Matt Ryan hopes to get back on track against Bucs secondary
TAMPA
After the first matchup between Tampa and Atlanta, the Buccaneers' secondary underwent significant changes.
The same thing could happen when the two NFC South Division rivals face each other Sunday in what could be labeled an elimination game for Tampa.
The reason is Julio Jones. For the Bucs, the Falcons receiver has been a homewrecker.
He caught 12 of 13 passes thrown his way for 162 yards and a key touchdown in the first game. Tampa won in overtime thanks to turnovers, but Bucs head coach Lovie Smith benched corners Johnthan Banks and Mike Jenkins and they haven't played much since.
Their replacements Sterling Moore and rookie Jude Adjei-Barimah, who both came into the league undrafted, haven't won any ringing endorsements, but until last week were to some degree holding their own.
They were both exposed by Indianapolis crafty old quarterback Matt Hasselbeck and the blueprint to beat these corners might have been set.
The Bucs defense will also have to deal with beleaguered Matt Ryan, who a growing number of critics are saying is no longer the Falcons franchise quarterback.
That would be a quick fall from grace, but Ryan has struggled for 6-5 Atlanta, which has lost five of its last six.
Ryan ranks fourth in the NFL in passing yardage with 3,312. But his 12 interceptions tie for him third in the league behind Peyton Manning (17) and second-year pro Blake Bortles.
Ryan has thrown five picks in the last two games and seven in the Falcons current four-game losing streak. He has to be seeing Moore and Adjei-Barimah as two vehicles he can use to drive the team out of its doldrums.
Lovie Smith is not having any of that Ryan is on the downslide kind of talk.
"We're preparing for him like he hasn't thrown an interception all year. It's always about the next week. He is one of the best," the coach said.
You can't be having a horrible season if you have the leading receiver in the league and three of the Falcons losses in the last four games were by a combined seven points.
"Julio Jones is about as tough as they get. You can make a case for him being the best in the league. It is tough duty," Smith said. "He has size, speed, competitor, you saw how hard he played the first time around. He is one of the great players in the league."
A two-year starter, Banks suffered the indignation this week of playing Julio Jones for the scout team, which distills the notion Lovie is too kind.
Bucs defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier defended Moore and Adjei-Barimah, though that has proven to be the kiss of death around One Buc Place on more than a few occasions.. He did the same for Banks and Jenkins before they were benched.
"It may seem to the viewers that it's just the corners, but on a lot of those completions that wasn't the case. There were some other guys that had responsibilities that didn't quite get their jobs done either," Frazier said.
Falcons first-year head coach Dan Quinn was Seattle's defensive coordinator in 2013 when the Seahawks allowed the fewest points and yards in the NFL and led the league in takeaways.
Under Quinn, Atlanta has the NFL's 13th-ranked defense after being dead last season. The Falcons have allowed only 29 receptions of 20 or more yards and only two TD passes for 20 yards or more yards to lead the league. But if there is a weakness it's that the Falcons rank next to last in getting sacks per pass play.
With 21 turnovers the Falcons are tied for the third most in the league.
But it could all come down to Julio and Matt and the Bucs secondary.
This story was originally published December 5, 2015 at 11:32 PM with the headline "Matt Ryan hopes to get back on track against Bucs secondary ."