Atlanta Falcons vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Complete Week 10 Preview for Atlanta

The Atlanta Falcons need a jump-start to the back half of their season. A win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would go a long way for the Falcons, and their playoff hopes. As the team is just two games behind the New Orleans Saints, they aren't out of the hunt by any means.

Atlanta needs to essentially win out, though. One loss the rest of the way would almost guarantee that Mike Smith is going to get fired after how the team has performed—winning just six games—over its last 24 games. The Falcons need to get fired up and rally around their coach if they want to keep him.

The Falcons turnaround will rest on the shoulders of Matt Ryan and the Falcons passing offense. The Buccaneers pass defense is terrible. Atlanta will need the offensive line to step up for Ryan to do this. As Ryan Feder of Pro Football Focus mentioned:

"The struggles of the offensive line are an obvious factor in this, deep routes take longer to develop, yet time in the pocket has become rare for Ryan. The average time for a sack was 3.0 seconds in those first three games, but has dropped to 2.76 since."

So the Falcons need to give Ryan time to throw. With Ryan Schraeder taking over at right tackle, the Falcons should have a pair of bookends that are solid in Schraeder and first-round pick Jake Matthews. The interior line is already doing well, but center James Stone needs to call good protections.

If Atlanta can keep Ryan upright and able to attack deep, there's no reason for the Falcons to lose the game against the Buccaneers. Another win against the Bucs with a great performance by the offensive line could be just the spark Atlanta needs to get on a winning streak.

Atlanta Falcons Week 8 Recap

Matt Dunham/Associated Press

"WE GOT ROBBED" was the general consensus of the Falcons fanbase after the loss. Detroit won on a last-second kick, and Mike Smith's job looked like it was about to end the same way Dennis Allen's did after the epic collapse that Atlanta had.

The Falcons got a bye week to get healthier than they were—especially along the offensive line, where Jake Matthews and Justin Blalock had nagging injuries. Atlanta also needed a way to get James Stone and Ryan Schraeder more reps with the first-team offensive line, and this bye week helped.

Atlanta needs to do something special in the second half of the season if it wants to save Mike Smith's job. Winning at least seven of its last eight games this year would be a huge improvement from where it currently is. 

However, it's definitely possible. Atlanta has been either winning or down by just one score heading into the fourth quarter in six of its eight games this year. That says to me that Smith has been the problem more than the level of talent. Hopefully, Smith can get it together.

News and Notes

John Bazemore/Associated Press

Josh McCown Starting Should Help Atlanta Again

Josh McCown is taking the reins of the Buccaneers offense again. It's the first time since he got destroyed in the first Falcons-Buccaneers game of the year. According to Steve Carney of WDAE in Tampa, now-backup quarterback Mike Glennon announced his own benching.

Glennon told T.J. Rives:

"

I met with [interim offensive coordinator] Marcus Arroyo and Lovie [Smith] this morning, and they decided that it would be best for Josh to go ahead this week and get the start. For me, things aren't going to change in the way I prepare. I was in here all day watching film. I'll be in here bright and early, taking care of my business as usual. We'll just keep preparing the same way, and nothing's going to change with the way I work and the way I support the team and everything that goes into it.

"

McCown had a horrible game against the Falcons in their first matchup this season, going 5-of-12 for 58 yards and one interception and a passer rating of just 22.2. McCown had trouble finding time in the pocket and even went down because of a blitzing cornerback hitting him hard.

The Falcons tend to do well against bad veteran quarterbacks like McCown and this week should be no different. Atlanta needs him to make mistakes and with pressure on him, McCown makes some stupid decisions. This could be the best news for a Falcons win this week.

Playing the Best Pass-Rushers Will Be How Atlanta Wins

Atlanta has the worst pass rush in the NFL with just seven sacks. Something there needs to change. Knox Bardeen of Fox Sports expects the Falcons to have their best pass rush Sunday with Jonathan Massaquoi and Osi Umenyiora playing a ton of snaps:

"Expect Massaquoi to see a big increase on Sunday, and Umenyiora will likely see one of his busiest games, too. The best way to win the line of scrimmage is to have your best players on the field."

As I noted above, McCown does horribly with pressure on him. He has a 106 passer rating with a clean pocket but just a 21.5 passer rating when he's pressured, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). Umenyiora and Massaquoi are the Falcons' best pass-rushers and should be able to attack the Bucs' line well.

McCown also has trouble against the blitz. So playing guys like Prince Shembo and Paul Worrilow as blitzers against McCown as opposed to coverage linebackers might be the best way to attack him. With poor center and guard play this year, the Bucs offensive line has had trouble picking up blitzes.

Mike Tice Expects Jake Matthews To Return to Form

Falcons left tackle Jake Matthews has had a couple of rough games over the past few weeks, mainly due to his ankle injury suffered in the opener. Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com got Falcons offensive line coach Mike Tice's thoughts about Matthews' return off of injury:

"

I think the thing that really has happened with Jake is right tackle, right tackle, right tackle, right tackle, right tackle, left tackle, boom, hurt. He has really not played with any confidence in his ankle. And I think as he's getting healthy -- and I think, right now, he's as healthy as has been with that week off -- I think his confidence level has really picked up. 

"I think he had some concern about getting beat because of that ankle. Even this week in practice, you can start to see that go away. So I expect Jake to be on the rise the rest of the way out. 

"

Confidence is huge for offensive linemen. Matthews has been one of the worst offensive linemen in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus. However, three bad games against the Chicago Bears, the New York Giants and the Baltimore Ravens skew him really further down than he really has been playing.

In those three weeks, Matthews allowed three sacks, three hits and 10 hurries for a combined 16 quarterback disruptions. In his other four games, he allowed just one sack and nine hurries for 10 quarterback disruptions. A healthy Matthews will keep Ryan upright. So let's hope that he's back to form.

Injury Report

John Bazemore/Associated Press

Pos	Name	Injury	Wed	Thu	Fri	Game Status
RB	Antone Smith	Neck	LP	LP	FP	Questionable
WR	Harry Douglas	Foot	LP	LP	FP	Questionable
OT	Jonathan Scott	Hamstring	DNP	DNP	FP	Out
DE	Jonathan Massaquoi	Foot	LP	LP	FP	Questionable
DT	Jonathan Babineaux	Foot	LP	LP	FP	Probable

All injury information from the Atlanta Falcons official website.

DNP: Did Not Practice

LP: Limited in Practice

FP: Fully Participated in Practice

Jonathan Babineaux will be nice to have back, as he's a great fit for Atlanta's scheme at both 3-technique under tackle and 3-4 defensive tackle. He's someone who can help generate interior pressure when the Falcons need to get it.

Jonathan Massaquoi is the Falcons' best pass-rusher. Losing him for the game would give even Josh McCown hours of time to play with. Atlanta needs him to be healthy and playing over 80 percent of the snaps to have their best possible pass rush.

Jonathan Scott has been ruled out and that's very much a non-factor. He was a street free agent signed to replace the injured Peter Konz on the roster and hasn't been active for the Falcons this season. Atlanta won't even notice his inability to play in this week's game.

Antone Smith and Harry Douglas are key offensive cogs that could be detrimental to the Falcons if they are missing. Douglas is a chain mover while Smith provides yet another explosive element to the offense. Atlanta needs both to have their best offense against the Buccaneers.

X-Factors and Matchups to Watch

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Roddy White vs. Alterraun Verner or one of his backups

Roddy White has been solid as a wide receiver this season, but needs to step his game up. Alterraun Verner would be a tough test for him, as Verner is one of the best corners in the NFL. That being said, Verner is listed as doubtful for this week's game.

The Falcons need to attack anyone of Verner's backups should Verner miss any snaps. None of them should be able to keep up with White's veteran savvy. This would also allow White to attack the slot even more because the Buccaneers won't have their best corners out there.

Jonathan Massaquoi vs. Anthony Collins or Oniel Cousins

Anthony Collins has been mediocre as a pass-blocker for the Buccaneers. Jonathan Massaquoi is Atlanta's best pass-rusher and needs to see more snaps. Playing against weaker competition like Anthony Collins will be helpful for Massaquoi to start off a late-season pass-rushing rhythm.

Massaquoi needs to show that he can be effective even if he's not completely healthy. He's comparable to a young, developing Cameron Wake and should he have a good game against Collins, the coaching staff shouldn't even think about keeping his snaps low ever again.

If Collins is injured for this week as he was listed as doubtful on the injury report, Massaquoi should destroy Oniel Cousins. Cousins is a mediocre pass-blocker who has trouble taking on speed rushers like Massaquoi has shown to be.

Atlanta's interior OL vs. Gerald McCoy

Jon Asamoah and Justin Blalock are both above average NFL guards. Center James Stone is an undrafted free-agent rookie who wound up getting the starting job due to injuries to Joe Hawley and Peter Konz. The Falcons need him to play more of a support role in pass protection than anything else.

Gerald McCoy is a monster at 3-technique but doesn't have much help along that defensive line. Akeem Spence and an injured Michael Johnson are the best pass-rushers besides McCoy. But they have been fighting injuries and haven't gotten into the rhythm needed for the Tampa 2 defense.

Falcons' X-Factor of the Week: WR Julio Jones

In Week 3, Julio Jones went off and had one of the best games of his career with 11 catches, 162 yards and two touchdowns. A big reason why Jones dominated the Buccaneers in the first game is that he overmatches the combination of Johnthan Banks and Dashon Goldson in both speed and power.

He does it in the same way that he destroyed the combination of Goldson and Carlos Rogers in 2012 during the NFC title game for 11 catches, 182 yards and two touchdowns. Jones could have his best game of the season if the Falcons can make sure Matt Ryan doesn't have Gerald McCoy in his face all day.

Prediction

Scott Cunningham/Getty Images

The Falcons need to win this game. Tampa Bay just isn't a better team than Atlanta is, and the Buccaneers are way too banged up throughout their roster. Atlanta should have an advantage at every single matchup, but in divisional games they are rarely blowouts.

Atlanta's going to attack with Julio Jones and Roddy White on the field all day while Tampa should have trouble defending them with the likes of Johnthan Banks and Leonard Johnson. With how the Tampa linebackers are banged up, Atlanta should be able to run the ball effectively.

On defense, the Falcons need a game to help jump-start their pass rush, and the Buccaneers' mediocre offensive line should help them do that. This one should be closer than the game in Atlanta was, but Matt Ryan and the Falcons should come out on top once again.

Prediction: Atlanta Falcons 35, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 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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