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Earlier this week, I did a tape breakdown of the young, aggressive Atlanta Falcons defense that will be the first to start three rookies in the Super Bowl since the 1981 San Francisco 49ers.
In Atlanta's 44-21 win over the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game, that defense put a hurt on Aaron Rodgers, who had been playing at a stratospheric level through the second half of the regular season and into the playoffs. Rodgers threw three touchdown passes in the second half when the game had already been decided, but in the first half, he accomplished little, as head coach Dan Quinn's unit pressured Rodgers relentlessly, gave the Packers looks they hadn't seen and shut down Rodgers' receivers.