<p>Woody Hayes usually defended the "three yards and a cloud of dust" offense by explaining his disdain for throwing the football.</p><p>"There are three things that can happen when you pass," the longtime Ohio State coach would say, "and two of them ain't good."</p><p>Well, ol' Woody would love the Atlanta Falcons.</p><p>For all the talk about Michael Vick and his dazzling ability to scramble out of trouble, Atlanta is essentially a smashmouth team that believes in running, running and running some more.</p><p>Heading into Sunday's game against Minnesota, the Falcons (2-1) are demonstrating that their 2004 rushing title was no fluke. In fact, they are carrying the ball at an even greater pace this year _ 183.7 yards per game, nearly 18 yards ahead of second-place Tampa Bay, double the average put up by defending NFC champion Philadelphia (91.3) and more than four times greater than last-place Baltimore (45.5).</p><p>"It is having the mind-set that you are going to stick with it and wear people down a little bit at times and then pop one," said coach Jim Mora, whose team led the league with a 167-yard average last season. "That is just kind of what we do. We've done that for two years and everyone understands their role and their piece of the puzzle, and thus we get good execution in our run game."</p><p>Sure, the Falcons' numbers are a bit skewed by Vick, who can turn a broken-down pass play into a 50-yard run. He's already carried 28 times for 175 yards, an average of 6.3 yards and putting him on pace to rush for more than 900 yards.</p><p>But Atlanta also has two more conventional runners in its "DVD" backfield. Warrick Dunn ranks ninth in the league at 268 yards, while battering ram T.J. Duckett has managed 108 yards in his change-of-pace role to the smaller, quicker starter.</p><p>Even if Vick's numbers were totally thrown out, the Falcons would still be averaging more than 125 yards on the ground _ just outside the top 10 in the league. They have run on 104 of their 181 plays, about 56 percent. By comparison, Minnesota has 68 runs among its 178 plays, just over 38 percent.</p><p>It starts up front for the Falcons, who get by with a nondescript line that relies more on quickness and togetherness than size and star power, in keeping with the philosophy of blocking guru Alex Gibbs. There's only two 300-pounders among the starting five, topped by 307-pound guard Kynan Forney, and not one Pro Bowl appearance in the group.</p><p>Gibbs' critics accuse him of teaching shady tactics, such as cut blocking, that put defenders at greater risk of injury. But his teams have always passed muster with the league.</p><p>The linemen aren't the only ones expected to block. Receivers Michael Jenkins, Dez White and Brian Finneran play a major role in the run game, along with Pro Bowl tight end Alge Crumpler and fullback Justin Griffith.</p><p>"It's 11 guys doing their job," Vick said. "If we hammer them, hammer them, throw it, and then run it at them, then maybe victory will come. At the same time, I have to be doing my job and the receivers have to be blocking. There are a lot of things that come together to make the run game work. We believe in it, which is why we are leading the league."</p><p>The Vikings (1-2) will certainly have their hands full in Atlanta. They are near the bottom of the pile in stopping the run, ranking 30th with a generous average of 142.3 yards.</p><p>Compounding Minnesota's defensive worries, the secondary is all banged up. Free safety Darren Sharper has a sprained left knee and may not play. His backup, Willie Offord, sustained a season-ending knee injury last week. Third cornerback Brian Williams has been ruled out this week because of yet another knee injury.</p><p>If Sharper can't go, 11th-year player Ken Irvin may have to make his first start at safety. He spent the past decade as a cornerback.</p><p>"The main thing is against Atlanta we can play with four linebackers because they are going to come out running the football," Vikings coach Mike Tice said. "We might only need one safety. Who knows?"</p><p>Tice also spent the week dealing with an off-the-field issue. Offensive linemen Bryant McKinnie and Marcus Johnson were arrested after a scuffle at a gas station early Monday, not long after the Vikings defeated New Orleans 33-16 for their first victory.</p><p>"Once the story comes out, I dont think anyone will be disappointed," Tice said. "Let that play out before we judge too harshly."</p><p>At least Minnesota is playing with more confidence after two ugly losses to open the season _ a 24-13 setback to Tampa Bay at home, followed by a 37-8 blowout at Cincinnati. The Vikings are hoping this is merely a reversal of their usual form, which is to start fast and fade at the end.</p><p>"It's just the tip of the iceberg," cornerback Fred Smoot said. "Sooner or later, we're going to hit the stride when we need to hit it, instead of blooming early and dying out late."</p>
