FALCONS DEFENSE SHUTS DOWN DOLPHINS

The Atlanta Falcons haven’t historically been known for their defense.  That may be about to change, at least based on their performance in their NFL season opener against the Miami Dolphins.  An opportunistic Falcons stop unit took the ball away from the Dolphins four times leading to ten points, while Matt Ryan threw for 229 yards and two touchdowns as Atlanta thumped the visiting Dolphins 19-7 at The Georgia Dome.

NFL sports betting enthusiasts who backed Atlanta as -4 home favorites easily cashed tickets with the victory.  The Falcons have covered five straight in the series and the Dolphins dropped their seventh ATS verdict in their past eight non-conference games.  The combined 26 points went UNDER the posted total of 44.  Five of the last six head to head meetings between Atlanta and Miami have gone UNDER.

Matt Ryan’s favorite target on this day was tight end Tony Gonzalez, who caught five passes for 73 yards and a touchdown.  Gonzalez, a former college basketball player, had plans to ‘dunk’ the ball over the goalpost cross bar after his touchdown but didn’t get the opportunity:

"I was going for it, but my teammates were jumping all over me so I didn't have time to get over there. Plus, I was tired. I was just happy to get in the end zone."

Mike Peterson hauled in an interception and paced a Falcons’ defense that held Miami scoreless until the final five minutes of the game.  After the game, he jokingly insisted that he—not Gonzalez—has the best hands on the team:

"I tell the guys all the time that I've got the best hands on the team, but they don't believe me," Maybe they'll start believing me now."

He also said that pregame doubts about the intensity of Atlanta’s defense served as motivation for the squad:

"We didn't get caught up in all the stuff that's said during the week. We just used it as motivation."

Miami’s much heralded ‘wildcat’ offense was virtually a non-factor, leaving QB Chad Pennington to preemptively answer his critics after the contest:

"When the wildcat works, everybody loves it. When it doesn't, everybody hates it."

Pennington was sacked four times and held in check by a smothering Falcons pass defense.  He bemoaned his fate in his postgame comments:

"They didn't give us any deep shots. You have to step up and make sure it doesn't snowball. We let it snowball on us."

The Falcons will host conference rivals Carolina next Sunday before heading to Foxboro, Massachusetts to play the New England Patriots the following week.  Miami will host the Indianapolis Colts next Monday night before hitting the road for a game against the San Diego Chargers the following Sunday.