With Ryan out, it will make the Eagles' day easier.


Jay Glazer of FOXSports.com, who is rarely wrong, tweeted today that Matt Ryan will be out when the Eagles head to Atlanta for an NFC showdown that will most certainly have playoff implications for both teams, win or lose.

Glazer goes on to say that Ryan has turf toe and will be visiting a specialist in Charlotte, North Carolina. Turf toe could mean that Ryan will not only miss this game, but could miss the next few games as well depending upon the severity of the ligament damage.

It's bad news for a struggling Falcons team, but great news for a struggling Eagles team. With Ryan out, the Falcons will most certainly start Chris Redman. Redman, while a decent backup in his own right, is not a quarterback capable of beating this Eagles defense.

The defense is struggling right now, but if the Bucs could put up a fight, then the Eagles defense should be able to dominate. Add that onto the fact that Michael Turner could miss this game with a high ankle sprain and that Jerious Norwood is less than 100 percent and you have a recipe that equals no excuses for this Philly defense.

In fact, if this is anything less than total domination, Philly will start to question if this is really a defense that can carry this team deep into the playoffs. The Falcons still have some weapons, so a shutout is by no means expected, but anything more than 14-17 points would be unacceptable.

This could be a very good game for this team as a whole to gain some confidence, some momentum, and really get them in gear for domination in December.

On the other hand, this could be a trap game for them. With Ryan and Turner most likely out, it wouldn't be shocking to see this defense become complacent and lay an egg, so to speak. On top of that, it's difficult to bury a team when they're against the ropes. Especially a well-coached and talented team like the Falcons.

It will be on the coaching staff and the leaders of this team to prevent that from happening.