Coming off two critical home victories over Tampa Bay and Baltimore to take control of the NFC South and snag the best record in the NFC, the Falcons take to the road this weekend for a date with St. Louis. It is not a glamor matchup like it was with the Bucs (first place in the division was at stake) and the Ravens (Thursday night with the NFL’s best record on the line), but it’s another big one.
After all, everyone game the rest of the way is critical for Atlanta if it has playoff home-field advantage aspirations. “We have little room for error,” receiver Roddy White said after the win over Tampa Bay. “We can’t slip up and lose any games.”
While a loss to the Ravens would not have been a considered a slip-up, and setback against the Rams certainly would. St. Louis, a shadow of its former self when it boasted the “Greatest Show on Turf” with Kurt Warner and Marshall Faulk, is coming off a dismal 1-15 year and the franchise has not made it to the postseason since 2004. A rookie quarterback, whom the Rams were able to draft by virtue of getting the No. 1 pick in the most recent draft, is currently under center.
However, with Sam Bradford at the helm, things are finally looking up for the Rams. They are a respectable 4-5 this season and just one game back of Seattle in the NFC West. Four of their five losses have come by four points or less, including an overtime defeat last week at San Francisco and an 18-17 loss at Tampa Bay on Oct, 23.
That’s not the only reason why the Falcons will not be taking this week’s opponent lightly. St. Louis is a perfect 4-0 at home in 2010, with wins over Washington, Seattle, San Diego, and Carolina.
“They have a home-field advantage very similar to the advantage that we’ve had since we’ve been here in Atlanta,” Mike Smith, who is 18-1 at the Georgia Dome when Matt Ryan is under center, said after Wednesday’s practice. “Not only have they won four in a row and they are four and one, they’ve created 15 turnovers this season and 13 of the 15 turnovers have taken place in their dome.”
The Rams will need to be rock-solid on the offensive side of the ball as well. Bradford has been just that so far this season, throwing 12 touchdowns against eight interceptions while doing enough to keep his team in almost every ballgame. The former Heisman Trophy winner is facing an Atlanta defense that was impressive against both the Bucs and Ravens and is tied for fourth in the NFL with 14 interceptions.
“It’s probably one of the better defenses we’ve seen this year,” Bradord said in a conference call this week with the Falcons website. “We’re going to have to play extremely well if we’re going to have a chance to win this game.”
Injuries: Atlanta, with nine full days of rest in between games–is in good shape for this one. Only Sean Weatherspoon is questionable, but he practiced for the first time on Thursday–albeit in limited form. The rookie linebacker could play for the first time since an Oct. 10 win at Cleveland. St. Louis has a whole host of players on injured reserve, but of its active squad, everyone should be suiting up. Even wideout Danario Alexander (missed four games with a knee injury) and safety James Butler (missed two games with an ankle problem) could return.
Recent meetings: The Falcons and Rams have faced each other twice since the Michael Vick era. St. Louis prevailed 28-16 at home in 2007 before Atlanta got revenge in the Georgia Dome with a 31-27 win one season later. Matt Ryan did not have a good game in the 2008 meeting, but Michael Turner ran for 208 yards and one touchdown.
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