Here are some things to keep an eye on Sunday night when the Eagles take on the Falcons ...
1. Dave Spadaro did a great job looking at the role that the defensive line will play in tonight's game. He pointed out that the Eagles are 25-4-1 under head coach Andy Reid when they notch at least five sacks. Well, Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan was sacked five times last week in Atlanta's 30-12 loss to Chicago.
2. There are a lot of talented cornerbacks who will be on display today, but one guy that the Eagles may attack is Atlanta's Dunta Robinson, who was targeted five times and gave up four catches for 66 yards vs. Chicago. Brent Grimes, meanwhile, was targeted seven times, but only allowed three catches. With the acquisition of Nnamdi Asomugha, the Rams tried to go after Asante Samuel last week. But the back-to-back conference leader in picks allowed just two catches for 8 yards on six targets.
3. Linebacker Sean Weatherspoon was active for the Falcons last week with 10 total tackles, but he had two tackles that were broken. Credit new Eagles defensive coordinator Juan Castillo for this - no broken tackles last week against St. Louis.
4. Wide receiver DeSean Jackson had six catches for 102 yards and a touchdown last week against the Rams. Jackson has seven career 100-yard games in the month of September in just 11 games played. And, don't forget that the Eagles will be on the fast track of the Georgia Dome. Last year vs. the Falcons, Jackson had a 31-yard rushing touchdown and a 34-yard receiving touchdown.
5. Speaking of domes, running back LeSean McCoy has rushed for 391 yards on 47 carries (8.3 yards per carry) and five touchdowns in his last three dome games.
6. Watch out for quarterback Michael Vick on third downs. He was 7-of-8 for 70 yards and a touchdown against the Rams. His 142.7 QB rating on third downs is the third-best in the league.
7. On the flip side, the Eagles defense held the Rams to a 16.7 percent rate of success on third downs last week. That was the lowest single-game total for the Eagles since they held the 49ers to the same percentage in 2008.
8. Wide receiver Jeremy Maclin might have been quiet in the season opener (1 catch, 20 yards), but last year vs. the Falcons he had a career-high 159 receiving yards and two touchdowns with one of them an 83-yarder.
9. The Eagles defense scored more touchdowns last week than the Falcons offense. Juqua Parker scored on a 56-yard fumble return, while Atlanta's lone touchdown came on an interception return by Kroy Biermann.
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