FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The Atlanta Falcons are making their first trip ever to Gillette Stadium to take on the New England Patriots.
Atlanta made its last visit to Foxborough in 1998, when the “Dirty Bird” Falcons beat the Pats, 41-10. The Patriots are 5-6 all-time against Atlanta, and they’re 2-2 in New England.
The Patriots have won two consecutive games in the series, but each contest was played at the Georgia Dome.
When and Where
Sunday, Sept. 27, 2009, 1 p.m.
Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.
Records
Patriots 1-1 (1-1 AFC East)
Falcons 2-0 (1-0 NFC South)
Skinny
Surely, the Falcons have established themselves as one of the NFC’s top contenders, but like any young team that has only experienced a limited amount of success, they’re much better at home than on the road.
Both of Atlanta’s victories this season have come at the Georgia Dome, and they’re 9-1 on their home turf since the start of the 2008 season. However, the Falcons were 4-5 on the road in 2008, including a 30-24 loss to the Arizona Cardinals in the playoffs.
Additionally, the Patriots are 25-4 against teams that are making their first ever trip to Gillette Stadium, which the Falcons are doing this weekend (the Carolina Panthers are the only other team that hasn’t played in the Patriots’ new place, which is entering its eighth season). After going 4-3 in their first seven games at Gillette Stadium in 2002, the Patriots have won 21 of their last 22 games, including their last nine, against teams making their first visit to The Razor. The Chargers were the last team to enter Gillette for the first time and walk out with a victory, and that was Oct. 2, 2005.
“It was difficult,” said Patriots tight end Chris Baker, who visited Gillette Stadium for seven years with the New York Jets. “It was definitely difficult. Fans really get involved. It’s a difficult place to play.”
Projected Starters
Patriots
Offense
Quarterback: Tom Brady
Wide Receiver: Randy Moss
Wide Receiver: Wes Welker
Wide Receiver: Joey Galloway
Running Back: Fred Taylor
Tight End: Ben Watson
Left Tackle: Matt Light
Left Guard: Logan Mankins
Center: Dan Koppen
Right Guard: Stephen Neal
Right Tackle: Nick Kaczur
Defense
Left Defensive End: Ty Warren
Defensive Tackle: Vince Wilfork
Defensive Tackle: Mike Wright
Right Defensive End: Jarvis Green
Left Outside Linebacker: Pierre Woods
Middle Linebacker: Gary Guyton
Right Outside Linebacker: Adalius Thomas
Left Cornerback: Shawn Springs
Right Cornerback: Leigh Bodden
Strong Safety: Brandon Meriweather
Free Safety: James Sanders
Specialists
Kicker: Stephen Gostkowski
Punter: Chris Hanson
Long Snapper: Jake Ingram
Kick Returner: Laurence Maroney
Punt Returner: Wes Welker
Falcons
Offense
Quarterback: Matt Ryan
Wide Receiver: Michael Jenkins
Wide Receiver: Roddy White
Running Back: Michael Turner
Fullback: Ovie Mughelli
Tight End: Tony Gonzalez
Left Tackle: Sam Baker
Left Guard: Justin Blalock
Center: Todd McClure
Right Guard: Harvey Dahl
Right Tackle: Tyson Clabo
Defense
Left Defensive End: Jamaal Anderson
Defensive Tackle: Thomas Johnson
Defensive Tackle: Jonathan Babineaux
Right Defensive End: John Abraham
Weakside Linebacker: Mike Peterson
Middle Linebacker: Curtis Lofton
Strongside Linebacker: Stephen Nicholas
Left Cornerback: Brent Grimes
Right Cornerback: Chris Houston
Strong Safety: Erik Coleman
Free Safety: Thomas DeCoud
Specialists
Kicker: Jason Elam
Punter: Michael Koenen
Long Snapper: Mike Schneck
Kick Returner: Jerious Norwood
Punt Returner: Eric Weems
Stat Sheet
Patriots
New England is 31-5 against NFC teams since 2001, including a 3-1 mark in the Super Bowl.
The Patriots didn’t score a touchdown against the Jets. It was the first time they haven’t scored a touchdown since a 21-0 loss to the Miami Dolphins on Dec. 10, 2006, a span of 43 games.
Julian Edelman caught eight passes in his pro debut last week against the New York Jets, and five of those receptions went for at least 10 yards.
Fred Taylor needs 11 yards to accumulate 11,353 career yards and pass John Riggins for 15th on the all-time rushing list.
Joey Galloway needs 13 receptions to become the 30th player in NFL history with 700 career catches.
Tom Brady has completed 43-of-58 (74.1 percent) pass attempts for 600 yards, three touchdowns and one interception in two career games (both victories) against the Falcons.
Brady threw for 216 yards against the Jets to reach 27,040 for his career, and he passed Steve Grogan for second place on the Patriots’ all-time list. Brady is 2,617 yards behind Drew Bledsoe for the franchise record. Brady also has 199 career touchdowns.
The Patriots have 399 all-time wins.
Falcons
The Falcons, who have a bye in Week 4, are 6-2 in the week before their bye in the last eight years.
Matt Ryan threw a career-high three touchdown passes last week against the Carolina Panthers.
Ryan’s 108.5 passer rating is the third highest in the NFL.
The Falcons have allowed 27 total points this season, tied for the fifth-best mark in the NFL.
The Falcons are 2-0 for the seventh time in franchise history and the first time since 2006.
The Falcons have six takeaways and five sacks through two games.
Atlanta is 9-0 when Michael Turner rushes for 100 yards in a game.
Roddy White has 11 receptions for 95 yards and one touchdown this season.
Tight end Tony Gonzalez leads the Falcons with 12 catches for 144 yards and two touchdowns.
Defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux had two fumble recoveries in Week 1 against the Miami Dolphins.
Middle linebacker Curtis Lofton has a team-high 23 tackles.
Black and Blue
Patriots
(From Thursday’s practice report)
Linebacker Jerod Mayo did not practice with a right knee injury and is unlikely to play.
Wide receiver Wes Welker (knee) had limited participation.
Tight end Chris Baker (ankle) had limited participation.
Center Dan Connolly (back) had limited participation.
Wide receiver Julian Edelman (ankle) had limited participation.
Safety Brandon Meriweather (ankle) had limited participation.
Defensive lineman Myron Pryor (calf) had limited participation.
Special teamer Matthew Slater (left elbow) had limited participation.
Cornerback Terrence Wheatley (knee) had limited participation.
Quarterback Tom Brady (right shoulder) fully participated.
Falcons
(From Thursday’s injury report)
Kicker Jason Elam (hamstring) fully participated.
Running back Jerious Norwood (head) did not practice.
Tight end Tony Gonzalez (back) fully participated.
Safety William Moore (hamstring) fully participated
Tight end Justin Peelle (back) fully participated.
This Date in Patriots History
In 1964, the Boston Patriots defeated the New York Jets, 26-10, at Fenway Park to improve to 3-0. Quarterback Babe Parilli threw two touchdown passes, Gino Cappelletti kicked four field goals and caught three passes for 36 yards, and the Patriots’ defense intercepted Jets quarterback Dick Wood five times. This was the Patriots’ lone victory in four all-time games on Sept. 27.
Overheard
“I think being balanced is the most difficult way for an offense to keep a defense off-balanced. When they can just rear back — we’ve been behind in these games, the second half last week [against the Jets] to our doing, and against Buffalo we were behind the whole game — it forces you to throw the ball a little bit more and play on their terms. This team that we’re playing, unfortunately, I guess, [the Falcons have] had the lead in 18 straight games, or something like that. They start fast, and they play from ahead. I think they’re built with a great running game. When you’ve got to throw it, they can really rush, so we’ve got to try to stay out of that situation.”
— Tom Brady, when asked if he was comfortable with throwing the ball 100 times through two games this season.
Press Box
Patriots
Sam Aiken is trying to improve his special teams unit.
Tom Brady acknowledges his mechanics aren’t where they need to be.
The ProJo takes a closer look at the Patriots’ struggling offense.
Falcons
Former Boston College coach Tom O’Brien sheds some light on the real Matt Ryan.
A lot more goes into a road trip than you might think.
Take a look at Nowood’s injury, Belichick’s Falcons obsession and a cornerback’s nightmares.
NFL
Hines Ward doesn’t care about his league rule, and he might go out and break it.
Jail guards hate Plaxico Burress.
Get to know the 10 biggest surprise players through two weeks of 2009.
Outlook
This is a tricky game for the Patriots, who have their backs against the wall after a dismal showing in New York and are promising to put in extended work this week to correct their list of issues.
The Falcons offense will be one of the two or three most difficult units the Patriots play this season. Quarterback Matt Ryan has made noticeable improvements with his accuracy, and he has completed 68.3 percent of his throws through two games while tossing five touchdown passes.
Tight end Tony Gonzalez can dominate the middle of the field, and the Falcons’ leading receiver provides a dynamic they didn’t have in 2008. The Patriots will likely throw a few combinations at Gonzalez, but they’d ideally love to be able to stick a safety on him a la the way they used Rodney Harrison to blanket Dallas Clark in games against the Indianapolis Colts. Brandon Meriweather has the best combination of speed and physicality to play up on the line against Gonzalez, and the Patriots have the depth to use three-safety sets to also protect themselves against the vertical passing game against Ryan and wide receiver Roddy White.
The Patriots will also use a zone against Gonzalez by hitting him at the line with an outside linebacker before using a cornerback or safety to spy on the tight end if he breaks out into space.
“Execute [your plan] — he’s too good,” rookie safety Pat Chung said of covering Gonzalez. “You have to use your technique and use your help. Do everything you can because he can change the game. He’s been in the league a long time. He knows a lot of things, and he’s still doing it now. Execute and have everything on point.”
While the Falcons are passing it more this season than they did last year, the Patriots also have to be aware of running back Michael Turner, who was second in the league in 2008 with 1,699 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns. However, the Patriots don’t have to worry much about Turner in the passing game, as he has only caught eight passes in 19 games with the Falcons, including the playoffs.
Defensively, the Falcons are really taking on the personality of head coach Mike Smith, who was the defensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars’ stingy units from 2003-07 (and worked under Rex Ryan as the Baltimore Ravens’ linebackers coach from 1999-2002). Atlanta’s biggest defensive addition this offseason has been linebacker Mike Peterson, who has 22 tackles, one interception, two passes defensed and two forced fumbles through two games.
It’s a much faster front-seven for Atlanta, which makes plays and creates turnovers. The Falcons have allowed teams to move the ball this season — ranked 22nd in yards allowed (349.5 per game) and 20th in first downs allowed (20 per game) — but they’re keeping teams off the scoreboard because of their ability to cause turnovers.
The Patriots have to be smart and secure with the ball. They’ve only turned it over twice this season, so if they’re able to maintain possession, Tom Brady should be able to pick apart Atlanta’s cornerbacks and the running game should thrive now that Atlanta’s line has lost defensive tackle Peria Jerry for the season.
