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Atlanta Falcons – Steve Sarkisian still is a horrific play-caller
I don’t enjoy bashing coaches and calling for anybody’s job, but it’s just frustrating to watch this Falcons offense have so much talent and have it go to waste. I appreciate the fact that Sarkisian made it a priority to find ways to put the ball into the hands of his best player, but he just doesn’t seem to have a clear plan on how to feature his arsenal of playmakers. First-round pick Calvin Ridley didn’t catch a single pass, despite already being an outstanding route-runner and what he showed in preseason, plus the Eagles didn’t have anybody capable of covering Freeman or Coleman having without Nigel Bradham in the lineup. More importantly though, those red-zone trips were just embarrassing. For all the times Sark has been critiqued for not targeting Julio on the red-zone, he has tried to make up for it by zeroing in on number 11 in two games versus the Eagles, despite facing double-coverage constantly. At least he put him in a stack once to give him a free release, but you have to give the guys with one-on-one opportunities a chance.
Baltimore Ravens – That defense is nasty
This franchise has always been known for tough, physical defenses and last year they already looked like one of the dominant units for most of the year, as they led the league in takeaways and pitched three different shutouts throughout the season. With that being said, they might be even more terrifying in 2018 and they started things of right with a 47-3 hammering of the Buffalo Bills. The Baltimore front controlled the line of scrimmage the entire game and completely shut down the Bills’ rushing attack, forcing Nathan Peterman to beat them with his arm. After throwing two picks and putting up a QB rating of 0.0 they sent out Josh Allen in the second half, but the only real success he had came on the ground, as he outrushed LeSean McCoy with 26 yards. That performance is even more impressive considering the Ravens were without their top cornerback in Jimmy Smith. Baltimore goes five guys deep at edge rusher, C.J. Mosley is a perennial Pro Bowler and their secondary is full of ball-hawks.
