RENTON, Wash. – Seahawks defensive co-ordinator Gus Bradley says that while the Atlanta Falcons have been more vulnerable to pressure this year, he’s preparing as though this was the same group that handily beat Seattle last December.

“They’re about good, fundamental football,” Bradley said. “Mistake-free, no turnovers, limited penalties, and that’s what was impressive to us. We know they’ll get back to that. We talk constantly in our room about just take care of what we do and if they’ve got issues or they’ve got things they need to work out, they’ll get that taken care of, but that can’t affect how we perform.”

So far, Seattle’s defensive line has been the team’s most confident positional group.

Last Sunday, the line looked particularly strong in a 13-10 win over Arizona, sacking Cardinals quarterback Kevin Kolb three times and harassing him constantly using multiple defensive fronts.

This week, the Seahawks will go after Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, who has already been sacked 13 times through three games after being sacked just 23 times all last season.

Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll knows how important it is to bring pressure; it’s what his defence is built upon.

“(The quarterback is) the brains of the whole thing, and you need to affect the way he’s thinking and what he’s seeing as much as you can,” Carroll said. “Plus, he’s the most vulnerable player on the team. We have to do whatever it takes to get that done. Whether that’s taking more chances, or giving our guys more opportunities to come off the edge and bring the pressure, we have to find that.”

Defensive tackle Brandon Mebane said the Seahawks have been bringing pressure recently using multiple blitzes and defensive fronts.

When he looks at the Falcons, he sees the same team from last year.

“You know, they’re having their issues, but we’re not going to sit up here and doubt them,” he said. “Our job is to go out there and apply pressure — do what we’ve been doing. We’re not going to underestimate them. We know they’re going to make changes, and do things to get back on their feet.”

NOTES: Left guard Robert Gallery was the only player listed as out on the Seahawks’ injury report; Carroll said that Gallery is “a couple of weeks away at most” from returning from a groin injury. Safety Kam Chancellor (quadriceps) and cornerback Byron Maxwell (ankle) were listed as doubtful. Tackle Jarriel King (ankle), running back Michael Robinson (ankle) and linebacker Matt McCoy (shoulder/head) are probable.

SEATTLE, Wash. — In 2010, the 13-3 Atlanta Falcons were the NFL’s bastion of consistency. They were a balanced team, run and pass, and while they lacked a downfield threat that could open it up against enemy defenses, they were able to win most physical battles with running back Michael Turner(notes) and fullback Ovie Mughelli(notes). When it was time to go to the air, quarterback Matt Ryan(notes) had his choice of Roddy White(notes), the NFL’s most targeted receiver in 2010, and future Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez(notes). It wasn’t a stodgy offense, and it allowed the Falcons to set the tempo more often than not.

Then, the eventual Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers demolished them, 48-21, in the divisional playoffs, and a change in organizational philosophy was evident after the fact. In the 2011 NFL draft, the Falcons traded multiple draft picks for the right to move up and grab Alabama playmaking receiver Julio Jones(notes). Later in the draft, they picked up Oregon State waterbug back Jacquizz Rogers to further turbo-charge the offense. Speed receiver Harry Douglas(notes) was coming back fully healthy after a torn ACL in 2009 and a disappointing 2010, and it seemed that the Falcons were ready to take their offense to a new level.

Through three games, it has most decidedly not been that way. The Falcons are 1-2. The balance between run and pass is gone, largely because the team is playing catch-up most of the time. Ryan is averaging 40.7 pass attempts per game (an all-time high) and as a result, the team’s already iffy pass protection has been exposed. After taking just 23 sacks in 2010, Ryan’s already been taken down 13 times in 2011. The offense that torched the Eagles for 35 points in Week 2 looked nothing like the offense that struggled to get anything going against the Chicago Bears in Week 1, or the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 3. Both of those games were road losses, which put another nail in the reputation Atlanta’s offense used to have.

Now, head coach Mike Smith has made noise about switching chess pieces on the offensive line, the supposedly explosive offense has to take receivers off the field and play max protect far more often than anyone would like, and frustration is mounting. And with a cross-country trip to Seattle to face a Seahawks defensive line that is one of the few consistently excellent things about that rebuilding team, there’s no time to waste.

“We’ve done it earlier in the season at other positions on the team, and we’ll do it at the offensive line as well,” Smith said on Monday. “We’ll let that play out during the week and try to put the best guys out there. That’s our job as a coaching staff, to make sure we have the best guys out there to give us what we feel is the best opportunity to win.”

So, there could be more transition to a line that has already featured two different centers and lost guard Harvey Dahl(notes) to the St. Louis Rams in free agency.

On Wednesday, Ryan tried to quiet the doubt — and the doubters — when he addressed the Seattle media during a conference call. “We’re gonna to work to find our best guys at every position, and we’re going to do that every week,” Ryan said of the line. “Our guys are working hard, preparing and doing the best we can. Whoever’s out there on Sunday, I’m sure they’ll do a great job for us.”

Left tackle Sam Baker(notes) has been especially under the gun, allowing multiple sacks and pressures after holding up fairly well through his first three seasons in the league. Neither Ryan, who was selected by the Falcons in the same 2008 draft class as Baker, nor Smith, who was one of the people who pulled the trigger on that move, was ready to throw Baker under the bus.

“Just to keep doing what we’ve been doing the last couple of years — preparing the way that we prepare, having confidence in our ability and staying positive,” Ryan said, when asked how he talks with his struggling teammate. “In this league, there are going to be weeks like that and it’s tough when they’re back-to-back-to-back, but you have to hang in there and be mentally tough, and he is. He’s a great competitor. He’s working his tail off and in the meeting room, so I’ve got confidence in him and really the rest of our guys up front.”

“We haven’t played as effectively as we’d like to through the first three weeks, and as I told the media here, the first thing you have to look at is scheme, in terms of shoring up something you’re not doing well,” Smith added. “The second thing is personnel, and that’s how we’ve approached it this week. We’re not executing — we did have a different center in the first two ballgames, and those are the two biggest things.

“Oftentimes, there’s more to it than a simple answer of, ‘When you’re not protecting the passer, it’s the offensive line’s fault. Until you know the protection schemes and how things unwind, everyone is responsible in terms of protecting the quarterback. It can be the wide receiver not breaking off routes, it can be the backs, and it can be the quarterback. So, when we say that we’re not protecting the quarterback, we’re not singling out our offensive line.”

But it was a problem against the Buccaneers – -the Falcons would try and run three- and four-wide sets, the Bucs responded with simple six-and seven-man blitzes, and Atlanta was unable to match up. Thus, the move to more two-tight end sets late in the game, along with other adjustments — more and more, quick drops and short passes became the order of the day.

“I thought we did a nice job during the end of the game scoring 10 points during the fourth quarter,” Smith said. “Unfortunately, we had some opportunities that we weren’t able to capitalize on, especially there in the red zone in the second half of the ball game.”

Asked if the lockout was part of the problem — abbreviated preparation time leading to a loss of the little things — Smith became more abrupt than is usual for him.

“I’m not going to go there. We’re not going to make excuses.  Right now, we’re not playing what we like to call ‘Falcon football.’  We’re not playing to the level that we need to. We’re not playing to the consistency that we need to, as well. But it’s very early in the season and we are continuing to work through a lot of different scenarios in terms of how we’re trying to put this team together.”

Related: , Harry Douglas, Matt Ryan, Roddy White, Michael Turner, Ovie Mughelli, Tony Gonzalez, Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons, Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, St. Louis Rams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. – Atlanta Falcons centre Todd McClure hopes he doesn’t have to offer another apology to quarterback Matt Ryan.

After Ryan was harassed repeatedly in last week’s 16-13 loss at Tampa Bay, McClure wanted him to know that the offensive line appreciates his toughness in the pocket.

Ryan has been hit 21 times, according to NFL statistics, and sacked 13 times — third-most in the NFL.

McClure told Ryan on the plane ride home from Tampa that the line is working hard to improve.

“I told him that last week on the plane,” McClure said Thursday. “We respect what he does, stepping in there time after time to throw the ball. It’s got to be a tough situation for him to be in, and he’s handled it really well.”

Personnel changes could come shortly. As the Falcons (1-2) prepare to visit Seattle (1-2) on Sunday, coach Mike Smith is promising a full evaluation on each starter and reserve.

McClure, Atlanta’s starting centre since 1999, doesn’t lack job security, and it’s likely the same goes for right tackle Tyson Clabo and left guard Justin Blalock, each of whom signed new contracts in training camp.

Smith won’t say whether left tackle Sam Baker and right guard Garrett Reynolds are in jeopardy of losing their starting jobs, but they clearly have competition.

Neither Baker, who is nursing a sore ankle, nor Reynolds has looked impressive through the first three games.

Baker, a starter since Atlanta drafted him late the first round of 2008, struggled against fierce pressure from Chicago, Philadelphia and Tampa Bay and faces a challenge from Will Svitek, a sixth-year veteran in his third season as a Falcons backup.

Reynolds, a fifth-round pick by the Falcons in 2009, won the right guard job after Harvey Dahl, widely considered one of the league’s nastiest linemen, signed as a free agent with St. Louis.

But despite a key block against Philadelphia that helped Michael Turner break off a 61-yard run that set up the winning touchdown, Reynolds is getting pushed on the depth chart by Joe Hawley, who made his first two career starts last month as McClure recovered from a knee injury.

Smith, line coach Paul Boudreau and co-ordinator Mike Mularkey are considering other scenarios, too.

“It’s different from the off-season because you’ve got more snaps in your practices and you’re in a preparation mode,” Smith said. “Once the season starts, you don’t have as many snaps to make an evaluation, but we’ve told our guys from the very beginning that we’re going to have open competition at all times.”

One of the bigger obstacles facing Ryan is lacking the time necessary to set his feet in the pocket, particularly during the first half.

The Falcons have yet to score on an opening possession and were down 16-3 at halftime at both Chicago and Tampa Bay. Against the Buccaneers, Ryan was sacked inside the Atlanta 20-yard line and lost two fumbles in the first half.

Fortunately for the Falcons, their defence held Tampa Bay to just three points after the turnovers, but McClure and Baker believe Ryan never should have been put in such a predicament to begin with.

“I mean it’s been a rough year so far,” Baker said. “We definitely haven’t been protecting as well, so right now all we can do is focus on fixing it.”

McClure hopes fans will stay patient and understand that, regardless of personnel changes, the linemen are competing hard.

“I just think it’s not time to panic right now,” McClure said. “We’ve played three games, and there’s room for improvement. It’s a long season, you know? You just can’t start throwing everything overboard and abandoning the ship and think it’s going down. We’re going to keep working hard to get it fixed. If we can have some success, this team can have some success.”

Without an early lead, Atlanta struggles to incorporate Pro Bowl running back Michael Turner, who was held to 20 yards on 11 carries at Tampa Bay. Teams that fall behind traditionally must pass the ball to catch up as the game wears on, and the Falcons’ offence isn’t designed to throw 112 times and run 58 as it has this season.

Ryan loves it when the offence starts fast, and it’s no wonder why. In their fourth season under Smith, the Falcons are 28-1 when leading at halftime, 4-15 when trailing.

“We just need to execute a little better, and that’s what it comes down to,” Ryan said. “Our guys are playing hard up front. We just need to execute a little better, myself included. The ball needs to come out. You can’t keep hanging on to it back there, at some point the ball has got to come out. I think I need to be better. I think those guys up front will get better. We’ll do all that, but it’s a joint effort.”

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP)—Atlanta Falcons center Todd McClure(notes) hopes he
doesn’t have to offer another apology to quarterback Matt Ryan(notes).

After Ryan was harassed repeatedly in last week’s 16-13 loss at Tampa Bay,
McClure wanted him to know that the offensive line appreciates his toughness in
the pocket.

Ryan has been hit 21 times, according to NFL statistics, and sacked 13 times
— third-most in the NFL.

McClure told Ryan on the plane ride home from Tampa that the line is working
hard to improve.

“I told him that last week on the plane,” McClure said Thursday. “We
respect what he does, stepping in there time after time to throw the ball. It’s
got to be a tough situation for him to be in, and he’s handled it really well.”

Personnel changes could come shortly. As the Falcons (1-2) prepare to visit
Seattle (1-2) on Sunday, coach Mike Smith is promising a full evaluation on each
starter and reserve.

McClure, Atlanta’s starting center since 1999, doesn’t lack job security,
and it’s likely the same goes for right tackle Tyson Clabo(notes) and left guard Justin
Blalock(notes), each of whom signed new contracts in training camp.

Smith won’t say whether left tackle Sam Baker(notes) and right guard Garrett
Reynolds(notes) are in jeopardy of losing their starting jobs, but they clearly have
competition.

Neither Baker, who is nursing a sore ankle, nor Reynolds has looked
impressive through the first three games.

Baker, a starter since Atlanta drafted him late the first round of 2008,
struggled against fierce pressure from Chicago, Philadelphia and Tampa Bay and
faces a challenge from Will Svitek(notes), a sixth-year veteran in his third season as
a Falcons backup.

Reynolds, a fifth-round pick by the Falcons in 2009, won the right guard job
after Harvey Dahl(notes), widely considered one of the league’s nastiest linemen,
signed as a free agent with St. Louis.

But despite a key block against Philadelphia that helped Michael Turner(notes)
break off a 61-yard run that set up the winning touchdown, Reynolds is getting
pushed on the depth chart by Joe Hawley(notes), who made his first two career starts
last month as McClure recovered from a knee injury.

Smith, line coach Paul Boudreau and coordinator Mike Mularkey are
considering other scenarios, too.

“It’s different from the offseason because you’ve got more snaps in your
practices and you’re in a preparation mode,” Smith said. “Once the season
starts, you don’t have as many snaps to make an evaluation, but we’ve told our
guys from the very beginning that we’re going to have open competition at all
times.”

One of the bigger obstacles facing Ryan is lacking the time necessary to set
his feet in the pocket, particularly during the first half.

The Falcons have yet to score on an opening possession and were down 16-3 at
halftime at both Chicago and Tampa Bay. Against the Buccaneers, Ryan was sacked
inside the Atlanta 20-yard line and lost two fumbles in the first half.

Fortunately for the Falcons, their defense held Tampa Bay to just three
points after the turnovers, but McClure and Baker believe Ryan never should have
been put in such a predicament to begin with.

“I mean it’s been a rough year so far,” Baker said. “We definitely
haven’t been protecting as well, so right now all we can do is focus on fixing
it.”

McClure hopes fans will stay patient and understand that, regardless of
personnel changes, the linemen are competing hard.

“I just think it’s not time to panic right now,” McClure said. “We’ve
played three games, and there’s room for improvement. It’s a long season, you
know? You just can’t start throwing everything overboard and abandoning the ship
and think it’s going down. We’re going to keep working hard to get it fixed. If
we can have some success, this team can have some success.”

Without an early lead, Atlanta struggles to incorporate Pro Bowl running
back Michael Turner, who was held to 20 yards on 11 carries at Tampa Bay. Teams
that fall behind traditionally must pass the ball to catch up as the game wears
on, and the Falcons’ offense isn’t designed to throw 112 times and run 58 as it
has this season.

Ryan loves it when the offense starts fast, and it’s no wonder why. In their
fourth season under Smith, the Falcons are 28-1 when leading at halftime, 4-15
when trailing.

“We just need to execute a little better, and that’s what it comes down
to,” Ryan said. “Our guys are playing hard up front. We just need to execute a
little better, myself included. The ball needs to come out. You can’t keep
hanging on to it back there, at some point the ball has got to come out. I think
I need to be better. I think those guys up front will get better. We’ll do all
that, but it’s a joint effort.”