Atlanta Falcons Giving 3 To St. Louis In Week 2 of Preseason

NFL News - August 21st, 2009 - Written by Bruce

The Atlanta Falcons will hit the road on Friday to take on the St. Louis Rams, in what will be the second preseason game for both teams this season. The Falcons lost a 26-27 contest at the Lions, while the Rams came away with a 23-20 road win over the Jets. Second year Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan, has big expectations this year after winning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors last season. The Rams first year head coach, Steve Spagnuolo, will be looking to build off of a win in his preseason debut. Betting Lines have the visiting Falcons listed as a three point favorite tonight. The Over/Under for tonight's contest is set at 36 points. Be sure to visit Bodog Sportsbook for all of the betting odds on tonight's preseason match ups.

Even though the Falcons lost to the Lions in their preseason debut this season, the first team offense looked good in their limited time on the field. Quarterback Matt Ryan finished the game 5-7 for 33 yards, while starting RB Michael Turner scored a touchdown gaining 63 yards on six carries. The Falcons led the game 10-3 at halftime, but struggled to stop the Lions in the second half giving up 24 points. Atlanta will need to have their second team defense play much better tonight if they are going to cover the three point spread. Back up quarterbacks Chris Redman and D.J. Shockley should see a bulk of the playing time tonight. Head coach Mike Smith did say that he is expecting to play his starters for longer than he did in the team's first preseason game. How well Atlanta's second team defense plays tonight will be crucial, as they struggled mightily in the team's preseason debut.

The St. Lous Rams are coming off of a very disappointing 2-14 record last season. Head coach Steve Spagnuolo is hoping that a win over the Jets in the Rams' first preseason game will be a sign of things to come this season. Starting quarterback Marc Bulger was 4-4 for 77 yards, but broke his pinky finger and is not expected to return until the start of the regular season. Kyle Boller will take over as the starting quarterback until Bulger's return. Boller missed all of last season due to injury, and he did not fare very well in the team's first preseason game completing just 3 of 9 passes for 25 yards. Quarterbacks Brock Berlin and Keith Null should see most of the playing time in the second half tonight, meaning their performance could be critical in the outcome of the game. Second string running back Samkon Gado looked sharp in the team's first preseason game, rushing for 93 yards and a touchdown on only six carries.

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