Perusing the Falcoholic...

So, itching for a football fix and having a lot of free time, I followed Gonzo's link to the Falcon-know-it-all's site and let me tell you.  I respect Michael Turner and the Falcon's running game, but they seem to be a bit too excited about the prospect of facing the leagues top rush defense less one Williams.

Pat Williams is the largest player of the front four and undoubtedly will be missed.  Fat Pat not only faces endless double teams, eating up blockers allowing his mates to make plays, but he also makes a lot of tackles for a situational player.  For his size he is one of the best pursuit tackles in the league, he never gives up (he was injured chasing a play down field)!

However, while Fat Pat makes in near impossible for teams to gain yardage between the tackles, it is not as if the Vikings are giving up a ton of yardage on the perimeter. 

Turner doesn't look fun to tackle, but Winfield, Griffin, M. Williams and Sapp in the Vikings secondary seem to like tackling those most not fun to tackle.  Highlighted by the super solid linebacking corps, it is the team defense approach that has made the Vikings so spectacular for the past couple seasons against the run.

I know the players on the Falcons aren't making this oversight, but the fans should be cautious expecting so much.  The Falcons have played one defense currently ranked in the top ten among run stoppers.  When it's over, they will have played 7 of the bottom ten, and the 12th, 18th and 20th ranked run defenses.

It will no doubt be a great game (for the Vikings) and with T-Jack leading the way, exciting to watch again.  Go Vikes!!!