Atlanta Falcons vs. Minnesota Vikings: Complete Week 4 Preview for Atlanta
The Atlanta Falcons set out to prove that they are for real and a true contender in this year's NFL. Going up to Minnesota will be an early test for the Falcons in a stretch of seven weeks where they play five away games, their London game and their Chicago game at home.
Minnesota has the fun of trotting out a rookie starting quarterback in Teddy Bridgewater. He'll be making his first NFL start after Matt Cassel broke multiple bones in his foot and the Vikings coaching staff showed zero faith in Christian Ponder to start.
Atlanta does well against rookie quarterbacks under Mike Smith, and this week should show more of the same. There are multiple aspects that are important in a game like this one, and the Falcons are going to have to decide where to attack a weakening Vikings team.
Atlanta Falcons Week 3 Recap
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The Falcons demolished the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a Thursday night game after getting beaten by the Cincinnati Bengals. The Falcons won in a complete effort where the offense, defense and special teams all showed their best possible performance of the year.
Despite suffering a couple of small nicks and bruises, the Falcons made it out of the game extremely healthy as well. With full health and the confidence that this win will bring, Atlanta should be ready to attack any team in any and all aspects of the game.
The Falcons have been needing games like the one against the Buccaneers for a while, and should they have a similar effort against the Vikings, it would only settle the fact that the 2008-2012 level of Atlanta Falcons football is back. Going 2-1 to start the season is nice, but going 3-1 would be even better.
News and Notes
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Have the Falcons Found Their Offensive Identity?
Jeff Schultz of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution quotes Roddy White while pointing out that the Falcons need to use the game versus Tampa Bay as a lesson on what their identity should be:
"Remember Roddy White’s postgame lament? “I think we slowed down the tempo too much. We didn’t speed things up like we usually do and put the pressure on the defense. We kind of played into their hands … instead of just doing our thing.”
This [up-tempo offense shown versus Tampa Bay] is their thing.
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Atlanta needed to determine what its long-term identity was going to be on both sides of the ball. It looks like it might have found what it should be on offense. If the Falcons can find one on defense, it will make it even better for them.
The real issue that comes from this is a willingness to impose their will on other teams at all times. As long as Mike Smith understands he must always keep his foot on the gas, the Falcons could end up as the best team they have had in years.
This Will Be Teddy Bridgewater's First NFL Start
Bridgewater's first start will be against the Atlanta Falcons during the game on Sunday. As ESPN's Adam Schefter reported, "And with Vikings QB Matt Cassel breaking his foot, it's now Tedy Bridgewater's job in Minnesota."
Mike Smith's Falcons are 14-3 against rookie quarterbacks since the 2008 season when the head coach took over. Atlanta has always won because of an attacking style that Smith employs against rookies, forcing them to beat the defense with their arms instead of their running backs and defense doing it.
Teddy Bridgewater is a different breed of quarterback. He's looked like a franchise-caliber starter since the first day he took a snap at Louisville. That being said, quarterbacks always take some time before they finally start making an impact. Hopefully, Bridgewater looks like any other rookie during his first start.
Could Dwight Lowery Lose the Free Safety Job?
Kemal Ishmael has just been making plays when he's on the field. The Atlanta Falcons need to take notice and give him a shot to realistically compete for the starting role. James Rael of SB Nation's The Falcoholic pointed that out as he speculated earlier this week:
"Going forward, Lowery is, of course, the starter. It's his job to lose. But it won't take much for Ishmael to be thrust into the starting lineup. If Lowery doesn't want to lose the job, he must improve in coverage. In the alternative, if Lowery can't stay healthy, we know there's a capable backup willing and able to step in.
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Ishmael has looked like a better football player than Dwight Lowery in all aspects of the position. He has looked much better in coverage than the veteran out of San Jose State. He's made plays on the ball, intercepting a pass and contesting an 11-yard catch.
Lowery, on the other hand, has allowed 170 yards on the 15 targets in his direction and hasn't batted a pass away yet. The Falcons could end up starting Ishmael sooner rather than later and feel comfortable with all four of their defensive backs pretty easily.
Injury Report
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| POS | Name | Injury | Weds | Thurs | Fri | Status |
| WR | Roddy White | Hamstring | LP | LP | FP | Probable |
| WR | Harry Douglas | Foot | FP | FP | LP | Questionable |
| WR | Devin Hester | Ankle | FP | FP | FP | Probable |
| RB | Antone Smith | Hamstring | FP | FP | FP | Probable |
| LB | Prince Shembo | Calf | LP | FP | FP | Probable |
*All injury statuses from the Official Atlanta Falcons Website.
FP: Full participation in practice
LP: Limited participation in practice
DNP: Did not practice
The injury report looks like a couple of guys with some nicks and cuts and strains but nothing that's too serious to keep them out of the game on Sunday. Even Roddy White should be playing on Sunday to give Atlanta its full complement of weapons for the first time since the opener.
Prince Shembo's injury on Wednesday didn't sound serious. It sounded like it was just cramping throughout the practice on Wednesday according to Mike Smith during his post-practice interview:
"We had two players that were not full participants in practice today. Roddy White was a limited participant, and Prince Shembo was a limited participant. He left practice early with cramps in his lower leg. We anticipate that we’ll have those guys out participating in practice either limited or full tomorrow. Shembo will probably be back. He was cramping, so we had to take him off the field.
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With the Falcons at full strength for the first time since 2012, they should be able to attack the Vikings in a multitude of ways. A healthy Atlanta team is dangerous. It would be shocking to see it fail to score a bunch of points with everyone ready to go.
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X-Factors and Matchups to Watch
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Julio Jones vs. Xavier Rhodes
Julio Jones is arguably the best wide receiver not named Calvin Johnson in the NFL today. Jones has a tough task ahead physically as Xavier Rhodes is a good matchup in both length and strength. If Jones can create separation against Rhodes, then the Falcons will force the Vikings into multiple coverage against Jones.
This would open up every other target in Atlanta's offense. With Jones covered and bracketed, Roddy White, Harry Douglas and Devin Hester could explode. But Levine Toilolo could be the main one to take advantage of the weak center of the field that Jones would be forcing.
Robert Alford and Desmond Trufant vs. Cordarrelle Patterson and Greg Jennings
Cordarrelle Patterson and Greg Jennings are like the Vikings' poor man's combination of Julio Jones and Roddy White. After seeing the latter pairing in practice every week of their careers, Desmond Trufant and Robert Alford should be well prepared for the Vikings.
Alford and Trufant have dropped multiple interceptions during the season and could finally both have their first ones in this game. Trufant has been making athletic plays on the ball all season, while Alford has finally adjusted to his starting role. This could be a breakout game for the two.
Falcons Pass Rush vs. Minnesota Offensive Line
Atlanta finally got its first, second and third sacks of the season against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. If the Falcons can continue to jump out to early leads and use their nickel and dime packages most of the game while putting pressure on the Vikings rookie quarterback, this could be a long game.
Minnesota lost a starting right guard this week when Brandon Fusco went down, and current starters Matt Kalil and Charlie Johnson haven't been great. The Falcons need to attack the pass protections both inside and outside so that they can force Teddy Bridgewater to make mistakes all game.
Falcons' X-Factor of the Week: Levine Toilolo
Minnesota has been mediocre at covering tight ends this season. With the Falcons having the kind of receivers that will force the Minnesota safeties to bracket outside instead of assist inside, it wouldn't be shocking to see Levine Toilolo have the breakout game of his career.
Toilolo is a big, quick target who excels in the red zone and short-yardage situations. However, he's had fumbling and drop problems. If there was a week for him to put it all together and explode onto the scene, this would be it.
Prediction
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Having a rookie quarterback facing a defense that is finally hitting its stride seems like a bad combination for the Minnesota Vikings when they take on the Falcons. Add in Atlanta getting 10 days to get healthy and prepare for the Vikings while watching another game in that span, and Minnesota has a lot of things working against it.
That's before you factor in the talent differential created by the Falcons having arguably the best wide receiver corps in the NFL. Before you factor in the loss of Adrian Peterson, there's also the loss of the starting right guard for the Vikings.
Atlanta is also coming off a big win—the kind of win that puts a team into a good groove and allows it to finally feel confident not just for its next game but for the whole season. Atlanta is catching the Vikings at the right time, and the Vikings are catching Atlanta at the wrong time.
Prediction: Falcons 35, Vikings 24
All stats used are from Pro Football Focus' Premium Stats (subscription required), ESPN.com, CFBStats or NFL.com. All combine and pro day info is courtesy of NFLDraftScout.com. All contract information is courtesy of Spotrac and Rotoworld.
Scott Carasik is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He covers the Atlanta Falcons, college football, the NFL and the NFL draft. He also runs DraftFalcons.com.
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