Mathias Kiwanuka has a decent familiarity with Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan. The Giants defensive end was teammates with Ryan at Boston College, and has played against him in the NFL.
“The toughest part for us is going to be making sure we’re in the right spots,” Kiwanuka said after the Giants’ 31-14 victory over the Cowboys last night, “because that ball comes out hot and quick.”
The Giants will face Ryan’s team Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium, and just as they did last night, they’ll be facing another impressive offense.
PHOTOS: GIANTS WIN NFC EAST, BEAT COWBOYS
Ryan has thrown for 4,071 yards and 27 touchdowns, and he has three receivers who are all going to be daunting challenges — No. 1 receiver Roddy White (96 receptions, 1,227 yards), tight end Tony Gonzalez (79, 867) and rookie receiver Julio Jones (50, 883).
The 10-6 Falcons also have running back Michael Turner, who rumbled for 1,168 yards this season.
“They’re a great team. Atlanta’s a great team,” said safety Antrel Rolle, who helped the Cardinals defeat the Falcons three years ago in the playoffs. “They’re a hard-working team and they’re a fighting team. The coaches do a good job as far as their playcalling and they do a good job of playing together and rallying as a team. We’re definitely going to have our hands full but nothing that we’re not up to.”
While Kiwanuka has experience with Ryan, fellow linebacker Michael Boley has experience with the Atlanta organization. Boley, now in his third season with the Giants, came to New York from Atlanta. But Boley said there isn’t much he knows about them that he can offer to the Giants in terms of preparation.
“They’ve had a big turnover down there, as far as personnel,” he said.
Boley also said facing his former club doesn’t mean anything in particular to him.
“Not really just to be facing them,” Boley said, “but it means something to me, just going to the playoffs.”
Heading into yesterday, Atlanta’s defense ranked middle of the pack in the NFL (16th), surrendering 21.7 points per game.
“We’ve got to break ’em down on film,” receiver Hakeem Nicks said. “We haven’t seen ’em this year.”
Added Rolle: “We’re going to continue to take it week by week. Right now, this game doesn’t matter. The Jets game doesn’t matter. It’s all about what we put on the stamp come Sunday.”