2012 » red his rhythm and surged past Contador and others, and he was

The Atlanta Falcons sit in the drivers seat in the NFC South and, with a favorable schedule in the final three weeks, are very much in the mix for a first-round playoff bye.But they need to get healthy ahead of the playoffs.The banged-up Falcons (8-5) kick off their closing stretch Sunday, when the lowly San Francisco 49ers (1-12) visit the Georgia Dome for the final time. This is the last season for the Falcons in the dome, before moving down the block to their new stadium for the 2017 season.Wide receiver Julio Jones, who missed last weeks road win over the Los Angeles Rams with a toe injury, will be out again this week.Atlanta head coach Dan Quinn reclassified Jones injury as a sprained toe. Quinn had initially described the injury as turf toe, which could have lingered much longer than the sprain is expected to.Well get him back here shortly, Quinn said of Jones. When he can explode like he does ... the good news is its not something thats going to be a long-term thing.The 49ers are battling their own injuries, with left tackle Joe Staley (hamstring/doubtful) and receiver Torrey Smith (concussion/out). Staley had started 92 consecutive regular-season games, before missing last weeks loss to the New York Jets. Smith is in the leagues concussion protocol and still needs to be cleared before taking the field again.Even if the 49ers were at full-strength, theyd be hard-pressed to keep up with the Falcons, who boast the leagues most prolific offense, led by quarterback Matt Ryan, an MVP candidate. Ryan has already thrown for more than 4,000 yards with 30 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He threw three touchdowns and no interceptions against the Rams.Matts one of those quarterbacks that transcends any system, San Francisco head coach Chip Kelly told reporters Wednesday. It doesnt matter, I really dont think, what system hes running. Although, the one hes running right now hes very, very successful in. I think he fits very well into what (offensive coordinator) Kyle (Shanahan) is doing. But hes had a couple different coordinators and been successful with whoever was coaching him. Thats just the type of player he is. I think hes an elite quarterback.Despite missing Jones and Sanu, the Falcons put up 42 points in the win over the Rams. The 49ers have scored a total of 47 points in their last three games combined.Quarterback Colin Kaepernick will start Sunday against Atlanta. Kaepernick has completed 54.8 percent of his passes with 11 touchdowns and three interceptions, since taking over as the starter for Blaine Gabbert in Week 6.I think Colin has gotten better each week with us, Kelly said. The more comfortable he gets in our system, the more comfortable we are around him. ... Weve been pleased with Colin.Kaepernick has yet to lead a victory this season, though. Last week, San Francisco jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter against the Jets, but was held scoreless in the second half and lost their 12th straight game, despite a 193-yard rushing performance from Carlos Hyde.Once again, it comes down to our execution, Kaepernick said. We have to be able to make plays and we didnt make enough in the second half to put points on the board.The Falcons lead the surging Tampa Bay Buccaneers by one game in the NFC South and are within a game of the Seattle Seahawks and Detroit Lions in the battle for the second seed in the NFC.After Sundays game against the 49ers, the Falcons close out the regular season at the Carolina Panthers and at home against the New Orleans Saints. Atlantas three remaining opponents are a combined 11-28.Who were playing and where were playing -- thats kind of irrelevant, so to speak, because you want to just go and battle for it, Quinn said. (Thats) the intent of the players, thats what were set out to do.Khalil Mack Bears Jersey . -- Jacksonville wide receiver Cecil Shorts will likely be a game-time decision whether hell play Sunday in the Jaguars home game against the San Diego Chargers. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix Bears Jersey . Three came down to the fourth quarter while quarterbacks continued to shine in all four games; so important to the overall quality of the game. http://www.chicagobearfootballauthentic.com/authentic-dan-hampton-bears-jersey/ .ca NHL Power Rankings for the second straight week, ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Colorado Avalanche. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix Youth Jersey . MLS Commissioner Don Garber and Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez also will attend the session, which was announced Monday. The league has discussed placing its next two expansion teams in Miami and Atlanta. Anthony Miller Bears Jersey . With the first unit struggling of late and Amir Johnson - one of the teams iron men - hobbling on an injured right ankle, Patterson knew he could get the nod in a challenging matchup against one of the leagues up and coming players at his position.Nairo Quintana regained the red jersey at the Vuelta a Espana as a dramatic stage ten victory saw him open up a 58-second lead on Great Britains Chris Froome.Colombian Quintana (Movistar) showed his renowned climbing skills on the 188.7km haul from Lugones to Lagos de Covadonga to pass long-time stage leader Robert Gesink (Lotto NL Jumbo) with 2.5km remaining.Gesink finished second, 24 seconds back, with Froome (Team Sky) a further second down, as previous race leader David de la Cruz lost three minutes and 15 seconds to Quintana.Third-placed Froome, who is one second behind Alejandro Valverde (Movistar), is now almost a minute down on Quintana heading into the second week of the Vuelta.It could have been worse for Froome as he lost contact with 10km left as general classification rivals Quintana and Alberto Contadorr (Tinkoff) surged up the special category climb to the Lagos de Covadonga.ddddddddddddut the Tour de France winner rediscovered his rhythm and surged past Contador and others, and he was only edged out on the line by Gesink. Movistar, however, are in good shape going into the Vueltas first rest day on Tuesday.It was a day for the team and for Nairo, Movistars Daniel Moreno Fernandez told Eurosport. That sort of category of climbs suits him, so many rhythm changes from the beginning to the end.?At first Froome couldnt follow and the rhythm Nairo set out there was amazing. He just went off and did it alone, hes extremely strong.It looks much better for us than it was in the Tour de France. ' ' '