Atlanta Falcons head coach Mike Smith has admitted that his side are wary of the threat from the St Louis Rams' "physical" defense ahead of their clash on Sunday.

The Falcons lost their season opener to the New Orleans Saints and had a tough time protecting quarterback Matt Ryan, leading to concerns ahead of their game against one of the best defensive fronts in the league.

Smith told reporters: "They play an extremely physical style of defense, that's one of the traits. I've had the opportunity to coach against Jeff Fisher-coached teams and they're always going to be physical, and especially on the defensive side of the football.

"I think it starts with their guys up front. They're big inside. They've got two big tackles in [Michael] Brockers and [Kendall] Langford and they may arguably have the best tandem of defensive ends in the league."

Atlanta gave up three sacks to a depleted Saints defense last week in their loss at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.