We are less than 48 hours from the Atlanta Falcons kicking off their season against their NFC South rival, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with their new look offense in regards to Michael Penix Jr. taking over as the team's starting quarterback and a defense which is believed to be improved in the pass rush department with the additions of Leonard Floyd and rookies, Jalen Carter and James Pearce Jr.
And while the Falcons may have the upper hand in regards to having the won the last two matchups, 92-9 The Game's Carl Dukes and Mike Bell shared their thoughts on why Atlanta still has to prove they are better in one particular aspect of their defense.
"For us, upfront, this is the area where we have been most concerned," Dukes said as he explained why the Atlanta defense has to be improved in "stopping the run" this season and they must begin with slowing the Bucs, who rushed for over 120 yards in each of last season's meetings, including 160 in the first game.
"Look, the secondary I think is the most improved part of our football team. You've gotten younger, faster and I think you've got more versatility in our secondary than you've had in the last few years. The part we've been most concerned about is, to Mike's point, can we stop the run," Dukes said as he believes Tampa Bay will likely have a game plan which includes they can "run the ball down our [Falcons] throat,".