Early Look at the Detroit Lions 2017 opponents: Atlanta Falcons
By Ash Thompson
Quarterbacks
The Falcons have Matt Ryan, at the helm and he has missed only two games during his entire career. He is one of the NFL’s premier football mind and has the arm talent to make any throw that will ever be asked of him. There are basically no holes in his game. The Lions secondary will need to be absolutely perfect in their assignments to keep Ryan from shredding them.
Should the Lions be so lucky as to not face Ryan for some reason, Matt Schaub will be their opponent. The Falcons would be an entirely different team with Schaub at the helm. Unlike Ryan, Schaub will eventually make a mistake that costs his team the game.
Wide Receivers
The Falcons have a solid Wide receiver group led by one of the NFL’s greatest talents. Julio Jones is a handful for any secondary to deal with. He creates opportunities for every other player on the field. Behind Jones, the Falcons have four other NFL caliber receivers available to them.
Mohamed Sanu is a solid possession receiver who can man the outside of the field across from Jones. In the slot, the Falcons have two players very capable of taking every touch they get to the house. Taylor Gabriel and Justin Hardy combined for 56 catches, 782 yards, and 10 touchdowns. The Falcons have added Andre Roberts to be their kick returner. Lions fans are well aware of Roberts potential to make a key play when he is the fourth or fifth option.
The cornerback group has their work cut out for them in the Lions week three contest. A Slay vs. Jones matchup will have prognosticators salivating with anticipation. The Lions veteran cornerbacks do not match up well with Sanu.
Nevin Lawson, D.J. Hayden, and Quandre Diggs give up at least three inches and 14 lbs to the physical Sanu. This could be the first starting appearance by second round pick Jalen Tabor. Tabor may not be fast, but neither is Sanu, who ran a 4.67 40 at his own combine.
Tight Ends
The Falcons most dangerous receiving tight end is likely their 2017 fifth round pick Eric Saubert. He comes from the Pioneer football league though and is unlikely to be ready to step in right away. If the Lions linebacker corp are banged up there is a possibility that the Falcons try to take advantage with the rookie to create mismatches.
Austin Hooper had a solid rookie season and had the second-most targets on the team in the SuperBowl. He is capable of taking advantage of the fact that he is the least dangerous receiver on the field for the Falcons. Levine Toilolo seems like can be dangerous in the red zone because of he is 6’8″, but is primarily a blocker for the Falcons. He has never found the end zone more than twice in a season.
The Lions revamped linebacker corp will be able to handle the Falcons tight end group. After a full season of giving their opponents little resistance in the middle, the Lions have shored up the biggest hole they had. The results should pay dividents in the Lions week three matchup.