Reiseplan » Brown (186).The Bobcats defense is led by senior def

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Ten games into the season, the Atlanta Falcons find themselves with exactly the same record as a year ago.Yet it feels a whole lot different.The Falcons (6-4) head into their bye week leading the NFC South and exuding plenty of confidence, even coming off a discouraging loss at Philadelphia.We all know this is a pretty special group to be a part of, coach Dan Quinn said. You can feel their connection, their tightness, how bad they want to go for it.At this point last season, the Falcons were also 6-4. But they had lost three games in a row -- none to teams that would make the playoffs. They were already out of the division race, having fallen far behind a Carolina team that was 10-0 and would reach the Super Bowl.Atlantas losing streak would grow to six games, and a season that started with such promise ended at 8-8.Quinn keeps insisting that his team learned some valuable lessons from its 2015 collapse, and indeed these Falcons look far more capable of reaching the playoffs for the first time in four seasons.While the 24-15 loss to the Eagles was a definite step back, the offense remains the most productive in the NFL (averaging 32 points per game) and seems to have found its groove in Year 2 under offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan. The young defense -- which has started as many as four rookies -- is setting the sort of fast, aggressive tone that Quinn wants on that side of the line.In perhaps the most telling sign of where this team believes it is heading, the coaches and players all consider the bye week to be the midpoint of the season.In other words, they plan on playing up to four games beyond the regular season, which would mean a trip to the Super Bowl.You have to get rest this week and have a mindset that youre not preparing for the last six games of the season, but the mindset to play nine or 10 more, said quarterback Matt Ryan, who is having the best season of his nine-year career. Thatll be my message to everybody. Keep moving, but let your body and mind get right.The Falcons certainly hold a far more promising position in the NFC South than they did in 2015. The Panthers have slumped to 3-6, while Tampa Bay and New Orleans are struggling at 4-5, leaving Atlanta with a fairly comfortable 1+-game lead in the division race.The rest of the schedule looks highly favorable, as well. Four of the last six games are at the Georgia Dome, which will be replaced next season by a $1.4 billion retractable-roof stadium under construction next door. Kansas City (7-2) is the only remaining opponent with a winning record.The week off comes at a time when several key players are trying to get over injuries. Running back Tevin Coleman has missed the last three games with a hamstring injury, but Quinn is confident that hell be ready to return when the Falcons host Arizona on Nov. 27. Punter Matt Bosher is contending with a recurring hamstring issue, but the extra week of rest gives him a chance to recover for the next game.The outlook isnt quite as clear for cornerback Desmond Trufant, the teams top coverage defender. He missed the last game with a left shoulder injury, and theres been speculation he could be done for the season. But Quinn said hes absolutely hopeful that Trufant will play again this season.The defense has gone through some growing pains, most notably getting gashed in the running game by the Eagles. But there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic.After a disappointing rookie season, Vic Beasley has emerged as a pass-rushing force with 9+ sacks, tied for third in the league. Rookies Deion Jones, DeVondre Campbell and Keanu Neal are having a huge impact, as is second-year tackle Grady Jarrett.We still have a ways to go in improvement on our tackling and making sure our fits are exactly on point, Quinn said. We are gaining confidence in those players and how we like to play.Neal said the loss to the Eagles will be a huge motivating factor when Atlanta returns from its break.Were going into the bye week and it doesnt feel too good, he said. But its going to help us in the long run. Two weeks with that bitter taste in our mouth and we are going to come back ready to go.---Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963 . His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/paul-newberry .---For more NFL coverage: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Justin Williams Cardinals Jersey . Booth picked up 65 caps after making her national team debut in 2002 at the age of 17. She most recently played for Sky Blue FC of the National Womens Soccer League. "It just felt like it was my time to move on," she said in a phone interview from her hometown of Burlington, Ont. Lane Thomas Jersey .5 seconds to play in the game, Kevin Love never stopped believing that they would come out of there with a win. https://www.cheapcardinalsonline.com/724t-junior-fernandez-jersey-cardinals.html .ca look back at each of the Top 10 stories of 2013. Today, we look back at Boston Strong - a citys recovery from tragedy. Paul Goldschmidt Cardinals Jersey .J. -- Marty Brodeur beat the Pittsburgh Penguins yet again. Cheap Cardinals Jerseys . It was the second consecutive win for the Pacers (2-5), who lost their first five preseason games. Jeff Teague led the Hawks (1-5) with 17 points and eight assists and Al Horford had 12 points and seven rebounds. Mike Scott scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half. Tennessee has been plagued by slow starts this season while displaying an opportunistic nature.Now the No. 15 Volunteers want to slam the door shut on Ohios breakthrough opportunity.Tennessee takes aim at a 3-0 start when it hosts the Bobcats on Saturday in a contest set to air on the SEC Network.The Volunteers have experienced back-to-back poor opening quarters while recording their two wins. They had to rally to beat Appalachian State in overtime in their season opener before recovering five fumbles to knock off Virginia Tech in the Battle at Bristol.Meanwhile, Ohio (1-1) is shooting to beat a ranked team for the first time.Thats no misprint -- the Bobcats are looking to spring an attention-grabbing upset for the initial time in the programs 122-year history.I dont have a goal to go out and beat a ranked football team, Bobcats coach Frank Solich said at a press conference. My goal is to win every game, and if you do the best you can with that, hopefully along the way you have won your share of games and you have pulled off some upsets.Although, we never walk on the field feeling we are an underdog, we expect to win every football game and I think most college teams and most coaches approach it that way.Ohio certainly will be the underdogs when they arrive at Neyland Stadium but caught Tennessees attention by posting a solid 37-21 victory over Kansas last Saturday. The Bobcats rolled up 329 rushing yards and maintained possession for 43 minutes, 38 seconds.They also held Kansas to 26 rushing yards, Volunteers coach Butch Jones said. I have a tremendous amount of respect for them. It is a week-to-week season and we have to make that considerable progress that we made from week one to week two into week three as we move forward.Jones will be expecting his team to start faster against the Bobcats. He said he addressed the sluggishness with the players and hopes they will respond.Senior defensive end Corey Vereen is mystified by the glacier-like openings.I couldnt really put my finger on it. We talk about starting fast day in and day out in practice and everything, Vereen said. So basically what we try to do is we try to stay more relaxed this time around and just know what we came to do in the game.ddddddddddddTennessee will be shorthanded on the defensive side as sophomore middle linebacker Darrin Kirkland Jr. and senior defensive end LaTroy Lewis will both miss the game with ankle injuries.Kirkland leads the Volunteers with 16 tackles while Lewis has 10 stops.Sophomore free safety Micah Abernathy set a school record by recovering three fumble recoveries in the 45-24 victory over Virginia Tech.Offensively, senior quarterback Joshua Dobbs is completing just 54.2 percent of his passes. He has thrown for 283 yards and four touchdowns against two interceptions.Junior running back Jalen Hurd has rushed for 209 yards and one score.Ohio senior quarterback Greg Windham has passed for 560 yards and five touchdowns while being intercepted once. He has also rushed for 183 yards, second on the squad behind junior tailback Dorian Brown (186).The Bobcats defense is led by senior defensive end Tarell Basham (two sacks), who became the schools record-holder when he posted career sack No. 20 against Kansas.It feels great to have the all-time sack record, to know that all my hard work is showing, Basham said. Im not comfortable at all, though. Im still going to go out there and fight to get those sacks. Hopefully next week we can set another record.Basham was referring to the schools dubious history against Top 25 teams. The Volunteers have been briefed about that fact and insist they wont be taking the Bobcats lightly.Ohio is a veteran team and its a noon (ET) kickoff, so we need to start fast and be ready to go from the get-go, Dobbs said. But this is the most important game on our schedule because its the next game. Theres no looking ahead. Were just locked in on the task at hand and getting ready for this Saturday.Ohio is 2-11 all-time against current SEC programs. The Bobcats lost 34-23 at Tennessee in 2009 in the lone previous meeting between the schools. ' ' '