John Abraham Critical to Falcons' Chances Against Aaron Rodgers

Filed under: Atlanta Falcons, NFC South

It is one thing to give time in the pocket to a rookie quarterback with decent wide receivers like last week in St. Louis. It is another to let a quarterback like Aaron Rodgers sit back and find the likes of Donald Driver and Greg Jennings. The Falcons can't afford to let Rodgers stay clean, which is why John Abraham's health is a major concern.

Abraham, the Falcons defensive end, returned to practice Thursday, but Friday he was still listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Packers with a groin injury. Abraham leads the Falcons with eight sacks.

Green Bay (7-3) and Atlanta (8-2) is a major game in the NFC on Sunday considering how tight the race is for a playoff berth and home field advantage. The Falcons have a particular interest in home field advantage given how dominant they have been in the Georgia Dome in Matt Ryan's three years in the NFL (18-1).

Green Bay, meanwhile, has won four straight games with strong offense and excelllet defense.

How dominant can the Falcons be with Abraham unable to play? Already, the Falcons have started to slip on third down. It had been a point of emphasis this season and improved for six or seven weeks, but the success of getting teams off the field on third down is waning.

The Falcons did not get any sacks of St. Louis quarterback Sam Bradford last week, but got some help with a late interception.

The Atlanta offense has rescued the Falcons defense in recent weeks. Green Bay, however, is playing well on both sides of the ball and Atlanta needs to do the same.

In addition to Abraham, there was concern over the Falcons' wide receiver Roddy White (knee), but he will play Sunday.

 

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