Das Team » The Atlanta Falcons‘ defense has one primary goal

ATLANTA (AP) — entering Sunday's game against Dallas: Slow down Ezekiel Elliott and make Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott try to beat them with his arm.The Falcons will need all their resources to corral Elliott Womens Calvin Ridley Jersey , who leads the NFL with 93 runs of 10 or more yards over the last three years.Atlanta coach Dan Quinn says his defense, which gave up 211 yards rushing in last week's loss at Cleveland, must maintain gap control against a patient, powerful running back. "He can wait to set up a block and stick his foot in the ground and really explode," Quinn said. "Oftentimes, you can see him take a handoff and see a read about to happen, then he can change the direction and really explode. I would say the second piece of that is he's really effective as a pass catcher, too."Atlanta's struggling defense was hoping to get a boost from the return of middle linebacker Deion Jones, who hasn't played since breaking his right foot in the season opener and was ruled out a couple of days after rejoining the active roster. When healthy, Jones is the Falcons' best defender. He calls the plays, is stout against the run and is fast enough to cover running backs and receivers in coverage.Jones' injury and season-ending surgeries for starting safeties Keanu Neal and Ricardo Allen have been too much for the Falcons to overcome. They rank third-worst in average yards allowed and fourth-worst in scoring average.Elliott is coming off a dazzling performance — 19 runs and six catches for 187 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns — in a win at Philadelphia. But the Cowboys had to stay the course early when Elliott had just seven yards through the team's first two possessions."Honestly, at the beginning, it was a little bit tough sledding," Elliott said. "We made some good adjustments. We have to have the same mentality going into this game."Dallas' defense faces a tough challenge in matching up against Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan and star wideout Julio Jones, who has reached 10,000 yards receiving quicker than any player in NFL history.So Calvin Ridley Jersey White , there isn't much wiggle room for either team. Both are 4-5 and trying to stay in the playoff hunt.Here are things to know about the Cowboys-Falcons matchup:THIN D-LINEThe Cowboys started practice this week with five defensive linemen sidelined by injuries: David Irving (ankle), Taco Charlton (shoulder), Maliek Collins (knee), Daniel Ross (calf) and Antwaun Woods (concussion).Collins and Woods both played more than 60 percent of the snaps against Philadelphia. If either can't play against the Falcons, the depth on the interior line will be tested.Dallas might not be able to use Tyrone Crawford outside as much to ease the load on DeMarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory. Lawrence, who has battled shoulder issues this season and has a history of back trouble, played a season-high 90 percent of the snaps against the Eagles.FIGHTING FOR RESPECTFalcons cornerback Desmond Trufant is enduring his toughest year as a pro with five dropped interceptions, the worst coming on Cincinnati's game-winning drive in Week 4.Trufant, a first-round pick in 2013, takes the blame for not playing consistently sound fundamentals."I'm judging myself harder than anybody else can," he said. "So it is what it is. It's the league. I'm in the spotlight. I'm earning what I'm earning. It just comes with it. That's just how it goes. I'm in that position. I'll just keep working, attack the issues, stay humble. I've been here before. I'll just keep working."COMPARING PICKSThe Cowboys were high on Calvin Ridley going into the draft, having spent plenty of time with the former Alabama receiver and needing a replacement after releasing Dez Bryant, the franchise's career leader in touchdown catches, in a cost-cutting move in the offseason. Instead https://www.falconslockerroom.com/authentic-calvin-ridley-jersey , Dallas went with Boise State linebacker Leighton Vander Esch at No. 19. The Falcons chose Ridley seven picks later.Both teams are pleased.Vander Esch set a rookie franchise record with 19 tackles against the Eagles, according to the coaches' count. Ridley leads all rookies with 500 yards receiving and has been a strong complement to Julio Jones.LOOKING BETTERPrescott was steady in leading 75-yard drives for touchdowns in the fourth quarter last week, each of which answered a TD from the Eagles. It has been an inconsistent season for the 2016 NFL Offensive Rookie the Year as he ranks 33rd in average yards passing, but Dallas coach Jason Garrett says the team ignores outside criticism."Well, we don't spend much on that," Garrett said. "We spend most of our time on ourselves and what we need to do to be better. That's every one of us. Every coach. Every player. And we love Dak. Dak has done some really great things for our team in the 2½ years that he's been our starting quarterback. He's continuing to grow as a player."STAY STRONGRyan needs the threat of play-action, but that's hard to maintain when the Falcons' running game starts strong and fades. It's been a frustrating trend all season."We just need to stick with it," he said. "Last week, we just played from behind most of the third and fourth quarter, which makes it difficult to run the football. I thought that we had our opportunities. We did some nice things in the run game last week, so staying in front of the chains and staying ahead and the score is key to keeping our run game rolling." FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP)Julio Jones remains in coach Dan Quinn’s good graces even after missing the opening day of the Atlanta Falcons‘ mandatory minicamp.Quinn said Tuesday he thought Jones, who missed voluntary offseason workouts , would participate in the minicamp. The coach said he found out Monday that Jones would skip the minicamp.Quinn wouldn’t share details of his conversation with Jones but said ”Sometimes football and business intersect and that’s OK and that happens a lot.”Jones has three years remaining on his five-year, $71.3 million deal with $47 million in guaranteed money but could soon have the deal tweaked. Quinn said the team is ”right in the middle” of talks with Jones, a five-time Pro Bowl selection.Quinn has emphasized ”brotherhood” and making sure players do everything as a team. Players stood together as a team on the sideline during the national anthem for all games after two players kneeled in protest early in the 2017 season.Could Jones’ absence hurt the Falcons’ unity?”No Womens Takkarist McKinley Jersey ,” Quinn said. ”I recognize the question, for sure. Do we want everybody here all the time? Hell yeah, like all the time. … What I’d say is if you ask to a man, the guy is a hell of a teammate and the time he spends here, the way he mentors people, how hard he plays, there is plenty of brotherhood in Julio.”Receiver Mohamed Sanu said he and other players were not impacted by Jones’ absence.”Whether he’s present or not, we were just focused on what we have to do today,” said Sanu, the team’s No. 2 receiver behind Jones.Jones, 29, remains one of the league’s top receivers. He earned his fourth straight Pro Bowl berth last season when he had 88 catches for 1,444 yards. It was his fourth straight season with at least 80 receptions and 1,400 receiving yards.Jones’ salary cap figure of $12.9 million for 2018 ranks seventh among NFL receivers, well behind recent deals signed by Tampa Bay’s Mike Evans ($18.252 million in 2018) and Cleveland’s Jarvis Landry ($15.5 million).Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff said Monday he has been in talks with Jones and Jones’ agent, Jimmy Sexton.Sexton did not return a message from The Associated Press.Jones’ holdout comes after the Falcons made quarterback Matt Ryan the league’s top-paid player this offseason with a five-year extension that could be worth $150 million.Quinn said he was not disappointed in Jones’ decision to miss minicamp because Jones remained in constant communication and explained why his plans changed.”Sometimes circumstances change and as long as players communicate with me on why circumstances change Takkarist McKinley Jersey White , then I never am disappointed as long as communication with me is very clear,” Quinn said. ”… The things that jam me up are when people don’t communicate.”Quinn wouldn’t say if Jones will be fined for missing the first day of the three-day minicamp.Without Jones on the field, Ryan’s top targets included Sanu, rookie first-round pick Calvin Ridley and Justin Hardy. Like Jones, Ridley played at Alabama.An undrafted rookie, Christian Blake, from Northern Illinois, reached up to make an impressive catch over the middle.”All those guys, Calvin, Christian Blake, it was good to see those guys make plays and do what they do,” Sanu said.Quinn praised the rookies’ speed and said the class ”has a chance to be an excellent one.”NOTES: The team waived S Quincy Mauger, who spent his 2017 rookie season on injured reserve with a knee injury. He was an undrafted free agent from Georgia. … RB Devonta Freeman, who was slowed by a sprained right knee late last season, appeared to be fully recovered on his runs with the first-team offense.—