Sixteen Players to Watch: Falcons at Giants
Going into the game against the New York Giants, the Atlanta Falcons are still searching for their first win on the road. Keep an eye on these eight players on each team that could make a difference.
RB Antone Smith's touchdown during last week's game gave the Falcons their only lead of the game against the Minnesota Vikings. Smith's 62 rushing yards and touchdown led the team's running game during its loss to the Vikings. Smith has played an important role in the first four games of the season and has had some of the most explosive plays.
With two interceptions so far this season, including one last week against the Washington Redskins, Giants S Antrel Rolle leads the team along with Prince Amukamara in interceptions. The defense leads the NFL with a total of 7 interceptions so far this season.
The Giants have several explosive receivers on their offense and CB Desmond Trufant will have to be on top of his game to keep them in check.
DE Jason Pierre-Paul leads the New York Giants in the pass rush and stopping the run. Protecting QB Matt Ryan will be key for a Falcons offensive line that made several changes in the past week.
New to the offensive line this week is G Harland Gunn, a player that only last week was on the practice squad. With G Justin Blalock inactive on Sunday, Gunn may have a chance to get his first NFL start in his career. Gunn spent a majority of last season on the practice squad, but was signed onto the active roster for three games including seeing his first playing time against the Washington Redskins.
The big name on the New York Giants offense is WR Victor Cruz. Cruz leads the Giants in receiving yards with 299 and along with TE Larry Donnell, QB Eli Manning has several choices down field to make plays.
WR Julio Jones continues to be the top receiver for the Atlanta Falcons offense. The Falcons losses came in games where Jones was held to under 100 receiving yards. The 447 yards Jones has so far this weekend put him second in the NFL for receiving yards.
One of the New York Giants top receivers is TE Larry Donnell, who has emerged as a huge threat down field. With 236 yards and four touchdowns for the Giants so far this season, Donnell has become one of QB Eli Manning's top targets and covering Donnell will keep the Falcons defense busy.
With C Joe Hawley placed on injured reserve, C Peter Konz will be filling the role. Konz is no stranger to starting, playing in 16 games last season and starting in 15.
Giants CB Prince Amukamara is one of the most impressive players on the defense with two interceptions and a team leading 25 tackles. Amukamara has an eye for the ball and is one of several threats in the Giants defense.
LB Prince Shembo is looking at his second start of the season this Sunday and part of his job will be covering one of the Giants top receivers in TE Larry Donnell.
With 341 rushing yards and two touchdowns, Giants RB Rashad Jennings has definitely been gaining momentum in the running game. The Falcons have emphasized stopping the run over the past few weeks and this Sunday will be a chance to show those improvements.
With S William Moore out for at least the next eight weeks, S Kemal Ishmael has to step up and fill that role. Ishmael has looked impressive over the last few weeks in his limited playing time including a pick-six against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 3.
Contributing to the New York Giants pass-rush ability is DE Robert Ayers. Ayers has two sacks so far this season and going against a Falcons offensive line with several big changes, Ayers will be putting on the pressure.
With the second most passing yards in the NFL, QB Matt Ryan has dominated with the Falcons offense. This week ball security is a top priority going against a New York Giants secondary that forced 9 turnovers. With weapons like WR Julio Jones and WR Roddy White, once Ryan gains momentum he is difficult to stop.
Giants QB Eli Manning has looked great the last two games coming up with big wins. With only one interception in the last two games and six touchdowns, Manning and the Giants offense look to have found their groove.
