Sports

Falcons face new problem in young 49ers

THIS CAN’T HAPPEN AGAIN! While Kroy Biermann and Atlanta’s defense managed to escape Russell Wilson and the Seahawks, the Falcons have a whole new problem ahead of them on Sunday when they go up against the 49ers and their versatile quarterback Colin Kaepernick. (AP)

THIS CAN’T HAPPEN AGAIN! While Kroy Biermann and Atlanta’s defense managed to escape Russell Wilson and the Seahawks, the Falcons have a whole new problem ahead of them on Sunday when they go up against the 49ers and their versatile quarterback Colin Kaepernick. (
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Those who make a living on the Falcons defense were thrilled to be able to pat Russell Wilson on the helmet, salute him for the brilliance he displayed and gladly usher him out of Atlanta as soon as possible. They had all seen enough.

“That dude is going to be a big problem for defenses in the league,’’ safety William Moore said after tangling with Wilson for the first time. “He can do it all, he can run, he can throw and he has the moxie you see in good quarterbacks. He was truly a game-changer and playmaker.’’

Don’t look now, but a bigger, tattooed version of Russell Wilson is coming to town. Having dispatched of Wilson and the Seahawks 30-28 in an encouraging, agonizing and finally exhilarating NFC divisional playoff game, the Falcons know they have to deal with another young, mobile — that’s an understatement — and hot quarterback when Colin Kaepernick and the 49ers arrive for Sunday’s NFC Championship Game inside the Georgia Dome.

“We can use this game as a cheat-sheet to prepare for next week,’’ safety Thomas DeCoud said.

If the Falcons want to study what they did against Wilson they’d better come up with some new answers. They never really got a handle on the Gnatural as Wilson, all 5-foot-11 of him, terrorized the Atlanta defense. Sure, the Falcons led 20-0 at halftime, but the Seahawks were kept off the scoreboard mainly because their head coach, Pete Carroll, for some reason scoffed at even attempting field goals. And then, in a wild second half, Wilson was unstoppable. He led the Seahawks to touchdowns on four of their five possessions while throwing for 298 yards after halftime. He connected on his first 10 passes coming out of halftime, threw for two touchdowns and ran for another.

“That’s what the kid does, sit there, run around, play playground ball,’’ cornerback Asante Samuel said. “That’s taking by storm in the league right now.’’

If the Falcons think Wilson is a schoolyard terror wait until they get a look at Kaepernick, who is coming off a record-breaking performance in a breathtaking 45-31 mauling of the Packers. Kaepernick rushed for more yards (181) than any quarterback in any game in NFL history and he raced to two touchdowns without ever being touched. Where Wilson was like a fly that could not be swatted, the 6-foot-4, 230-pound Kaepernick is like a gazelle that cannot be caught.

“With that particular style of quarterback you just have to match their intensity,’’ linebacker Sean Weatherspoon said. “He has to come to our place. We’ll continue to feed off our crowd and we have to play a complete game.’’

The frenzy of the red-clad crowd was reduced to a nervous murmur as Wilson drove the Seahawks 61 yards in seven plays, with Marshawn Lynch scoring to put the Falcons behind 28-27 with only 31 seconds remaining. Remarkably, it was more than enough time for Matt Ryan to complete passes to Harry Douglas and Tony Gonzalez good for 41 yards and for Matt Bryant to hit the game-winning 49-yard field goal with eight seconds left. That gave Ryan and coach Mike Smith their first playoff victory after going 0-3 in the postseason.

“The goal of this team is not to win one playoff game,’’ Weatherspoon said. “The outsiders said we can’t win in the playoffs. Now they will have to come up with other things to say.’’

Try this one on for size: The Falcons, based on their defensive resume, might not be able to deal with Kaepernick. After all, they struggled this season against another big, agile quarterback, as Cam Newton ravaged the Falcons for 704 yards (502 passing, 202 rushing) and six touchdowns in two games. And the smaller Wilson tore through them in the second half.

“All year we’ve been talking about putting a 60-minute game together and we still haven’t got that done,” cornerback Dunta Robinson said. “But it’s still been good enough to go out and win. We’ve got to find a way to play much better and find a way to finish a lot better.”