New England Patriots vs Atlanta Falcons 2010 NFL Preseason Predictions, Odds & Picks: The Patriots and Falcons tackle the second week of preseason action tonight with a showdown at the Georgia Dome. This evening's inter-league contest is set to kick off at 8:00pm ET on FOX. 2010 NFL Preseason Predictions, Odds & Picks at online bookmaker SBGglobal.com have the Falcons listed as a -2.5 against the spread favorite.
New England got a win in its first preseason outing, taking out the defending Super Bowl champion Saints 27-24 in Foxboro 
last Thursday. The Patriots starting unit got the better of New Orleans as evidenced by their 17-7 halftime lead.
Quarterback Tom Brady looked solid, completing 5-of-8 passes for 67 yards, as did his backup, second year pro Brian Hoyer. Hoyer connected on eight of his 13 pass attempts for 106 yards. All of the Pats points came on the ground, though, as Laurence Maroney and BenJarvus Green-Ellis combined for three rushing scores.
New England has some injuries along the offensive line and a holdout in guard Logan Mankins, which will mean more playing time for rookies and free agent signees this evening. The Patriots younger players will also see plenty of action on defense with players like Brandon Spikes, who had eight tackles against the Saints, and Devin McCourty looking to acclimate themselves to Bill Belichick's 3-4 scheme.
Atlanta also scored a win in its preseason opener by beating the Chiefs 20-10 at the Georgia Dome. The Falcons had a decent opening drive to start the game (50 yards), but it stalled out at the Kansas City 13. That, however, was the offensive highlight of the night for Atlanta, which finished the evening with just 244 total yards and a 2.7 yard per carry average.
Matt Ryan, who will almost certainly see more action against the Patriots than he did last Friday, completed 3-of-6 passes for 34 yards in the win. Michael Turner and Tony Gonzalez were the biggest producers for Head Coach Mike Smith as Turner racked up 29 yards on four carries while Gonzalez caught two passes (both first downs) for 28 yards against his old team.
Atlanta's defense held the Chiefs to 273 yards and also produced three Kansas City turnovers, which proved to be the difference in the game. Four rookies made their presence felt as Sean Weatherspoon, Corey Peters, Shaun Schillinger, and Dominique Franks combined for 10 tackles and one interception.
SBGglobal.com New England Patriots vs Atlanta Falcons 2010 NFL Preseason Predictions, Odds & Picks:
New England Patriots +2.5 (-110), Over 37 (-110)
Atlanta Falcons -2.5 (-110), Under 37 (-110)
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