LT Profit: Falcons -5½


Look for the Falcons' strong running game to be the difference at home this Sunday against the Buccaneers.

The Falcons upset Carolina 20-6 on the road last week while Tampa Bay was shut out 27-0 at home by Baltimore, and frankly we were not shocked by either result.

We expected the Tampa Bay offense to struggle mightily this season with a young backfield and an erratic offensive line, and we expected the defense to regress from the unit that overachieved a bit last year. This indeed came to fruition in the opener as the Bucs managed a pathetic 142 total yards of offense while surrendering 271 yards. Even the run defense was noticeably worse than last season allowing 103 rushing yards to the Ravens, which is a concern here vs. the powerful Atlanta rushing attack.

Do not forget that the Falcons led the NFL in rushing last year, and they picked up right where they left off by shredding the Panthers defense for an amazing 252 yards on the ground. With quarterback Michael Vick acting like an added running back in the backfield, rushing for 48 yards on seven carries, Atlanta averaged a potent 5.4 yards per run in the win.

This is a difficult unit for any defense to stop, and we look for the Falcons to run away with another fairly easy victory this week.

Game Time: 9/17/2006 1:00:00 PM (EST)

Play: Falcons -5½ (-110)

By: L.T. Profit Sports Group
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