The Atlanta Falcons make their much-anticipated return to the field this week, opening up the 2009-10 regular season against the Miami Dolphins at the Georgia Dome. Much like the home team, Miami experienced an incredible turnaround last season, responding from a disastrous 1-15 2007-08 season with an 11-5 campaign last year. And also like the Falcons, the season came to a quick end come the postseason, as they were defeated in the wild card round. Now both teams are looking to take the next step, and they will hope to take the first stride towards that goal on Sunday.
‘D’ UP THE DOLPHINS
Quarterback Chad Pennington was solid but rarely spectacular last year, and the receiving corps of talented but completely unproven youngsters Ted Ginn Jr., Greg Camarillo, Brian Hartline and others actually rivals the inexperience that Atlanta brings to the table in the secondary. Sunday provides a nice opportunity for guys like William Moore, Brent Grimes, Chevis Jackson and struggling Chris Houston to get their feet wet and do it productively.
But it’s the front seven that will key the overall tempo, and perhaps the result of the game altogether. We all saw the Dolphins tear teams to shreds using the Wildcat formation last year. It’s a scheme that Atlanta fans all remember from before it was in-style, as the Carolina Panthers came to town several seasons ago without Jake Delhomme and ran the unorthodox formation at will to administer a crushing blow to Atlanta’s playoff hopes.
With Ronnie Brown heading the charge in the Wildcat and a strong overall run game, an Atlanta front seven with plenty of questions will face a stiff test right out of the gate. The more seasoned players such as John Abraham and Mike Peterson should be okay, and don’t forget rookie Peria Jerry saw the Wildcat in the SEC West against Arkansas before it was even employed around the league in the NFL. But it’s still the first-round pick’s first NFL game, as well as many other players’ first times in expanded roles.
WHAT TO EXPECT ON OFFENSE
With the possibility of the defense struggling, especially early, the offensive unit can’t afford to be rusty. Head coach Mike Smith and offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey insisted on establishing the run game early in games last season, and they will want to do that again this week, although it will be quite a challenge against the visitors’ stout run defense that ranked eighth in the league last year. This will be a game where Michael Turner may have to tote the rock quite a bit, and both receive and dish out some punishment. And as we saw last year, a heavy dose of Turner could open things up for a big play or two for Jerious Norwood.
The Dolphins run defense was good last year, but the pass defense was great. Will Allen is a solid corner, while Yeremiah Bell and newly acquired Gibril Wilson form one of the top cornerback tandems in the league. There is some inexperience at corner, where rookies Sean Smith and Vontae Davis will be relied upon heavily. Look for Matt Ryan and company to pick on them, meaning Michael Jenkins could have a nice game for himself while Allen and the safeties avert their focus to Roddy White.
Bagriansky can be reached at jbagriansky@scoreatl.com.
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