Falcons defensive coordinator Richard Smith is getting his unit ready for New England’s rushing attack.
The Patriots have three running backs in LeGarrette Blount, Dion Lewis and James White.
During the regular season, Blount rushed 299 times for 1,161 yards and 18 touchdowns. Lewis averaged 4.4 yards per carry and White was second on team with 60 catches for 551 yards and five touchdowns.
“All three of them are really good runners,” Smith said. “Blount is more of a first and second down guy. First of all, as a runner, he runs very, very hard. He’s got really good vision. Where he will jump-cut you. He’s a physical runner. He also is really good in protections. They do a lot of play-action passes with him in.”
White is a third-year back, who starred at Wisconsin.
“When they go to White, he’s more of a third down back,” Smith said. “He has a lot of receptions. He’s dangerous. They get him out in space and flex him out like a wide receiver and try to create some mismatches when you’ve got linebackers on him. He’s really quick and good receiving type back.”
Lewis is a mix of Blount and White.
“You look at his time speed and it doesn’t concern you,” Smith said. “But he’s very quick. He’s kind of the combination guy. He’s a runner and a pass-catching guy. They can motion him out of the backfield.”
Smith believes that creating a fumble will be difficult. The Falcons had a big forced fumble in the NFC champions game by cornerback Jalen Collins.
“They’ve got three good ones there,” Smith said. “For many years there, Belichick is the type of guy that you don’t play for him if you turn the ball over. They are really good in terms of not turning the ball over. It will be a really big challenge to try to get the ball out from all three of them.”
Once the running game is in check, the Falcons know they need to get some pressure on New England quarterback Tom Brady and play well in coverage if he decides to throw the ball in under 2 seconds.
“With Tom, he does such a great job of getting the ball out quickly,” Smith said. “He’s has a different style than the last two guys that we played. He’s not mobile like the other two guys that we played. He sits in the pocket.”
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