On Sunday night time, the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs face the Atlanta Falcons. We welcome Tre’Shon Diaz of The Falcoholic — our sister SBNation web site masking the Falcons — for 5 Questions with the Enemy.
1) If Patrick Mahomes is Superman, no participant has been extra his Kryptonite than former Denver Broncos security Justin Simmons. How has Simmons appeared within the Falcons’ secondary?
Justin Simmons has been nothing however dependable. We haven’t seen him make the kind of influence performs he turned identified for throughout his time in Denver — however the security has not made any errors, and it’s clear offenses aren’t comfy testing him deep. Jessie Bates has appeared to make life a lot simpler on Simmons.
Simmons’s pure management qualities have been on show from the second he arrived. This Falcons secondary was wanting relatively pedestrian even with the likes of Bates and Terrell, however Simmons has made them a reputable drive.
2) Kirk Cousins appeared to have a mediocre first six quarters as Atlanta’s beginning quarterback earlier than executing the most effective drives of his profession on Monday night time to defeat the Philadelphia Eagles. Do you anticipate the Falcons’ offense to have the ability to construct from their late-game success?
The Kirk Cousins expertise has been an attention-grabbing one, to say the least. Week 1 actually wasn’t about Cousins as a lot because it was about first-time playcaller and OC Zac Robinson, who rolled out a bush-league recreation plan that tipped off whether or not the Falcons would run or move, didn’t make the most of any play motion and solely had Cousins underneath middle as soon as. That state of affairs made Cousins look much more rusty than he was — however he has been rusty nonetheless.
After Kirk accomplished his first landing move to Darnell Mooney Monday night time, one thing appeared to have modified. Whereas many had been pointing to bodily limitations, it really seems to be like a majority have been psychological. Cousins was not assured in his resolution (or new teammates) previous to the second half of the Eagles recreation, however it seems that issues are transferring in the proper route. I believe the Falcons offense will have the ability to proceed to enhance as they turn into extra comfy within the first-year system.
3) Former Falcons coach Arthur Smith took heavy blame for disappointing returns on anticipated fantasy stars like Drake London, Kyle Pitts, and Bijan Robinson. What have you ever seen from the brand new employees to recommend these former prime ten picks can attain their anticipated ceilings?
I believe Smith will get plenty of flack from the fantasy group, which wants assist understanding simply how unhealthy the state of affairs was throughout most of Smith’s tenure. It’s a miracle they received seven video games of their first two years. Kyle Pitts has eclipsed 1,000 yards and Bijan Robinson had 1,400 all-purpose yards as a rookie, so we’ve seen a few of these picks already flirt with their ceiling. Drake London is the one who hasn’t had that kind of season but — and when your quarterbacks are Marcus Mariota and Desmond Ridder, that comes as no shock.
This offense runs by means of Bijan — and the utilization has been nice. The staff desires to make use of Kyle Pitts as a conventional inline tight finish. I don’t know what which means for his fantasy inventory, however I anticipate his position to ramp up because the season progresses. Drake London is handled because the staff’s WR1, and it’s going to be on Cousins to feed him. Teaching staffs can solely achieve this a lot. Sooner or later, gamers should execute, and the shortage of execution is what tanked these gamers’ fantasy shares beforehand.
4) With the Chiefs and Falcons hardly ever dealing with each other, who’s a participant on offense and a participant on protection you are feeling ought to be extra identified leaguewide?
On offense, Matthew Bergeron. The second-year left guard had a decent rookie season after transitioning from his school place of proper sort out. Now, with a full yr of expertise underneath his belt, he seems to be able to take off. The Falcons had been operating left at will on Monday night time, and an enormous a part of that was because of Bergeron. His move safety was the world that wanted essentially the most enchancment, however he did properly beginning off in opposition to robust back-to-back inside matchups; will probably be attention-grabbing to see how he fares in opposition to Chris Jones and firm.
For the defensive aspect of the ball, I’m going to go along with Kaden Elliss, who’s the staff’s Swiss Military knife. Elliss will line up as an inside linebacker, exterior linebacker or inside lineman, relying on the state of affairs. His recreation jogs my memory plenty of Leo Chenal’s. It’s uncommon that you will discover guys who’ve the power to take action many various issues. The Falcons have been using plenty of 5-man fronts — and on the ultimate play in opposition to the Eagles, it was Elliss who obtained the strain that precipitated Jalen Hurts to throw an interception.
5) Do you’ve got a prediction for a way this one performs out?
I anticipate the Chiefs to play like one of the best staff within the league. It doesn’t matter who they’re lacking on offense; that is Andy Ried we’re speaking about. That stated, I do consider that Atlanta may give them an excellent combat. The offensive line has been stable; everyone seems to be lastly beginning to gel. Beating the Chiefs requires a staff not beating themselves in the beginning — and if Atlanta can play their recreation with no errors, then this might be one other one-score end for both staff.
