Atlanta Falcons: Keys to Victory in Week 11

The Atlanta Falcons will attempt to bounce back in Week 11 after a tough loss last Sunday to the New Orleans Saints. The Tennessee Titans roll into town for a rare 4:15 p.m. game in the Georgia Dome. 

The Falcons will want to get things going early to erase the memory of the nail-biting loss last week. After failing to convert on fourth down in overtime, Atlanta has to focus on what lies ahead, and not dwell on prior mistakes.

The Titans have been up and down throughout the 2011 season, but they looked solid last week in their 30-3 victory over the Carolina Panthers. Their defense did a good job of containing rookie phenom Cam Newton, and Chris Johnson looked like the CJ2K of old.

Both teams are 5-4 and two games out of first place in their respective divisions. Neither will want to fall to 5-5, as the losing team in this battle will be left with a serious uphill battle to reach the playoffs. 

We all know Mike Smith and Matt Ryan have had great success playing at home. Coming off a rare loss in the Dome, what do the Falcons need to focus on to take down the Titans?

Run the Ball, and Keep Running It

Another well-known formula for the Falcons' success is feeding the ball to Michael Turner. When Turner goes for over 100 yards, Atlanta nearly always wins.

Turner isn't alone anymore in the run game, though. Jacquizz Rodgers has come on strong lately, averaging 4.5 yards per carry on the season. Quizz provides a nice change of pace for the bruising Turner, and has proved to be a tough runner so far.

The Titans defense has been run all over at times this year, and they currently rank 22nd in run defense. This team gave up two 100-yard rushers in one game when they played the Texans in Week 7.

If the Falcons want to win, they have to give Turner somewhere near 25+ carries, and keep Quizz involved as well. The run game has looked strong lately, so look for them to continue pounding the ball on the ground this week.

Get Everyone Involved

Yes, Roddy White and Julio Jones are playmakers. White is the Pro Bowl veteran on this offense, and Jones is the prized new piece to the offense. But, we saw last week what can happen when Matt Ryan gets more of the team involved.

Jason Snelling isn't given a lot of work, but he makes sure he gets the most out of the action he does see. Snelling made SportCenter's top plays last week with his bruising touchdown run after receiving a short pass from Matt Ryan, a play in which Snelling broken quite a few tackles.

Harry Douglas has had injury problems that have held him back in the past, but he showed everyone why Atlanta drafted him, catching eight balls for 133 yards against the Saints. HD is an explosive slot receiver who is capable of making big plays as well.

I've already mentioned Rodgers, who is also a factor in the passing game. Tony Gonzalez is still an elite player as well. The point is, the Falcons have a lot of weapons around Ryan that aren't used as often as they could be.

Julio has battled hamstring issues throughout the season and might miss this week's game as well. But even if he does play, get the other guys involved. Everyone on the offense brings something special to the table, and I'd like to see the ball spread around more.

Play with Urgency

Watching the Falcons can be so frustrating at times. They come out of the gates on fire, and then they regress into a conservative offense until the time comes when they must score.

The same thing happened last week. The middle of the game left me scratching my head. Atlanta started the game with a 16-play drive that took nearly nine minutes off the clock. Even though they only got a field goal out of it, it was exactly what you wanted to see.

Despite the hot start, they only put up six points in the first half. They made a late surge at the end of the second quarter, but they handed the ball off to Rodgers after a timeout was taken with 23 seconds to go. Why on earth would you run that play? No timeouts left, in need of some momentum, and you try running the ball?

The Falcons offense has been bipolar in just about every game I've seen this year. I would like, for once, to see this team play consistently through all four quarters. When they needed to score we saw what they could do. If they play with a sense of urgency instead of a laid-back, "we'll get there eventually" type of mentality, maybe they won't be in such tight situations all the time.

Don't Let CJ2K Explode

Every Titans fan (and a ton of fantasy owners) rejoiced last week when Chris Johnson finally stepped his game up. It's been a dismal season for the man who ran for 2,006 yards two years ago, but he looked like his old self when he ran for 130 yards against the Panthers.

That being said, the Falcons' run defense is not the Panthers' run defense. It's much better. Atlanta ranks fourth in league, allowing only 90 yards per game on the ground. They need to keep up their impressive work against Tennessee.

The Titans have still been able to win without a big contribution from Johnson this season, but it will a much larger burden on Matt Hasselbeck if he has no run game this weekend. If Atlanta gets the job done like they've been doing, they should be in line for their sixth win of the year.