Falcons' Ryan looks to end road woes against Bills

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. – The football gods spared the Atlanta Falcons in one sense this weekend. 

The Falcons, who play the majority of their games each season in domed stadiums, will not have to play the Buffalo Bills outdoors on Sunday, with the forecast set for a high of 37 degrees, wind at 11 miles per hour and a 30 percent chance of snow on the shores of Lake Erie. However, they still have to play the game on the road, even if it will be within the climate-controlled confines of Toronto's Rogers Centre -- and the road this season has proved Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan's undoing. 

In the familiar surroundings of the Georgia Dome -- where, not coincidentally, the Falcons have won both of their games this season -- Ryan has thrown 10 touchdown passes and only one interception. On the road, Ryan has thrown for eight touchdowns to 11 interceptions. The Falcons are 0-5 in those games. 

On Wednesday, Ryan was at a loss to explain the situation.

"Tough to say," he said. "I'm not sure why. If I knew, obviously, I'd be better on the road. It's tough in this league sometimes to go on the road, go into a hostile environment. I don't know what the reason is for it but certainly I need to be better." 

One possibility is that the Falcons' offensive line has struggled to communicate amid the crowd noise on the road and has found more difficulty there in protecting Ryan. Peter Konz, in his first year at center, was replaced at that position two games ago by veteran Joe Hawley. Falcons head coach Mike Smith has said that Hawley, having been in the team's system longer, is more proficient in making the blocking calls at the line of scrimmage, owing to Konz's inexperience.

Hawley is expected to start again at center on Sunday when the Falcons visit the Bills. Whether he makes a difference remains to be seen. Hawley and his teammates along the line will have their work cut out for them, as the Bills are one of five teams tied for the league lead in sacks with 37. 

Protecting Ryan has become one of the Falcons' predominant issues all season and Atlanta is coming off a game in which New Orleans sacked Ryan a season-high (as allowed by the Falcons) five times. The Saints also officially hit Ryan 10 times on 44 passing plays.

 

As the Bills formulate their gameplan, it's possible that they will operate with some inside information, as Buffalo's first-year head coach Doug Marrone formerly worked under Saints head coach Sean Payton. His defensive coordinator, Mike Pettine, also held that same title with the Jets under head coach Rex Ryan until this season and runs a similar, complex defense -- the kind that could give the Falcons trouble. 

On Sunday, the Falcons will have to overcome more than scheme. Buffalo's personnel also stands to create problems for them. Bills defensive end Mario Williams has 11 sacks, tying him for third in the league. 

Marrone was asked if he likes the matchup of his front seven against the Falcons' offensive line. 

"I think what's going to be challenging about that matchup is how quickly Matt Ryan gets rid of the ball," he said. "I think when you look at it, they're running a lot of routes to the sticks. They have a lot of 10-play drives. They might be fourth or fifth in the league in 10-play drives so they do a good job.

" ... I think that, obviously, our defensive line has played extremely well. Obviously, we've had some pressure that has helped us along the line but Atlanta's going to be obviously ready for that and we're going to have to do a good job. We're going to have to cover well to give our guys up front an opportunity because if we leave any areas open, Matt Ryan obviously is a good enough quarterback to find your weakness." 

One way to keep pass-rushers at bay is to run the ball successfully. The Falcons enjoyed a measure of success in that regard last Thursday in their 17-13 loss to the Saints, rushing for 91 yards. That allowed them to win the time of possession battle by a wide margin, 33:46 to 26:14, by keeping the Saints' potent offense off the field. 

While the Falcons have lost five straight games in this 2-9 season, the Saints' game was their closest by far during that losing streak. Ryan was asked if playing that style might be something the offense could build upon or duplicate against Buffalo (4-7). 

"Certainly when you have the ball, that's a good thing for you but you've got to score points," Ryan said. "That's the biggest thing. You can have the ball all day and if you don't score any points, it doesn't do you any good. We've got to be a little bit more efficient when we have that football of getting the ball in the end zone. But, certainly, keeping it away from teams, too, especially against a good offense, is not a bad plan and I thought we wanted to do that and we set out and did a pretty good job of it. With that said, though, you've got to score touchdowns." 

The Falcons have struggled to score touchdowns during their five-game losing streak. The only one in which they have scored more than one touchdown came in a 41-28 loss to Tampa Bay -- a game in which the Falcons trailed 38-6 late in the third quarter and added some late touchdowns to make the score seem closer than the game actually was. 

In an utterly disappointing season, the Falcons find themselves playing for pride. If Ryan can get back on the right track on the road, they will at least enjoy a measure of pride by putting an end to this ugly losing streak.