Off Topic » Falcons defense vs. Bengals offense: Which side wins?

The Falcons defense is Black Austin Hooper Jersey , well, broken. Missing three (!!!) key starters and lacking production from other significant players, Atlanta is looking more and more like a 2013 Falcons unit than the fast, physical group Dan Quinn is known for. After getting worked by Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints offense and giving up 43 points, Atlanta must try and stop the sixth-best scoring offense in the National Football League: the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals are averaging 29.7 points per game, and have done so through some pretty consistent play from Andy Dalton. This test won’t be easy but with questions surrounding the status of A.J. Green, Atlanta may have a slightly easier task than initially expected. Let’s dive a little deeper and see how these two units match up. In the trenchesGood news: Takkarist McKinley is set to play this Sunday. Bad news: The rest of the Falcons defensive line has really struggled to get to the quarterback, while also leaving something to be desired when it comes to the run game. I think we see a better defensive line than last week, but I just don’t know how much better they can get from week to week. More good news: The Bengals offensive line is not performing very well so far this season — Clint Boling is the only offensive lineman with a Pro Football Focus grade higher than a 60. Despite that, Cincinnati has only given up four sacks this season, but these ratings are the result of the run blocking ability of the Bengals offensive line — they have the 22nd-ranked rushing offense this season. Neither one of these position groups is performing at a stellar clip thus far this season, so this will really come down to whether or not the impact players for either team can push theline of scrimmage in favor of their squad. Can Grady Jarrett, Takk McKinley, and the rest of the Falcons defensive line make that happen? I think they make some plays, but I don’t think they make enough to swing this matchup in Atlanta’s favor. Advantage: PushSkill positionsWoof. It feels like this defensive backfield is hanging on for dear life. Keanu Neal? Nope —DeMontae Kazee. Ricardo Allen? Nah — Jordan Richards. Deion Jones? No chance — Duke Riley. Atlanta is going to struggle no matter who they play and no matter the circumstance — they will never truly shut a team down, I don’t think. However, if the offense can continue to play well and score around 30 points a game, the defense should be able to do enough to keep Atlanta in most games. As for Cincinnati, it will look very similar to last week: a great wideout on the outside http://www.authenticsatlantafalcons.com/cheap-mohamed-sanu-jersey , a speedy receiver, a solid slot guy, and a tough combo at tight end and running back. A.J. Green, even if he is only at 75 percent, is someone that teams have to pay attention to, so when you add in the rest of the Bengals skill position players it becomes tough for a defense. The key matchups will be John Ross and Robert Alford, as well as De’Vondre Campbell/Kazee guarding Tyler Eifert. If those guys can limit the big plays by both of those Bengals, the Falcons defense should have a shot to get the stops necessary to win the game. More than the individual matchups, the Falcons simply have to tackle well. Last week it seemed as though they had completely forgotten how to perform that simple task and it cost them dearly. Tackle well, limit big plays. Giovani Bernard is a very skilled back who can make defenders looks silly if they aren’t sound in their technique when trying to bring him down. Once again, I’m skeptical. They can definitely win one play every now and then, but I’m not sure that they can do it consistently, especially if there is no pressure on Dalton. This matchup is very nearly a push, but the lack of depth and the adjustments as a result of that swing things in favor of the Bengals. Advantage: Cincinnati BengalsConclusionThis team is still well coached. This team is still talented. However, they are not as experienced and not as talented as they could be. Jordan Richards looked pretty bad last week and Duke Riley is still incredibly inconsistent — not to mention the disappearance of Vic Beasley this season. For Atlanta’s defense to win the day this week, Takk will need to have a career day and the Falcons will need to keep the Bengals from taking the top off the defense. Limit the damage Bernard does out of the back field, keep Eifert from killing you across the middle, and try and keep John Ross from creating explosive plays. Atlanta does better than last week since Takk is back in the lineup, but I think they still struggle to slow down the Bengals. Each team makes some big plays and it comes down to the Atlanta offense. Check out DW’s breakdown of the Atlanta offense vs. Cincinnati defense here. Advantage: Push On Monday afternoon Atlanta Falcons Womens T-Shirt , we’ll find out whether Juan Soto or Ronald Acu帽a, Jr. is the National League Rookie of the Year. It’s probably going to be Acu帽a, who has the edge in homers, WAR, stolen bases, and defensive value, but it’ll be a close race. And it’s a great excuse to appreciate how beautifully rare it is to see two under-21 players succeed like this. It probably doesn’t feel as rare as it should, though. We happen to be in something of a boom time for under-21 players. Carlos Correa just wowed us all, but three years before that, Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, and Mike Trout were all a part of the same rookie class. We were just getting used to the idea that Giancarlo Stanton and Jason Heyward were going to be All-Star outfielders for the next decade. At this point, it’s a little odd when a season doesn’t feature an under-21 player thriving. But it’s not always like this. There were just five hitting seasons from an under-21 player that were worth at least 1 WAR in the 1980s, and one of them came from Dwight Gooden. There are tables and long lists of names below, so you can scroll down to a too-long-didn’t-read version, but if you look for seasons with multiple three-win players 20 or younger, you’ll see this is something of an anomaly:Seasons with multiple under-21 hitters worth at least three WARDecadeNumber of seasonsDecadeNumber of seasonsIt’s not enough to get just one preternatural talent under the age of 21. Now we’re used to a pair. And just think: Soto’s WAR is severely limited by his defensive metrics. Those don’t seem especially predictive, though, considering he’s a teenager learning how to play major league defense on the fly. Let’s look for the seasons with multiple under-21 players with 3 oWAR or better. There are just five of them: 2018 - Acu帽a Atlanta Falcons Hats , Soto2012 - Harper, Trout1952 - Mickey Mantle, Eddie Mathews1928 - Mel Ott, Jimmie Foxx1911 - Rogers Hornsby, Whitey WittAs you can see, the ... dammit, Whitey, you’re ruining my perfect narrative. But the overall point remains sound. It’s rare to get a couple of these seasons clustered together, and when it happens, the players usually enjoy Hall of Fame careers. Just a simple list of the under-21 players who have recorded a 3-oWAR season is impressive, too: In the Hall (or has the statistics to be in)Sherry MageeGeorge DavisJohn McGrawTravis Jackson Mel OttRogers HornsbyJimmie FoxxArky VaughnEddie MathewsMickey MantleWillie MaysTed WilliamsAl KalineFrank RobinsonOrlando CepedaJohnny BenchRoberto AlomarKen Griffey, Jr.Alex RodriguezMultiple high-level or All-Star seasons through 20sBuddy LewisStuffy McInnisVada PinsonSolid careersButch WynegarClaudell WashingtonCareer shortened because of war or injuryDick HoblitzellTony ConigliaroNarrative ruinerWhitey WittStill activeMike TroutBryce HarperCarlos CorreaJason HeywardRonald Acu帽a, Jr.Juan SotoI broke up the Hall of Fame category into groups of five to make it easier to read. I did not have to do this for the other categories. This is because hitting this well before turning 21 is a great indication that player in question will make the Hall of Fame. There are exceptions to the rule. There are players who still end up breaking your heart. But for the most part, hitters like Acu帽a and Soto grow up to do amazing things. (And if you limit the search to 3-oWAR players who are still teenagers, you get Mel Ott, Bryce Harper, and Juan Soto. That’s it. And two of them played in the same outfield.)Celebrating two of these players in the same season is rare, then, even if we’re strangely used to Trout Atlanta Falcons Womens Hoodie , Harper, Correa, et al, coming up and humiliating their peers before they can legally drink. It feels like a trend — something having to do with year-round baseball, travel ball, and the state of modern analytics — but there’s no way to confirm that the correlation and causation are linked. Could be a blip. So if you’re looking for a TL;DR, it goes something like this: It’s rare for a player 20 or younger to have a season as good as Juan Soto or Ronald Acu帽a, Jr.It’s really rare for two of them to do it in the same season.This is the first time that two players under the age of 21 finished 1-2 in the Rookie of the Year votingA player who has a season like this is on a path to the Hall of Fame, more often than notWe should probably appreciate this moreIt’s worth watching for more players like Acu帽a, Soto, Trout, and Harper. Maybe there is something to the trend. But for now, all that we know is that baseball has graced us with two of its most special mythical creatures in the same season, and they’ve finished 1-2 in the NL Rookie of the Year voting. It’s just as rare and amazing as you think.