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          ESPN Cleveland

          Cleveland Browns scouting report: Atlanta Falcons

          • Tony Grossi, ESPN ClevelandNov 7, 2018, 02:10 AM
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              Tony Grossi has covered the Cleveland Browns since 1984, currently for ESPN Cleveland, and is one of 46 voters for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
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          Editor's note: Tony Grossi covers the Cleveland Browns for ESPN 850 WKNR.

          Browns v. Atlanta Falcons

          Sunday, 1 p.m., FirstEnergy Stadium

          Record: 4-4.

          Last game: Defeated Washington Redskins, 38-14, Nov. 4, in Landover, MD.

          Coach: Dan Quinn, 36-25, fourth year.

          Series record: Browns lead, 11-3.

          Last meeting: Browns won, 26-24, Nov. 23, 2014, in Atlanta.

          NFL rankings: Offense is fifth overall (28th rushing, second passing), defense is 28th overall (17th rushing, 29th passing), and turnover differential is plus-3.

          Things I think

          1. Talk to the Falcons about injuries. Their Super Bowl hopes seemed crushed when their defense was devastated by injuries. They lost strong safety Keanu Neal and middle linebacker Deion Jones (foot surgery) – Pro Bowl alternates coming into their own in third season – early, and then free safety Ricardo Allen (Achilles). Then their best defensive player, tackle Grady Jarrett, missed two games, and cornerback Robert Alford missed one. In all, Atlanta played six of eight games without four key starters. But three wins a row have given the Falcons hope of climbing into the wild-card chase. Three division games are left, but all are on the road.

          2. When Steve Sarkisian succeeded departed offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan in 2017, the Falcons experienced a year of adjustment. But in his second season, production is up to Shanahan levels. The choice of Sarkisian was mostly based on his experience in Shanahan’s outside-zone blocking scheme. The Falcons under Sarkisian are now proficient in the Shanahan offense that he employed as coordinator of the Browns in 2014. That was the reason the Falcons courted Browns free agent center Alex Mack in 2016 and signed him to a $45 million, five-year deal. The uncannily mobile Mack has been voted to the NFC Pro Bowl and AP All-Pro teams each of his two seasons in Atlanta. One difference in Sarkisian’s running game: He likes to accelerate those stretch runs with quick tosses to the backs more than handoffs. Since the opening game, the Falcons have scored 17 touchdowns in 21 trips inside the 20-yard line red zone.

          3. Quarterback Matt Ryan is having a year to rival his MVP season in 2016. Ryan is completing 70.8 percent of his passes and is on pace for 5,000 yards. His 8.92 yards per attempt and touchdown-to-interception ratio of 19-to-3 helps boost his passer rating to 115.1.

          4. Five-time Pro Bowl receiver Julio Jones is second in the NFL with 933 receiving yards and is seventh with 60 catches. But it took him until Game 8 in Washington last week to catch his first touchdown pass of the season. In fact, Jones went 12 regular-season games without one dating to last season. Jones is frequently double-teamed in scoring zones. The beneficiaries of extra attention on Jones have been rookie receiver Calvin Ridley (seven receiving touchdowns) and running back Tevin Coleman (four).

          Did you know … ?

          1. The Falcons have not been immune to the league-wide bug infecting kickers this year. Regular kicker Matt Bryant, who ranks fourth in career field goals among active kickers and fifth in points scored, has missed the last two games with a hamstring injury. Replacement Giorgio Tavecchio has been a perfect 11 of 11 on field goals and PATs, earning the Italian-born left-footer the nickname Pinot Giorgio.

          2. The beat-up Atlanta defense may be ranked 28th in yards allowed, but it has risen to the occasion in the last two games, limiting Giants running back Saquon Barkley to 43 yards rushing and Washington’s Adrian Peterson to 17.

          3. Calvin Ridley, of Alabama, was the second receiver taken in the 2018 draft, No. 26 overall – two spots after Carolina took D.J. Moore of Maryland. Ridley leads all rookie wide receivers with 33 receptions for 463 yards and seven touchdowns. Moore, by the way, has 19 catches for 297 yards and one TD for the Panthers.

          4. The Browns’ 11-3 (.786) all-time record against the Falcons is their best against any NFL opponent.

          Small world: General Manager Thomas Dimitroff was born in Barberton and is the son of former 1980s-era Browns scout Tom Dimitroff. He was appointed as a Browns scout in 1998 by the NFL to get the expansion franchise a headstart on the 1999 draft … Center Alex Mack was the 21st overall pick of the 2009 draft by the Browns and played for them until 2015 … Offensive lineman Auston Pasztor played with the Browns 2015-16 … Left tackle Jake Matthews is the nephew of Browns linebacker great Clay Matthews.