Atlanta Falcons vs. Baltimore Ravens: Complete Week 7 Preview for Atlanta

The Atlanta Falcons will face the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. The Falcons (2-4) need to win this game to have any shot at turning around what is already looking like another lost season. Another lost season wouldn't sit well with Arthur Blank.

If the Falcons are unable to win, then firing Mike Smith looks like something that could happen at the end of the season. As the Falcons continue to lose, Smith's chances of returning in 2015 diminish and so do Thomas Dimitroff's, as he's essentially the personal shopper for Smith's groceries (players).

For the Falcons to win this week, they'll have to focus on executing their passing plays and not dropping balls like they did against the Bears. They'll also have to focus on protecting Matt Ryan and attacking Joe Flacco. If they can establish the run, the Falcons stand a chance of controlling some clock to help the defense.

This game is crucial for the Falcons and their shot at winning the division. A win would put them at 3-4 with a division-leading 3-2-1 Carolina Panthers traveling to Green Bay in what looks like a tough game for them. New Orleans (2-3) also has what looks like a tough game against Detroit.

So a win this week could put the Falcons in the driver's seat. But they'll have to do everything right in order to win up in Maryland. If they do get the win, the road doesn't get any easier as they go to London next week and follow it and two divisional away games after the bye.

Atlanta Falcons Week 6 Recap

John Bazemore/Associated Press

Against the Chicago Bears, the Falcons looked to have finally found some solid defensive play. Outside of the final quarter, the Falcons were able to keep the game close due to the defense forcing Jay Cutler to make some bad throws by putting pressure on the Vanderbilt graduate.

If the Falcons can start carrying over good things like added pass rush and tighter coverages, the team should be able to rebound on defense. However, they need to drastically improve on offense. Against the Bears, Atlanta went 4-of-13 on third downs leading to just 23:45 in time of possession in the 27-13 loss.

There's no way for Atlanta to bounce back from its issues if it can't control the clock and continue to move the chains. Luckily, no personnel losses were sustained versus the Bears outside of a Nate Stupar injury, but he looks like he'll be back this week.

Atlanta has led heading into the fourth quarter four times and has been down by a score just one time. It has been in five winnable games, but only managed to pull two of them out. Atlanta needs to get better in the fourth quarter and finish games if it wants a shot to turn this thing around and save Mike Smith's job.

News and Notes

John Bazemore/Associated Press

Fourth Quarters Haven't Been Kind to Atlanta the Last Three Weeks

The Atlanta Falcons' 2-4 record can be directly traced to their inability to close out games. An AP report points out where the Falcons' failings have been throughout the season with a couple of key stats highlighting their inability to close it out in the fourth quarter:

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Over the last four games, three of them losses, the Falcons (2-4) have been outscored 49-0 in the final period. They squandered leads against both Minnesota and the New York Giants, turning a potentially strong start through six weeks into a season on the brink.

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Atlanta has held the lead four times heading into the fourth quarter—against New Orleans, Minnesota, Tampa Bay and the Giants. It has been down one score heading into the fourth quarter once (to Chicago). In just two of the five winnable games—because if you are leading or only down by a score going into the fourth quarter, the game is winnable—the Falcons have been able to pull it out.

One notable situation is that the Falcons haven't given Antone Smith a single touch in the fourth quarter over the past three games. They also seem to abandon the run completely in their losses. Atlanta needs to stop freaking out and start playing balanced, smart football in the fourth quarter. It might just help it win some more games this season.

Osi Umenyiora's Sideline Blow-up About Frustration With Losing

Osi Umenyiora—much like the rest of the Atlanta Falcons—looks like he is frustrated with losing as many games as they have this season. However, his blow-up on the sideline was unprofessional and not what the veteran needed to do in a crucial moment. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's D. Orlando Ledbetter asked him about what was going on in that situation:

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Well, you know, it was a crucial situation. I felt like I could have helped ... The coaches have a plan and whatever it is that they ask me to do, I have to do a better job of controlling my emotions. That’s all.

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Honestly, the Falcons need more fire like Umenyiora's on the sideline and on the field. In a clutch situation like that, the Falcons should have played their best pass-rushers, and taking out Osi was a bad move. Umenyiora would have been an asset in that situation with Jonathan Massaquoi on the other side creating a pair of talented edge-rushers on the field.

The bigger issue is that the Falcons were unable to play a proper coverage on that particular play Umenyiora went out on. The play resulted in a touchdown due to a soft zone coverage leaving a receiver wide open underneath. Atlanta needs to harness Osi's fire instead of allowing it to destroy and consume him.

Antone Smith is Making an Impression on Arthur Blank

Antone Smith may only have 23 touches all season, but the 346 yards and five touchdowns that he's scored on them has impressed Arthur Blank quite a bit. Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com quoted the Falcons owner about the impressive Florida State product:

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He’s an exciting player; he’s a team player. The most exciting thing about this last game was not only his run -- another 41-yard scoring play -- but the next play, he was down there making the special-teams tackle. He really epitomizes everything you want in a team player. It’s not about self; it’s always about team. It’s always about doing whatever I can do to contribute. And he lives that way. He really, really does. I’m thrilled he’s a Falcon and I’m happy for the season he’s having.

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When you have the eye of the owner and he's raving about you, it can only be a good thing. Smith should be happy that the Falcons owner is as involved as Blank is. It can only help him when his contract talks come up at the end of the season. Atlanta should look into retaining the speedy special teams ace and start working him into the offense more.

Even when you take out the five long touchdowns for Smith, he averages 3.64 yards per carry and 7.29 yards per catch. He moves the ball better than any other Falcons running back and has shown that he's worth getting the ball to. At this point, maybe Blank needs to tell head coach Mike Smith to feed Antone more touches. It'd only help the offense.

Injury Report

Brynn Anderson/Associated Press

Pos	Name	Injury	Weds	Thurs	Fri	Game Status
OG	Justin Blalock	Back	LP	FP	FP	Probable
WR	Julio Jones	Ankle	LP	LP	FP	Probable
WR	Devin Hester	Hamstring	LP	LP	FP	Probable
WR	Harry Douglas	Foot	DNP	DNP	DNP	Out
DT	Jonathan Babineaux	Knee	LP	FP	FP	Probable
LB	Prince Shembo	Knee	LP	FP	FP	Probable
LB	Nate Stupar	Knee	LP	LP	FP	Probable

All injury information comes from the Atlanta Falcons official website.

DNP: Did not practice

LP: Limited participation

FP: Full participation

Harry Douglas being out has a big ramification for the Falcons offense. They don't have someone who can attack the seams in the middle of the field the way Douglas can. When Tony Gonzalez was in Atlanta last year, he did the same kinds of routes, but it's tough to run those routes with Devin Hester, Freddie Martino or Eric Weems.

Everyone else listed as probable is great news for the Falcons. They need to be as healthy as possible for the game against the Baltimore Ravens. Atlanta should be especially happy that Jake Matthews didn't even make the report and that Justin Blalock is back as a full participant in practice again.

X-Factors and Matchups to Watch

Brynn Anderson/Associated Press

Torrey Smith and Steve Smith vs. Desmond Trufant and Robert Alford

Desmond Trufant and Robert Alford have been solid for most of the year. Alford has had some struggles, but it's not uncommon for a guy who is in his second season after playing at small-school Southeastern Louisiana to have some coverage lapses.

Torrey Smith and Steve Smith have had great years so far and should provide a good challenge for the Falcons duo. Atlanta will have to hope it can contain them short, or it will be a long day for the defense. Alford and Trufant will have their hands full with these talented receivers this week.

Atlanta's Offensive Line vs. Baltimore's Pass Rush

Atlanta's offensive line is currently playing with four different players on injured reserve. Only three of the current starters—Jake Matthews, Jon Asamaoh and Justin Blalock—were projected as starters before the season, and Blalock is fighting a back injury.

Baltimore's pass rush features three excellent pass-rushers in Elvis Dumervil, Terrell Suggs and Pernell McPhee. They have created a ton of pressure off the edge this year. Atlanta needs to make sure that it protects Matt Ryan against that onslaught or this game will be over quickly.

Julio Jones vs. Jimmy Smith

Jimmy Smith is registering a career year for the Ravens. After looking like a mediocre corner for the first few years of his career, he's finally stepped up and looks like a legitimate No. 1 cornerback. Atlanta needs to attack him and see if he is for real, though.

Julio Jones is the right man for that job, as he's arguably the second-best wide receiver in the NFL behind Calvin Johnson. If Ryan gets protection, this could be a matchup that the Falcons exploit all day. Jones is tough for anyone to guard, and if he can embarrass Smith, that would only help Atlanta's chances.

Falcons' X-Factor of the Week: Antone Smith

If Atlanta wants to win this game, it has to feature Antone Smith in its rushing and passing attacks. The enigmatic speedster has been way too good to ignore this season. His 23 touches have yielded 346 yards and five touchdowns.

That's the kind of production that you can't emulate with any other player. Atlanta needs to take advantage of his ability to take it to the house from anywhere on the field and give him the ball at least 10 times per game from here on out. It's not like it has anything else to lose by featuring him.

Prediction

Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

The Falcons have an uphill battle ahead of them in this week's game. The Ravens match up perfectly as a team to beat the Falcons as their pass rush should be enough to force the Falcons into some poor down-and-distance situations.

Atlanta will have to hope for the best, but it's unlikely it does much damage against that defense unless some major changes are made to the offensive line. The Falcons do need to get Antone Smith more involved in the offense as both a rusher and receiver, and this would be the game to experiment with that.

On defense, the Falcons need to focus on getting after Flacco and attacking the weak left side of the line that, due to injuries to Kelechi Osemele and Eugene Monroe, could be a pair of rookies. If the Falcons can force Flacco into pressure, he should make some mistakes. 

However, Atlanta hasn't gotten good pass rush on anyone but Jay Cutler and Josh McCown this season. It's unlikely that happens in this game unless they decide to play the proper personnel in the proper spots. Steve Smith and Torrey Smith should have great success if Flacco has all day—and he likely will.

Prediction: Ravens 35, Falcons 12

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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