| Coach Mike Smith hopes he'll have starting OL Tyson Clabo and OLB Sean Weatherspoon against Denver on Monday night. (AP) |
The Falcons may be without starting left tackle Tyson Clabo (hip injury) and LB Sean Weatherspoon (hamstring) when they line up against the Denver Broncos on Monday night. The two were limited in practice on Saturday and were listed as questionable for the Falcons’ primetime game.
Both injuries could cause significant trouble for the Falcons, who have little depth at both positions. If Clabo doesn’t play, Atlanta may have to turn to third-year guard Mike Johnson, who played in just one game last year and two in 2010. Their other option would be rookie Lamar Holmes, who missed the majority of the preseason with a foot injury.
Clabo would be responsible for guarding rookie defensive end Derek Wolfe, who had one sack last week, as well as limiting LB Von Miller during blitzes. Miller had 11.5 sacks last year and already has two this season.
As debilitating as a hole in the offensive line could prove to be, especially given Atlanta’s struggles protecting Matt Ryan last season, an injury to Sean Weatherspoon could significantly alter Mike Nolan’s defensive schemes. Weatherspoon, the team’s top-returning tackler from last season, tied for the second most stops on the team last week against Kansas City with seven tackles and a sack. He also had eight passes deflected last season. His counterpart, OLB Stephen Nicholas, led the team with 12 tackles and an interception.
In his place, the Falcons could substitute second-year LB Akeem Dent, who started his first game last week vs. the Chiefs and recorded no tackles. Coach Mike Smith was pleased with Dent’s efforts though and said that Dent didn’t see as much action because the Falcons were mostly in their two-linebacker, nickel set. Veteran linebacker Mike Peterson could be an alternative as well.
If Weatherspoon is limited, it would mean that the Falcons would be installing a new defensive signal caller against one of the best no-huddle quarterbacks ever in Peyton Manning.
“It starts with the linebackers, getting the call from the sidelines,” he told Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. “They are going to try to up-tempo us a little bit, so it’s our job to match his tempo,” he said.
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