Haven’t we been here before? That’s a question that I’ve heard quite a bit regarding the Falcons, who are well known for starting the season strong and then collapsing down the stretch. They have a chance to put that question to rest for a bit this Sunday when they travel to face an Oakland Raider team that has been anything but stellar this season. In fact, they’ve been a disaster. The Lane Kiffin/Al Davis saga dragged on into the regular season and sucked the life out of the team. Now the Raiders are 2-5 with an interim head coach in Tom Cable at the helm, and at the bottom of the league on both sides of the football.
Despite all of that, getting a win in Oakland is never easy. Not to mention winning on the road is clearly still a challenge for this team after it faltered last week in Philadelphia. Here are this week’s keys to victory.
1. SCORE EARLY, SCORE OFTEN
The Falcons offense has looked downright dangerous in stretches this season, but a combination of poor red-zone play, untimely penalties, and plain old bad luck have kept it amongst the middle of the pack statistically. If there was ever a time to overcome all of that and break out with a fine offensive game for all four quarters, it’s this week.
The Raiders’ defense has been porous this season. The rush defense is 27th in the league, giving up 144.1 yards per game. Even the vaunted secondary, which added former Falcon and two-time Pro Bowler DeAngelo Hall in the offseason, has had its struggles. It is 19th in the league. Interestingly, the Raiders do have very nice personnel in corners Hall and Nnamdi Asomugha, but Hall is going through what is likely his worst season as a pro.
This is a favorable matchup for Atlanta with Oakland’s struggles on the defensive side, and if the Falcons can take advantage with aggressive play-calling from upstairs and proper execution on the field, then they could certainly light up the scoreboard.
2. RODDY VS. EVERYONE
In a number of upcoming games, either Brian Finneran or Michael Jenkins will have to step up and become a formidable option across the field from White in order for the Falcons to win. This isn’t necessarily one of those games. Against some of the better units, Jenkins and Finneran will be needed to take some of the pressure off, but White and Matt Ryan have shown the type of chemistry that can beat a unit like Oakland’s without much help at all.
Ryan will have to spread the ball around in the future, but on Sunday he should feel comfortable looking White’s way early and often, and perhaps even exclusively, at times. If White comes up with a ton of catches and gets in the end zone as he has over the past few games, it should mean plenty of points on the board for Mike Mularkey’s offense.
3. DOMINATE
If the Falcons want to be a playoff team, then they should not just win on Sunday, they should do it with relative ease. Still, for such a young team that is still learning how to win, that might not happen.
This is one of the few times when Atlanta actually has players with more individual talent across the board. The team needs to take advantage and handle its business at a tough venue.
There isn’t any reason to be outplayed in any aspect of this game. Despite missing Sam Baker on the line, the Falcons should dominate up front and give running backs Michael Turner and Jerious Norwood plenty of space to work with.
The defense has been inconsistent this season, but remember, this is a Raiders team that could only drop three points on the Saints a few weeks ago.
The expectations should be to get more than just a victory in the Bay Area. If the Falcons exude that kind of confidence from the outset, they could cruise to victory on Sunday.
Bagriansky can be reached at jbagriansky@scoreatl.com.
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