National Football League

Fearless Prediction: Falcons-Jets

Published Dec. 19, 2009 12:00 a.m. ET

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Game Snapshot

KICKOFF: Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
SURFACE: Artificial turf
TV: FOX (Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, Tony Siragusa)

KEYS TO THE GAME: QB Chris Redman is expected to make his third consecutive start for the Falcons, and he orchestrated an offense that produced nine plays of 18-plus yards last Sunday. But the Jets have given up a total of just 497 yards the past three games. RB Michael Turner (ankle) will likely be a game-time decision, and the ground game is critical considering the Jets' ability to get after the passer. Offensively, New York leads the league with 169.1 rushing yards per game. Rookie QB Mark Sanchez (knee) appears on track to play, and he'll lead a conservative gameplan unless Atlanta finds a way to stuff the ground game.

FAST FACTS: RB Thomas Jones is the first Jet since Johnny Hector in 1987-88 to post consecutive seasons with 10-plus touchdowns. ... Atlanta is 0-3 when Turner doesn't play.

Personnel News

Falcons:

Jets:

Inside The Camps

Falcons:
Falcons coach Mike Smith didn't want to get too excited.
He attributed that little extra bounce in the team's step to the cold weather -- 41 degrees is pretty chilly for Georgia -- and them wanting to get back inside.
However, it could have been from the return to practice of quarterback Matt Ryan and running back Michael Turner. The Falcons have played the last two games with 70 percent of their offense sitting on the sideline.
Ryan suffered a turf toe injury and Turner reinjured his sprained right ankle on Nov. 29 against Tampa Bay.
Both are hopeful that they will be able to play against the New York Jets on Sunday.
"Right now, I don't even think in those terms," Falcons coach Mike Smith said. "Right now I just think about getting them back out here in practices. It was the first time that they practiced in a couple of weeks. It was very limited with what they did, but they did participate in team activities."
It appeared that they both took about one-quarter of the snaps with the first team.
"This was very limited in terms of the number of snaps they took today," Smith said. "It was an opportunity for us to see how they respond to actually going out and participating and playing football."
Ryan had not spoken since suffering the injury early in the Tampa Bay game.
"Nobody likes to have to sit down, but it's something that you're going to have to deal with at different points in your career," Ryan said.
Turner originally was injured against Carolina on Nov. 15. He tried to play two weeks later against Tampa Bay and was re-injured.
"You just want to try to get back out there and be productive," Turner said. "It's very important to see where I'm at, to see if the soreness will go away and things like that. I need to see if I can really handle playing and cutting."
Their teammates were happy to see Ryan and Turner back on the field.
"He was out there firing the ball everywhere," wide receiver Roddy White said of Ryan. "He was out there controlling the huddle and telling guys to listen up. That was good."
Fullback Ovie Mughelli said, "Matt looked good. It was good to see him back in the huddle. They both looked good. I'm looking forward to them coming back to the team and helping us win."

Jets:
Yes, Election Day was over a month ago. But listening to Rex Ryan on Thursday, it was obvious that Campaign '09 isn't quite over.
As he has done numerous times this season, the Jets' coach offered plenty of unsolicited praise for cornerback Darrelle Revis, whom he believes is not only the best cover corner in the NFL, but the best defensive player in the league.
"If he's not the NFL Defensive Player of the Year," Ryan said, "something is wrong with the system. Nobody and I mean nobody in maybe the history of the game has had the challenges that he's faced week in and week out. You look at the top receivers in this game now that he's gone out and matched with and literally almost shut down. He's come up with six interceptions, but it's not about those numbers. Look at the passes that he's broken up."
Revis has a career-high 27 pass breakups, to be exact. It's a remarkable number, considering opposing teams don't test him repeatedly. Revis likely will cover Atlanta's Roddy White on Sunday.
"Look at the fact that he's out there on an island one on one," Ryan said, "and teams still can't throw that way. If they do, it's a mistake. It's amazing. He deserves it and he's on the No. 1 defense in the league. I've been around guys that have earned it, Ray Lewis and Ed Reed (both with Baltimore.) Of course, those guys deserve those awards, but I don't think those guys even had the impact that Darrelle Revis has had on this football team. I think that's why, I'll get off my soapbox, he's earned that award. It's not right on my part to stand up here and not maybe try to sell that to the public. He's earned this."
Revis routinely handles the opposition's best receiver with little or no help. That allows the Jets to send more blitzers, secure in the knowledge that Revis will lock down whomever he is covering. He has one interception for a touchdown and has allowed only two touchdowns in 13 games, a bomb to Miami's Ted Ginn Jr. and a quick timing pattern to New England's Randy Moss.
Revis "studies the game like crazy," Ryan added. "He hits the practice field trying to compete and improve every day. He's physical. He's a tough guy. He can support the run. He can play man coverage, any zone coverage. Just the way he attacks his job. Will he get beat? Yes, I guess he can get beat, but I'll take my chances. If there is one guy that I want to cover somebody, with my paycheck on it, I want it to be Darrelle Revis. Period."
One reporter brought up veteran Green Bay cornerback Charles Woodson, who has eight picks and two sacks.
"Yes, but Charles can't go out on a corner like this guy can," Ryan replied. "He can move inside and he can blitz. Revis would be a great blitzer, but I've got the best cover guy in America sitting over here so he's going to be covering. He is not blitzing. If you have a rare guy like this, he might not post those kind of numbers, but I know one thing, Charles isn't going out there like this guy is."

PREDICTION: Jets 20-15