How Does The Atlanta Falcons’ Secondary Matchup Against The Green Bay Packers' Wide Receivers?
The first thing that probably goes through fans' heads when thinking about this game is, “mismatch for the Green Bay Packers wide receivers."
That may be true any other week, but let’s take a look at the health of both teams at their respective positions.
The Falcons secondary has been depleted so far this season.
Kendall Sheffield has been out all year with a foot injury.
Atlanta’s No. 1 draft pick A.J. Terrell missed a game for the first time last week after being placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
Cornerback Darqueze Dennard left the Bears game late due to an injury and is now on IR.
Does it sound bad?
Well, good news for the Falcons, Sheffield is back on the practice field and intends to play barring any setbacks.
Terrell has already missed one week of play. Once he is cleared by medical staff, he is back in that starting position. His return is still undetermined.
Isaiah Oliver will be listed as the right corner back and Blidi Wreh-Wilson will be lending support.
But the Falcons aren’t the only team with key injuries coming into this game, as the Packers have significant injuries at wide receiver.
Packers No. 1 receiver Davante Adam has been limited in practice due to a hamstring injury, and told Packers media on Wednesday that he "wants to be 100 percent" before returning to game play.
The news doesn't get much better for Green Bay, as their No. 2 receiver Allen Lazard is out indefinitely with a core muscle injury that required surgery.
With an idea of who may be missing Monday's game, we can look at the potential matchups:
Isaiah Oliver- Marquez Valdes-Scantling
Kendall Sheffield - Darrius Shepherd
Blidi Wreh-Wilson - Malik Taylor
The Falcons secondary now seems more evenly matched against the young receiving corps that the Packers intend on lining up on the field on Monday night.
If those are the receivers, the most experienced receiver will be Valdes-Scantling, whose biggest impact this season came in Week 1 against the Minnesota Vikings, when he had four catches for 96 yards and one touchdown.
Sheppard is a second-year receiver with only one career catch for one yard and Taylor has yet to see any action since joining the team.
If Adams does in fact end up playing, then he will be matched up against Oliver.
Oliver has had his fair share of blown coverages this season and has also been beat time after time during 1-on-1 matchups.
Either way, the Falcons have a more favorable matchup against these receivers than any other team they have played this year.
The unit that can help these defensive backs on Sunday is the Falcons' defensive front seven, which will need to apply consistent pressure on Aaron Rodgers.
That said, pressure without sacks may not be good enough. Rodgers excels when flushed out of the pocket and forced to throw on the run.
He is an elite quarterback and he has the ability to get the best out of his receivers, regardless of their talent level.
How the Falcons defend the pass will determine if they make it to 1-3.
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