Cordarrelle Patterson & Grady Jarrett Sit Out Falcons Practice Ahead of Bucs

The Atlanta Falcons rank 31st in the league in rushing yards despite running for a season-high 149 yards in Sunday's 21-14 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The majority of Atlanta's yards came from Cordarrelle Patterson, who ran for a career-high 108 yards.

Mike Davis, the team's starter for much of the year, has disappointed as a free agent acquisition. Using Patterson primarily as a running back instead of in the slot helps establish an identity for the offense.

It's been tempting to put Patterson as a receiver considering that's where he's played majority of his career, especially with Calvin Ridley out for the past several weeks.

If the Falcons want more success in the run game, giving your best player the rock is the easiest way to do that.

For now, though, as Atlanta preps for the Bucs on Sunday, some rest is appropriate. Full participation on Wednesday is the designation for Kendall Sheffield (hamstring) and Deion Jones (shoulder). But Cordarrelle Patterson and Grady Jarrett got DNPs - "vets' day off,'' really - while Jonathan Bullard (ankle) also sat out.

On this episode of "Locked On Falcons," host Aaron Freeman is joined by Kevin Knight (The Falcoholic Live) to recap the Falcons' win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 12.

They discuss Patterson's big day, the impact of several young players seeing extended looks for the first time this year, if the improved running game can be expected to carry over into future games, and whether the Falcons are poised to surprise this week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Aaron deals with all that and more on this episode of "Locked On Falcons." For more podcasts and information, join us here.

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