This Thursday evening the (1-1) Falcons welcome the (0-2) Buccaneers to Atlanta. Both teams are coming off losses with the Bucs being defeated in a very winnable game at home to the Rams and the Falcons struggling with the physical Bengals defense in Cincinnati.
Atlanta's offensive line will be a group to watch in this game with their injuries at offensive tackle. Last year this unit ranked 30th in Pass Blocking Efficiency at 71%. They have improved a bit this year to 79.4%, but that still only has them 24th.
Tampa Bay’s only solid pass rusher so far has been Gerald McCoy with a +3.1 grade, though the Bucs could be playing without him (due to a hand injury), Adrian Clayborn (placed on IR), and free agent addition Michael Johnson. They'll be looking for more of a rush from the likes of Clinton McDonald and Akeem Spence, but if the Falcons do neutralize the Tampa pressure it could make for a big offensive day.
Here are a few other notables.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Alterraun Verner – Backed up his cornerback leading +4.1 overall grade with some great work in run support. His four stops in the run game and 7.3% stop percentage rank him second in terms of Run Stop Percentage for cornerbacks.
Josh McCown – Currently ranks 31st out of 35 quarterbacks with a -4.5 passing grade. He ranked ninth overall last year with a +16.0 passing grade.
Lavonte David – Has graded at +4.3 in the run game thus far due to his league leading 10 stops. His Run Stop Percentage of 16.4% ranks third out of all 4-3 outside linebackers.
Atlanta Falcons
Matt Ryan – In Week 1 his +5.7 passing grade was his best passing grade in over a year. Last week he struggled with a -1.7 pass grade and -0.7 overall evaluation. Even after last week’s game Ryan still has the top overall quarterback grade at +5.2.
Paul Soliai – His five stops in the run game ranks third out of defensive tackles. He has anchored the Falcons' run defense and his +2.5 grade overall is exactly what the Falcons picked him up for.
Desmond Trufant – He’s averaging 16.8 Coverage Snaps Per Reception allowed and his +2.8 coverage grade ranks 10th.
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