Chicago Bears vs. Atlanta Falcons: Breaking Down Atlanta's Game Plan
The Falcons have to explode out of the gate in order to beat the Chicago Bears in Atlanta on Sunday. Matt Ryan is on pace to have the best year of his career, and the Falcons look like they have a competent running game to support him for once.
They'll have to rely on a makeshift offensive line with multiple injuries along it to hold off a Chicago pass rush that has been inconsistent all season. Atlanta's line has performed better than it has in recent years as its yards per carry and sacks allowed are at some of the lowest paces that they have been at.
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On defense, the Falcons have a ton of issues and need to resolve them sooner rather than later. Atlanta should attack Chicago's offensive line with as many blitzes as possible, though, as it would help the Falcons in coverage and against the run.
Offense
Running the Ball
Atlanta can have some great success on offense if it can run the ball properly. It all starts up front, too. The Falcons will have to count on a make-shift offensive line to force open holes that it was unable to open against the New York Giants.
Attacking with the left side of the Falcons line should be the Falcons' priority in run blocking. Jared Allen and Willie Young aren't ideal run defenders, and Stephen Paea is having a poor season thus far. If Jake Matthews and Justin Blalock are healthy, this matchup favors Atlanta tremendously.
The right side of the line should do well for the times that Atlanta does run it to the right, but playing against Ego Ferguson, Lamarr Houston and Will Sutton on that side should provide excellent results as well. Chicago's run defense is below average, allowing 4.4 yards per carry and ranking 20th in the NFL in that aspect.
One thing the Falcons need to make sure they do is incorporate the electric Antone Smith into the offense. On just 17 touches this season, he has 277 yards and four touchdowns. While he may look like a flash in the pan due to his big plays, he averages 4.84 yards per touch outside of those big runs and catches.
If the Falcons can establish their running game, they should be able to run quite a few play-action passes. This will help with pass protection and help their field-stretching receivers in Julio Jones and Devin Hester have more time to get open.
Passing Attack
Chicago doesn't have the cornerbacks to keep up with a healthy Roddy White, Julio Jones and Devin Hester. The Falcons have to find a way to hit White coming out of the slot on slants and box routes so that he can attack the underneath. Hester and Jones can force the Bears to focus on deep passes all game.
After dominating with pure speed outside, Atlanta needs to find a way to attack the underneath portions of the soft zones that Chicago runs with Levine Toilolo. There have been too many opportunities for him to have a breakout game, and against the mediocrity known as the Bears safety corps, he should find his best shot.
Atlanta also needs to keep its running backs involved in the passing game. It's turned into a more effective weapon than a pure running game because these five- and six-yard catches in open space accomplish the same thing as lining up with an I-formation.
If Atlanta can get its passing attack working on all cylinders, there's no reason for Atlanta to lose this game. It has all of the pieces on offense to destroy a Chicago Bears defense as long as its offensive line can hold up in pass protection.
Pass Protection
Lamarr Houston, Willie Young, Stephen Paea, Will Sutton, Ego Ferguson and Jared Allen on paper look like a pretty formidable group of pass-rushers. However, they are one of the most inconsistent groups out there, as they don't get the same pressure from drive to drive.
If Atlanta has a fully healthy offensive line with Jake Matthews, Justin Blalock, Peter Konz, Jon Asamoah and Gabe Carimi starting, it will be better equipped for Chicago's pass rush this week. Losing Blalock for the Giants game showed, as the Falcons guards have been their best linemen all year.
Matthews, Atlanta's rookie No. 6 overall draft pick, has also been excellent throughout the year. Atlanta should focus on having protections designed to allow Ryan to step up in the pocket. The guards have been above average throughout the year and should be able to keep the depth of the pocket well as long as Blalock is healthy.
Scheme-wise, Atlanta should help protect Carimi a bit on the edge by having a tight end play in-line next to him most of the game and chipping a defensive end inside. It did it against the Giants, and he held up well against Robert Ayers and Mathias Kiwanuka.
Defense
Rushing the Passer
Atlanta doesn't have the best edge-rushers in the league. Not by far. But they could have their best matchup of the season this week if Jermon Bushrod is out. Bushrod is a former Pro Bowl-caliber left tackle who has knee and ankle injuries that sidelined him last week.
Michael Ola—his replacement and normal left guard—isn't exactly a brilliant pass-protector. The Falcons can take advantage of this by playing a lot of 3-4 sets with Jonathan Babineaux and Jonathan Massaquoi on the weak side to attack it.
In four-man fronts, the Falcons should focus on playing with Massaquoi, Stansly Maponga and Osi Umenyiora at right end instead of Babineaux because they are much faster players who can create pressure if they get a chance to convert their speed into power.
On the right side, Jordan Mills has had issues as well. The Falcons could take advantage with a platoon of Malliciah Goodman and Tyson Jackson there in 3-4 sets with Kroy Biermann and Maponga playing a strong outside linebacker role.
This could be the week that the Falcons pass rush finally gets going. Playing against injured and less-than-effective tackles is how a team like Atlanta can win in a matchup here. Add in some interior and exterior blitzes, and the Falcons could finally come alive.
Stopping the Run
When it comes to stuffing the run, the Falcons have been improved in 2014 allowing 4.4 yards per carry as opposed to the 4.8 yards per carry they allowed in 2013. However, that's not nearly enough improvement to make a difference against a team like Chicago.
As noted in the above section about rushing the passer, the Bears likely having Bushrod out another week is only going to help the Falcons, as Ola isn't the kind of guy who can road grade on the left side. Atlanta should put a quicker penetrator on at right end in Massaquoi to attack the weakness.
Atlanta should focus on one-gap defense this week and more base defense to take Matt Forte out of the game and force it on Jay Cutler's shoulders. Atlanta doesn't play nearly enough base defense as its normal formation is a 4-2-5 nickel and not a 3-4 or a 4-3.
By adding more run defenders and playing with a full front seven instead of their usual front six, the Falcons could have an effective scheme versus a team that primarily runs out of 12- and 11-personnel sets without a fullback. Atlanta has had better success against these formations throughout the year.
Coverage
Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery can create headaches for any team.
The Falcons, however, have a pair of cornerbacks who are willing to play them physically and in man coverage. Desmond Trufant and Robert Alford may not be the biggest corners at just 6'0" and 5'10", respectively, but both of them have the speed to outrun Jeffery or Marshall and the grittiness to get in their faces all day.
Atlanta has a tough matchup there, but it should be a fun one to watch. Martellus Bennett at tight end provides another tough matchup for Atlanta's defense as well.
However, the Falcons did a great job scheming against Larry Donnell when they faced the Giants, and Bennett should see a similar game plan. The real issue comes down to the slot matchup for the Falcons as Josh Morgan and Santonio Holmes can be dangerous there.
They haven't done well this year, though. They have only been targeted a combined 20 times and have 11 catches for 89 yards on them. Atlanta should be able to contain them effectively with Robert McClain, but if there is a weakness in the Falcons secondary, it's at nickel cornerback.
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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