That Atlanta Offense (American Spelling!) How do We Stop It?

BelichickFan said:

Yeah, they're better than the Steelers but it seems like the way to stop them, from a high level, is similar. Stop the run and Jones. Make them beat you with Sanu and Gabriel. Their line is good but not as good as Pittsburgh's. I'm not going to say I feel good about stopping them but they aren't an unmoveable force either.

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I would actually do the reverse. Dare them to run and sell out to stop the passing (including to the RB's). This takes out their play action which is their bread and butter. This also allows us to play their inverted formations the way it should be played.

I would bracket Jones and shadow Freeman out of the backfield and play man on the rest, hit them in the mouth at the line and don't allow free releases.

Our offense is the best defense against their offense. Keep their O on the bench watching 8-10 minute drives.

PP2 said:

I would actually do the reverse. Dare them to run and sell out to stop the passing (including to the RB's). This takes out their play action which is their bread and butter. This also allows us to play their inverted formations the way it should be played.

I would bracket Jones and shadow Freeman out of the backfield and play man on the rest, hit them in the mouth at the line and don't allow free releases.

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Agreed. Against PIT the game plan was to make Big Ben beat you by dinking and dunking.

ATL is deadly not just because of their talent, but because their run game and play action in particular open up a ton of options.

Therefore, you sell out to stop Ryan by bracketing Julio, have a spy on Freeman/Coleman and play man to man for everyone else.

Having said that, has ATL used the two RB formation that we have on occasion with Lewis/White?

PP2 said:

I would actually do the reverse. Dare them to run and sell out to stop the passing (including to the RB's). This takes out their play action which is their bread and butter. This also allows us to play their inverted formations the way it should be played.

I would bracket Jones and shadow Freeman out of the backfield and play man on the rest, hit them in the mouth at the line and don't allow free releases.

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Agreed, even if they do start to have success on the ground, itll be another challenge for them to have patience and stick with the run. I remember the playoff wins agsinst the rams and the colts offensive juggernauts, whenever they did have success on the ground against us , they still would not stick with it and played right into our hands.

PatriotsPimp136 said:

We have to hold tbe falcons under 26 to win this game. I wish we could get more pressure on the QB.

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Ryan was getting rid of the ball in 1.5 - 3 seconds against the Packers. Getting pressure on Ryan when he's throwing the ball that quick is going to be near impossible. Granted, the Packers' secondary was a pile of ****. Without Sam Shields thier #1 CB who went down early in the season, it was no contest. The Pats secondary is way better, but the weapons Ryan has at his disposal are unreal.

PLus, the vaunted Packer OL pass defense was getting run over by the far quicker Falcons. Rodgers was not holding onto the ball that long, but it didn't matter. He was pressured all game.

Atlanta is wayyyyyyyyyy better than the Steelers, but then again, so are the Patriots. SHould be quite a Superbowl.

I do agree however, you're going to have to hold the Falcons under 30 points. I don't the think Pats will be able to do that. Question is, can the Pats score more than 30 points? should be interesting.

ATL O vs Top 10 defenses.

SEA w Earl Thomas...18.2 allowed (they were around 16 w/ Thomas), ATL scored 24
DEN 18.6 allowed, ATL scored 23
KC 19.4 allowed ATL scored 28
FWIW, PHI was #12 and allow 20.7 and ATL scored 15

So depending on how you look at it, vs ATL, the Top 10 D only allowed on average 3.5 points more when facing ATL and an average of 22.5ppg. That was 11 points less of ATL's season average.

So based on that, NE, which allowed 15.6ppg, will allow 21-24 points to ATL.

Dallas would take similar approach to Steelers and much easier to stop. I was looking forward to that projected SB pairing just to see how easily BB and MP dismantle the incredible rookie show. But Atlanta promises the best watch from perspective how BB and MP approach them.

Falcons are a different animal. It will not be so easy to stop their run because they are not so schematic. They have two very versatile and quick backs that can turn not only into WRs but also TEs. They have strength and they have quickness&speed.

Speed is the one thing BB emphasised today and thats exactly what Pats struggled with early this year. Good thing that Ryan is not a mobile QB.

Its great that this two teams didn't meet before and that they meet in the final game where all cards will be played. Its not so easy to predict the moves .. as also this thread shows .. so we have an explosive chess feast ahead of us.

douchebag and idiot on 98.5 we're just spouting about how the Falcons offense played against 7 of the top 10 passing defenses, "unlike how the Pats defense didn't play a top offense"

Broncos
Seahawks 2x
Bucs 2x
Cardinals
Chiefs
Rams

5-3

Patriots played 8 of the top 11 pass defenses
Broncos
Texans 2x
Cardinals
Bills 2x
Seahawks
Ravens
Rams
Bengals

Pats were
8-2.

and one of those losses was with the 3rd string rookie QB playing with a injured thumb that needed surgery days after the game

robertweathers said:

ATL O vs Top 10 defenses.

SEA w Earl Thomas...18.2 allowed (they were around 16 w/ Thomas), ATL scored 24
DEN 18.6 allowed, ATL scored 23
KC 19.4 allowed ATL scored 28
FWIW, PHI was #12 and allow 20.7 and ATL scored 15

So depending on how you look at it, vs ATL, the Top 10 D only allowed on average 3.5 points more when facing ATL and an average of 22.5ppg. That was 11 points less of ATL's season average.

So based on that, NE, which allowed 15.6ppg, will allow 21-24 points to ATL.

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I would be surprised if Atlanta were to score more than 24 points in the game. Belichick has a great record in slowing down potent offenses in big games. Not only did he do it to "The Greatest Show on Turf," but in Super Bowl XXV, as defensive coordinator for the Giants, he limited Jim Kelly and the Buffalo no huddle offense, which had led the NFL in points scored, to 19. In the 2003-2004 playoffs, the Pats faced a Colts offense that had scored 41 and 38 points in their two previous playoff games. Everyone was talking about how "unstoppable" Manning was. The Colts scored only 14 points against the Pats and lost by 10. I would be far more concerned to face a top defense that had to ability to disrupt Brady and our offense, as the Giants and the Broncos have done in the past. No, this game is not one to be worried about.

Like Belichick, I rate my offenses and defenses on points scored and points given up. Facts are as follows:

The Patriots played 5 games against top-10 offenses and were 4-1, giving up an average of 19 points. (Please note the Buffalo and Pittsburgh were tied for 10th, so they are each considered top-10.)

The Falcons played 8 top-10 offenses and were 7-1, giving up an average of 28 points.

The Patriots played 6 top-10 defenses, went 5-1 and scored an average of 28 points.

The Falcons played 4 top-10 defenses, went 2-2 and scored an average of 27.75 points.

Take it for what you will.

NormZauchin said:

I would be surprised if Atlanta were to score more than 24 points in the game. Belichick has a great record in slowing down potent offenses in big games. Not only did he do it to "The Greatest Show on Turf," but in Super Bowl XXV, as defensive coordinator for the Giants, he limited Jim Kelly and the Buffalo no huddle offense, which had led the NFL in points scored, to 19. In the 2003-2004 playoffs, the Pats faced a Colts offense that had scored 41 and 38 points in their two previous playoff games. Everyone was talking about how "unstoppable" Manning was. The Colts scored only 14 points against the Pats and lost by 10. I would be far more concerned to face a top defense that had to ability to disrupt Brady and our offense, as the Giants and the Broncos have done in the past. No, this game is not one to be worried about.

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Thats how I'm seeing it too. They'll move the ball and score some points but I do not see ATL going off at all.

I think the biggest impediment to Atlantas offense will be Tom Brady.
I see Brady lighting up that defense and having not only his best SB but one if the best games of his career.
The d will get early stops we will be playing from ahead, Atlanta will become one dimensional and impatient.

turkeyneck said:

Our offense is the best defense against their offense. Keep their O on the bench watching 8-10 minute drives.

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Usually the Patriots come into a game with the higher-octane offense, and teams are trying to slow the tempo against us, hoping to keep Brady off the field. I think in this game, yeah, maybe we reverse that. It's kind of a strange situation to be in, really. Because I think if the Patriots want to play shoot-out with the Falcons, they can win a 41-38 kind of game.

CaptainCanuck said:

Plant Ryan on his butt all day and get him out of the pocket

Score more points than Atlanta would also help

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Many of you are correct. Pressure on Ryan is the Pats only real hope to success other than a straight out shootout. The "get him out of the pocket" comment is very 2012. He moves around a lot and has become very comfortable on the move and outside of the pocket under KS. Two of his TD's vs. GB were on improvised plays. He is similar to Brady in that if you blitz him, you have to hit him. Many of his stats go up vs. additional rushers. He destroyed GB and Seattle when they blitzed. The Pats superior DL should help them, but I'm not sure its a good way to make a living.

The Falcons "go to" play on every blitz is Julio. The Falcons are not shy about that. If you bring extra people, your man is just going to have to be able to win 1 on 1 in press coverage consistently.

If I were game planning against the Falcons, I would probably focus on shutting down the run, even if that means giving up a few plays early. The Falcons try to attack bigger, stronger, DLs by forcing them to move laterally to respond to the outside zone running scheme. The idea is just to get them running to slow down the pass rush. The Patriots have to make them pay by creating 3rd and longs when they choose to run on early downs.

Brandon Marshall reaches out .. and joins the Pats D talking party:

“I’m so sick and tired of everyone talking about Coach [Bill] Belichick. Yes, he is great,” Marshall said. “The reason why I’m so sick and tired of everyone talking about Coach Belichick is because they think he does everything and he’s the only one in the building that’s working. They have a defensive coordinator by the name of Matt Patricia in New England, who’s awesome. He has the best third-down defense, and it’s not because of statistics. It’s because of the creativity.”

You need to negate both backs in the passing game. They can withstand them running at a decent clip, but they need to avoid them making big plays in the passing game.
Disciplined edge rush, which they are good at.
Cover 2 and Cover 2 Man. They are gonna make plays in the passing game. We have to negate the big plays and absolutely contain the two backs in the passing game!

I like the thought of Julio double teamed by Rowe (who is the best physical match) and a safety. I have complete faith that Malcolm Butler and Logan Ryan can do the job against Sanu and Gabriel.

Julio will get his catches, yards and maybe a touchdown but it's better than him still getting respectable numbers and having one of the other receivers beating Eric Rowe which is a very real possibility.

How do we stop the Atlanta offense? Well, with our #1 defense.

Ok, but seriously. I actually like the matchup with Atlanta. Julio Jones will get doubled. Even though Matt Ryan is the MVP (or will be), I like that fact that he is a pocket passer who has never been in the Super BOwl. Playing in a Super Bowl with Tom Brady on the other side of the field could provide an intimidation factor. he could fall flat like Cam last year. More likely though, at least with a pocket passer the pass rushers can really attack the pocket.......though won't really have to worry about the QB running.

Both offenses are great.

I wouldn't say the Pats have to shut down or stop the Atlanta offense to win. The Pats just need to have more success against the Falcons defense than the Falcons have against the Pats defense.

I think (or at least hoping) our Super Bowl experience can buy us a little edge. Hopefully Matt Ryan comes out overthrowing a few balls after being super hyped. Obviously creating discomfort in the pocket would be key, but isn't that every team's gameplan against all teams? It's just not that easy. So we'll have to hope the Falcons get jitters or something and either miss some throws or drop some passes.