This is quite the interesting battle, especially for QB Matt Ryan. Ryan really isn't used to going against these ferocious types of defenses, and the last time he did, the Pittsburgh Steelers kept him out of the end zone for the entire game in a 15-9 defeat in the Steel City. However, "Matty Ice" is always a warrior at home, and he has led his team to a number of seemingly improbable results in the Georgia Dome during his day, particularly when the games are at their biggest. Ryan is having the best season of his career, having thrown for 1,949 yards and 13 TDs during the first half of the year. He is being helped out quite a bit by WR Roddy White, who is one of the top receivers in the NFL. White is in the Top 5 in the league in receiving yards with 796, and he has five scores as well. The ground game has been great as well, as RB Michael Turner and RB Jason Snelling have combined for 974 yards this year to go with seven combined TDs. The problem with last year's Atlanta team that narrowly missed the playoffs was that it really couldn't defend the pass, and that's exactly what is happening this year. The Falcons rank just No. 26 in the NFL against aerial assaults, and that was a problem that was supposed to be remedied by bringing in DB Dunta Robinson on the first day of free agency. Alas, Robinson has busted, and so has the Atlanta secondary.

The Final Word: You won't find a more evenly contested matchup than this one. Are the Ravens the best team in the NFL? We tend to believe so. But is there a team more difficult to beat on the road than the Falcons? That might be true as well. However, in spite of the fact that the Ravens are playing this game on just three days of rest and had to blow a day to travel, we think that they are just barely scratching the surface of their abilities, and if this is true, Atlanta and the rest of the NFL badly need to watch their backs. This could be a very dangerous team, especially if it can move to 7-2 on Thursday night as we are calling for in our NFL picks.

 Free NFL Football Picks:  Baltimore +1
 Prediction:  Baltimore 23 – Atlanta 20

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September 6th, 2010 By Andrew "Mr. Multi-Task" Ryan - Cappersinfo Contributor

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The NFL betting campaign is just about here! In order to get you revved up for the action beginning on Thursday night, we are making our playoff picks here at Cappers Info! (Odds to make the playoffs courtesy of BetUS Sportsbook)


Complete List of Odds to Make the Playoffs Can be Found Below

 

In the AFC, we reasonably probably have three teams fighting for two playoff berths in the AFC East and two teams fighting for one playoff berth in the AFC South unless someone can come out of nowhere in the AFC North or West. Simply put, the San Diego Chargers (-700 at BetUS Sportsbook) and the Baltimore Ravens (-200 at BetUS Sportsbook) are getting into the playoffs as division winners. Both of these teams are likely head and shoulders above the rest of their competition in their respective divisions, and neither should face a challenge. Yes, this means that we feel as though the Steelers, Bengals, and Browns are pretty much out of luck in 2010.

The three teams in the AFC East to watch are the New England Patriots (-175 at BetUS Sportsbook) and the Miami Dolphins (+140 at BetUS Sportsbook). We realize that we are conventionally leaving out the Jets from this equation, but we just don't have all that much confidence in QB Mark Sanchez and we tend to believe that someone is going to figure out how to beat this defense at some point. The Pats came out of the blocks in the preseason incredibly angry. We know that their offense is amazing, as the starters just continued to run up and down the field on just about everyone that they ran into. The questions are on defense. Still, we can't picture a Bill Belichick team getting left home from the postseason for the second time in three years. Miami is a trendy sleeper this year and for good reason. If RBs Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams can stay healthy, the Fins are clearly better than last year's team that narrowly missed out on the postseason. HC Tony Sparano is a great manager on the sidelines, and he is going to get Miami back to the playoffs once again this year. 

Reasonably speaking, the Indianapolis Colts (-250 at BetUS Sportsbook) are going to get to the playoffs. The only way that doesn't happen is if something really happens to QB Peyton Manning that keeps him out of the playoffs for a lengthy period of time. That being said, the Houston Texans (+120 at BetUS Sportsbook) should get into the dance this year. This is a make or break season for a franchise that was just on the verge of making special things happen last year. They won their final four games of last season to be knocking at the postseason door, and this is the year that QB Matt Schaub and company kick it down. It's going to be a year of second guessing for the Titans, who might win ten games but fall just short of the playoffs.

In the NFC, things are significantly harder to decipher. The East probably has three contenders this year, and we tend to believe that two of the three are going to find their way to the playoffs. The Dallas Cowboys (-200 at BetUS Sportsbook) might be the best team in the NFC if QB Tony Romo keeps his head on straight. We tend to like what we have seen so far from the New York Giants (+100 at BetUS Sportsbook) as well. At some point, QB Eli Manning is going to put this team on his back and become one of those truly elite competitors at this level. The Giants should be fine. This leaves the Eagles on the outside looking in for the first time in seemingly forever. 

In the North, we are convinced that the Green Bay Packers (-200 at BetUS Sportsbook) are even better than they were last season when they went 11-5 and ended up as a Wild Card out of this division. The West and South we are handing to the San Francisco 49ers (-175 at BetUS Sportsbook) and the defending champions, the New Orleans Saints (-250 at BetUS Sportsbook) respectively.

This basically leaves us with the Eagles (whom we already deemed out of the mix with their new QB Kevin Kolb taking some lumps this year), Vikings, and Falcons fighting for one playoff spot. Minnesota might have QB Brett Favre back, but is there really any hope for him limiting his interceptions this year? Besides, that 40 year old body is going to take a huge beating once again in front of an offensive line that is starting to have some question marks, and we aren't so sure that even Favre, the consummate ironman in this league, is going to figure out how to make it through this season. That leaves the Atlanta Falcons (-120 at BetUS Sportsbook) to finish up the postseason roster. RB Michael Turner has to be in for a better season this year than he had a year ago, as 1,000 yards should be the bare minimum for this fantastic back. QB Matt Ryan is only getting better as well. There should be four slam dunk wins in the division against Carolina and Tampa Bay. The only question mark is whether the defense is good enough to put games away or not. The addition of DB Dunta Robinson should really help. We love the red and black getting back to the postseason.


Odds To Make the NFL Playoffs @ BetUS Sportsbook… Get a 100% Deposit Bonus Just By Clicking Here

Pittsburgh Steelers -120 
New England Patriots -175
Dallas Cowboys -200
New York Giants +100
Indianapolis Colts -250
San Diego Chargers -700
Baltimore Ravens -200
Philadelphia Eagles -110
New Orleans Saints -250
Minnesota Vikings -200
Carolina Panthers +300
Tennessee Titans +150
Atlanta Falcons -120
Green Bay Packers -200
Denver Broncos +300
Jacksonville Jaguars +325
Arizona Cardinals +165
New York Jets -175
Miami Dolphins +140
Tampa Bay Buccaneers +550
Buffalo Bills +650
Chicago Bears +175
Washington Redskins +175
Seattle Seahawks +225
Houston Texans +120
San Francisco 49ers -175
Cleveland Browns +600
Oakland Raiders +350
Cincinnati Bengals +160
St. Louis Rams +650
Detroit Lions +600
Kansas City Chiefs +375

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August 18th, 2010 By Andrew "Mr. Multi-Task" Ryan - Cappersinfo Contributor

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Two of the powers in the National Football League duke it out in an intra conference NFL preseason betting affair between the Atlanta Falcons and the New England Patriots.

New England Patriots @ Atlanta Falcons (-2.5)
Thursday, August 19th
8:00 ET, Georgia Dome, Atlanta, GA

Patriots Notes: QB Tom Brady is going to be the most watched man for New England this week if he plays. The leader of the Brady Bunch injured his finger in last weekend's victory over the defending champions, the New Orleans Saints. The injury isn't considered anything to worry about, but Brady might still not get a chance to suit it up, and if he does, it probably won't be for long. The bigger question is going to be who gets the reps at running back. Laurence Maroney might be seeing his time as a starter dwindling down to nothing. BenJarvus Green-Ellis might be taking over sooner than later, as he is proving to run the ball effectively throughout camp and so far in the young preseason. WR Julian Edelman will inevitably be a focal point once again, as he caught six passes for 90 yards last week. Edelman has a great chance to be the second or third wide receiver on this team this year depending on the health of WR Wes Welker. Defensively, a number of things are going to have to change to make HC Bill Belichick happy, as he doesn't want to see his 'D' giving up 24 points (even if a touchdown did come via special teams) during any game, let alone a preseason one.

Falcons Notes: The Falcons are a banged up bunch right now, especially at the wide receiver position. Don't expect to see either Michael Jenkins or Harry Douglas in action for the second straight week. That's going to make things a tad more difficult for QB Matt Ryan and his reserves. Last week in a 20-10 win over the Kansas City Chiefs at home, Atlanta only mustered a total of 244 yards. Reserve RB Jerious Norwood didn't play and might not again this week. That's going to put more pressure on players like Jason Snelling, who ran last week 11 times for just 24 yards to pick up the slack. The Falcons defense put forth a solid effort though, holding KC to just 273 yards, just 143 of which were through the air. The only touchdown the team gave up was with 0:18 left in the game on a Tyler Palko rush. The Falcons picked off two passes, which was a huge bone of contention last year. Atlanta had one of the worst secondaries in the NFL last year, but things are already off to a good start this season.

The Final Word: Why the Falcons aren't favored by more than a field goal is beyond us. The Patriots, especially if Brady doesn't play, aren't anything special. The Falcons are clearly playing like a team on a mission right now on defense, so we don't see much coming in the way of scoring for the visitors. If the offense for the men in black and red can produce a couple TDs and a couple FGs, they should be just fine. Back Atlanta on Thursday night.

Prediction: Falcons 20 – New England 9

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