Last Updated on November 3, 2010 10:32 pm by Anthony Rome
Bucs vs. Falcons Preview
ATLANTA, GA – Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Raheem Morris isn’t backing off the bold comments he made last month about his team being the best in the conference. The Atlanta Falcons have a different view of the NFC landscape.
With the top spot in the South at stake Sunday at the Georgia Dome, the Falcons go for their fourth straight victory over the Buccaneers, who are making a habit of winning close games.
Oddsmakers from online sports book BroburySports.com have made the Falcons 9-point spread favorites for Sunday’s game against the Bucs. Current NFL Public Betting Information shows that 66% of more than the 5,335 bets for this game have been placed on the Bucs +9.
An excited Morris gave his assessment of the conference race following an 18-17 victory over St. Louis on Oct. 24 – which came one week after a 31-6 home loss to New Orleans.
“We’re the best team in the NFC,” he said before the Bucs headed into their bye. “Yeah, I said it. We’re the best team in the NFC.”
Even though his team is tied with the Falcons and New York with a conference-best 5-2 record, the 34-year-old coach is not shying away from his remarks.
“I really believe it,” Morris told Atlanta media on Wednesday. “… If you don’t, no one ever will. That’s what we are doing right now. I’m believing in this young football team, they are believing in their young head coach and we are believing together.”
The Falcons can’t wait to make their case on the field.
“We feel like we’re the best team. I guess we’ll see on Sunday,” said cornerback Dunta Robinson, who could return after suffering a concussion against Philadelphia three weeks ago. “Someone is walking out of here 6-2. We think it’s going to be us.”
Having Matt Ryan under center gives the Falcons plenty of reason to be confidence. The third-year quarterback has won his last 12 starts at the Georgia Dome.
Coming off a 31-17 road loss to the Eagles that snapped the team’s four-game winning streak, Ryan had his best performance of the season in Atlanta’s last game, a 39-32 victory over Cincinnati on Oct. 24. He went 24 of 33 for 299 yards and three TDs to improve to 16-1 at home.
Looking to help the Falcons start 4-0 at the Georgia Dome for the third straight season, Ryan will likely continue to target Roddy White, who coach Mike Smith called the best player on the team following the victory over the Bengals.
White, the NFL leader with 54 receptions and second in the league with 747 receiving yards, caught 11 passes for a season-high 201 yards and two TDs. He was named NFC player of the month this week.
“That’s one of the greatest games I’ve seen him play,” the Falcons’ Michael Turner said after rushing for 121 yards and two scores versus Cincinnati. “That’s just the playmaking ability he has. It can show up anytime, against anybody.”
White, though, will face a Buccaneers team that tops the NFL with 14 interceptions.
“Defensively, they’re very opportunistic,” said Smith, who has led his club to a 16-3 home record in two-plus seasons.
Cornerback Aqib Talib had two of Tampa Bay’s season-high four INTs – a 45-yard return for a TD and a potential game-saving grab with 2:15 left – in a 38-35 victory at Arizona on Sunday that gave the Bucs a share of the division lead.
That was the latest fourth-quarter comeback win for quarterback Josh Freeman, who has guided the team to four such victories this year. Rookie LeGarrette Blount capped the winning drive with a 1-yard run with 5:13 left, which came after Tampa Bay allowed 21 unanswered second-half points.
“It’s like he almost did that on purpose,” Morris joked of Freeman, who has six fourth-quarter comeback wins in 16 career starts. “He is throwing games to get another fourth-quarter comeback.”
Tampa Bay is 4-0 in games decided by three points or fewer.
Robinson is questionable, and Freeman will face a Falcons secondary that could also be without starting safety Thomas DeCoud, who left the Cincinnati win following a helmet-to-helmet collision.
Bucs rookie Mike Williams could create more problems for Atlanta’s 27th-ranked pass defense, which allows 260.3 yards per game. Williams is second among rookies with 32 receptions.
The Bucs’ running game, which ranked 27th in the league through five weeks, has received a major boost from Blount. He has 192 yards in the last two games and has moved past Cadillac Williams with a team-high 222 despite playing in just four games.
Turner is looking for another big performance after going three straight contests without a TD before Oct. 24. In the teams’ last matchup at the Georgia Dome on Nov. 29, Turner aggravated a right ankle injury in the third quarter of Atlanta’s 20-17 win and missed the next two games.
Ryan was also sidelined the next two weeks after suffering a turf toe injury during the first series of that game. Backup Chris Redman found White for a winning five-yard TD pass with 23 seconds left.
Tampa Bay, looking to open 6-2 for the first time in eight seasons, has never started 4-0 on the road.
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