Falcons out to 'blow up' Colin Kaepernick

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Atlanta Falcons defenders plan to send a punishing message to San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick in Sunday's NFC Championship Game, something an embarrassed Green Bay Packers defense forgot to do in a 45-31 blowout loss -- when Kaepernick was running for a quarterback-record 181 yards.

"If you get the opportunity to blow up somebody and make a statement, that's what you want to do,'' safety William Moore said. "They're a physical team, too. Their receivers block down the field.

"We're going to go out there well-prepared. Keeping the quarterback in the pocket, we have to go in there and keep contain on him.''

Fellow safety Thomas DeCoud, whose grandfather John Thomas was a 49ers offensive tackle from 1956-1962, shared the same message. He hinted the Falcons might utilize a spy -- a defensive player dedicated to shadow Kaepernick to keep him from getting outside and running for long gains.

"You definitely want to set the tone and send a message if he's a guy that likes to run the ball: 'We're going to be here.' You want to put some tags on him if he keeps the ball in his hands,'' DeCoud said.

"With a quarterback of this caliber who can tote the rock like he can, you always have to be accounted for -- have somebody account for him in the rush or in the back end. Somebody has to have eyes on him to make sure we keep him in the pocket.

"If a guy is blitzing, make sure you get him on the ground," DeCoud added. "That's definitely going to be a part of what we need to do and how we need to get this 'W.'''

That's easier said than done after Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson gashed the Falcons for 445 combined passing and rushing yards, including 275 yards and four touchdowns in the second half.

"Kaepernick is more of a one-read-and-go type guy, whereas Russell was using his feet to get to his second and third reads to come open,'' DeCoud said.

"Kaepernick most resembles RGIII. In terms of speed, he has comparable speed to RGIII, because you could see when he played against the Packers, he ran away from them on that one (56-yard) touchdown run.''