yes, on this Monday night they want to make it home by crushin

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. - Only two NFL running backs have more touchdowns than Atlantas Antone Smith.The mystery is why Smith hasnt had more chances to add to his total.Among Falcons running backs, Steven Jackson, Jacquizz Rodgers and Devonta Freeman have more carries than Smith this season.Smith has delivered four big-play scores on his rare touches a€” from 38, 48, 54 and 74 yards. Two touchdowns came after short catches.The only NFL running backs with more touchdowns are Marshawn Lynch and DeMarco Murray, who have combined for more than 200 touches. Smiths touchdowns have come on only 17 carries and catches.It appears there will be more opportunities for Smith against the Chicago Bears on Sunday.You get what you earn in this league, said Falcons coach Mike Smith. And what hes done through these first five games and a couple of games last year when he had the opportunity to touch the football, hes earned more opportunities to touch it, theres no doubt about that.Hes been a very explosive player for us. The numbers are what they are. We want to make sure that we get the ball in playmakers hands.Smith, 29, is far from an overnight success. He finished his college career at Florida State in 2008 and, after not being drafted, had short stints with the Lions, Vikings and Texans before joining the Falcons practice squad in 2009. His speed served him well on special teams work before given a chance to show his big-play potential as a running back late last season.Smith had only five carries in 2013, but that was enough to produce 50- and 38-yard touchdown runs. He has 11 carries for 121 yards and six receptions for 156 yards this season.Falcons receiver Roddy White said Smiths big plays are no surprise for anyone who has seen his speed.Hes very explosive, White said Thursday. If we can get the ball in his hands and its one-on-one, nine times out of 10 hes going to out-run the guy thats trying to tackle him.We watch him every day and we know how fast he is and he knows the opportunity is out there for him to make big plays. Were going to try to get him matched up one-on-one as much as possible in the game and try to give him the ball.After waiting so long for his first chances to touch the ball last season, Smith has remained patient for his playing time to increase.My job is just to be a great teammate and go out and do my job, he said. Thats all I try to do. I dont try to control whats going on upstairs or who makes the decisions when Im in there or when Im not. I just try to go out there and when my number is called make the play to the best of my ability.Smith had three catches for 83 yards, including a 74-yard touchdown, in last weeks 30-20 loss at the Giants.Smith (5-9, 192) bristled at the suggestion he struggles in pass-blocking and so could never be more than a specialty back.I have no problem with that, he said. Thats one of the things they said I had to work on. With any running back, youve got something to work on. Running the ball is easy. Catching the ball is easy. But pass protection, when youve got a quarterback like Matt, youve got to be able to protect him.NOTES: WR Devin Hester (hamstring)and WR Harry Douglas (foot) did not practice. LG Justin Blaylock (back) practiced and appears on track to starting. ... The Falcons signed WR Ryan Spadola to the practice squad. He appeared in three games with the Jets and one with the Dolphins last season and did not have a reception.___Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: www.twitter.com/AP_NFL___Follow Charles Odum on Twitter: http://twitter.com/CharlesOdum Wales Jerseys .C. United on Wednesday night. Forward Bright Dike scored the games only goal in the 85th minute on a foggy night in Bradenton, Fla. Ashley Williams Jersey . -- The road to the Masters got off to a bumpy start Sunday for Tiger Woods when he withdrew from the Honda Classic with what he said was a lower back injury. http://www.soccerwalesshop.com/customized/ . On Sunday, head coach Patrick Roy said the teams leading scorer will skate at Mondays morning practice and the club will make a decision on his status for Game 6 at that point. Joe Allen Jersey . "Im excited just for a new start, just to see where things are going, to bring some kind of tradition back to the team and guys being excited about something new," the defensive back said during a conference call Monday after agreeing to stay with the Bombers rather than go to free agency next month. Blank Jersey .The Hanwha Eagles said the team was impressed with Morgans contact ability and base-running skills.The 34-year-old debuted with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2007 and hit .TSN football analyst Chris Schultz is back with his Week 2 selections in the NFL. With a record of 5-11, Week 2 starts off with the Baltimore Ravens hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers in an AFC North matchup. Steelers at Ravens (-3) Tough one to figure out as youre just not sure how the Rice issue affects team emotion for the Ravens, especially on a short week of preparation. What is the effect or is their none at all. For Pittsburgh, the good news is that at one point, they were up 24-0 over Cleveland; the bad news is the final score ended up 30-27. For the Ravens, the bad news was at one point they were down 15-0 to the Bengals in Baltimore; the good news is the final score was 23-16 and Baltimore could have won. Joe Flacco had to throw 62 passes against Cincinnati and ran the ball 20 times for 82 total plays and still could not win. In a game where you know it will come down to three points, I will take Ben Roethlisberger to make one more elusive move than Flacco to produce one more field goal. Pittsburgh Detroit at Carolina (-3) The Panthers picked up where they left off as a cream of the crop top defence by holding a good Tampa Bay team to 14 points. Derrick Anderson came in at quarterback and threw an interception-free game, but Cam Newton should be the starter this week. The Lions did not run the ball well against the Giants as they held them to 76 yards but Matthew Stafford did throw for 346 yards. Can Carolina limit Calvin Johnson from repeating seven catches for 164 yards. With consideration for the short week for Detroit and on the road, yes they can. Carolina Miami at Buffalo (PK) Both teams are coming off impressive wins. For the Dolphins, it was a 33-20 win over New England with a big reason why being excellence in the pass rush. We know about Cameron Wake but the hidden gem of pass rushers is on the opposite side in 0liver Vernon, who is 62", 260lbs out of Miami only in his third year. Then on the opposite side, the edge protecters, free agent Brandon Albert and first round pick JaWuan James out of Tennessee are both excellent. With the Bills , EJ Manuel was also excellent, completing 72 percent of his passes, but the Bills scored 13 points on turnovers and even though they are playing at Ralph Wilson, I was more impressed with the Dolphins win over New England than the Bills in Chicago. Miami Jacksonville at Washington (-6) Why I am thinking the Redskins is that Jacksonville was 2-for-13 on third down conversions last week in Philadelphia and thats critical because the Jaguars were dead last (31 per cent) last year as well. And Washington fumbled the ball twice inside the 10 against Houston so a possible 10 points was turned into zero. Home opener for the Redskins and second road game for Jacksonville. Washington Dallas at Tennessee (-4) Almost a must-win for the Cowboys as they still have New 0rleans at home and Seattle on the road before mid-0ctober. Four turnovers against a good 49ers team was the main reason for the 28-17 loss; four turnovers in the first half. Tennessee did look good last week. Jake Locker played like a first round pick and Tennessee controlled the ball for 38 minutes. Dallas has to have this one. Dallas Arizona at NY Giants (-2.5) Not sure why the Giants are favored in this one. Yes, Arizona from West to East is a predictor but if the Giants can only score 14 against Detroit, I cant see any more than 14 against a good Arizona defence. And I agree with all who say the rookie John Brown (510 179lbs) is a talent. Adding Larry Fitzgerald and Michael Floyd, Carson Palmer has choices like never before. Arizona New England (-3.5) at Minnesota There are s couple of reasons I like the Patriots. First, I cant remember when New England lost two in a row and Minnesota benefitted from knocking Shaun Hill out of the game and the Rams going to a third quarterback. The Dolphins outscored the Patriots, 23-0 in the second half last week. Urgency will be at an all-time high in New England. Minnesota will surprise this year, but 0-2 for the Patriots? No way. New England New 0rleans (-6.5) at Cleveland I know that history says the Saints are not the same team on the road. But on the road last week, Drew Brees scored points on his first four possessions and built a 20-7 lead. Defensively, the Saints did not play well but there is no Julio Jones, Roddy White and Devin Hester in Cleveland, not to mention Brian Hoyer is not Matt Ryan. When Cleveland went up-tempo against the Steelers, they made a 24-0 lead vanish quickly. Defensive coordinator Rob Ryaan will be ready for any up-tempo transitions by the Browns.dddddddddddd New Orleans Atlanta at Cincinnati (-5) I dont like the five points, even though the Bengals were undefeated at home in the regular season last year. Andy Dalton and Matt Ryan combined for 749 passing yards in Week 1. I doubt that type of success will be duplicated by the duo but I do feel the team that has the ball last will win. Matt Ryan hit five receivers for 50 or more yards last week. Too many points. Atlanta St. Louis at Tampa Bay (-4) Austin Davis maybe Shaun Hill but definitely no Sam Bradford. On the road and on a grass field is a different type of challenge for St. Louis. The defensive front seven should keep them in the game but eventually they could wear down in the Tampa Bay heat. This is a tough one as I expect the Buccaneers to win but by how much? Defence keeps it close and Bucs win by three. St. Louis Seattle (-5.5) at San Diego Time and preparation is a big advantage for Seattle. The Seahawks played in the season opener on September 5, beating Green Bay 36-16. The Chargers played on Monday night in Arizona and lost 18-17. One team has 10 days to get ready, the other five days and the 10-day team plays with more speed and energy than any team in the league. Yes, I know the Seahawks away from Century Link are not quite the same, but the power of Marshawn Lynch, the speed of Percy Harvin and the maturity of Russell Wilson is too much this early in the season. Seattle Houston (-2.5) at 0akland First home game for the Raiders, first road game for the Texans. How about JJ Watt? He signs the big deal and shows results the next game. It may be tougher to make the same impact this game because without Jadavean Clowney, teams can slide protection packages to the "Watt side". The Raiders did keep it close against the Jets (19-14) but were outgained 402-158 yet I like Derek Carr to be more comfortable at home. Also, the Texans blocked three kicks in total against Washington. On the road, Ryan Fitzpatrick may not produce a turnover-free game again. Oakland NY Jets at Green Bay (-8.5) This one could be close, as the Jets on defense are very good. Even though they beat the Raiders buy only five5 last week, they statistically dominated the game. Geno Smith is a better quarterback this year as compared to last year, and last year on the road was 2-6, five touchdowns and 13 interceptions. If the Jets establish Chris Johnson and Chris Ivory and dominate time of possession, I could see an upset but they would have to really dominate and I cant see it again as they did last week. Packers by 10 and cover the 8.5. Packers Kansas City at Denver (-13) Last week was a disaster for KC in so many ways with pass protection problems, as Alex Smith went down four times. They had key production problems too, with Jamaal Charles rushing for 19 yards and 15 yards receiving. There are injury issues as well, with Mike Vito and Derrick Johnson out for year; weakening the defensive front-seven. For Denver, at one time they had a 24-0 lead over the Colts but became complacent and won 31-24. Alex Smith does not have Andrew Luck come-from-behind skills, so if Tennessee can score 26 in KC, Denver can score 36 and cover the 13. Denver Chicago at San Francisco (-7) Hello Levis Stadium, the new and good looking home of the San Francisco 49ers. And yes, on this Monday night they want to make it home by crushing the Bears. It might happen because what was a problem last year is a problem this year -- the Bears and run defense. Buffalo averaged 5.8 yards per carry against the Bears in Week 1 and San Francisco has the talent to do the same. The 49ers did benefit from three Tony Romo interceptions and this end zone one was crippling, but I think the Bears just have too much talent not to match touchdown for touchdown with San Francisco. The 49ers win but the Bears keep it within seven. Bears on points. Philadelphia at Indianapolis (-3) This game says lots of points, as explosive talent is prevalent on both teams. For the Colts, yes in Denver they lost 31-24 but outscored and outperformed the Broncos 17-7 in the second half and missed on a critical 4th and goal on a quarterback sneak. The Eagles wore out Jacksonville last week, running 82 plays. They scored 34 points in the second half to none by the Jags. The Colts will be aware and ready. If the game is close in the fourth, I like Andrew Luck to do what right now no one can do better -- come from behind and win a game in the fourth. Colts ' ' '