FLOWERY
BRANCH
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Calvin Ridley Jersey , Ga. (AP) — Dan Quinn briefly struggled with his
plan to play quarterback Matt Ryan for only one series in the Atlanta Falcons‘
preseason opener at the New York Jets.That one series was so flawed the coach
was tempted to give Ryan and the starters an opportunity for atonement.Quinn
stuck with his plan, but the bad series set the pace for a poor performance by
the offense in last week’s 17-0 loss to the Jets .On Monday, the focus shifted
to a fresh start for Ryan and the offense in Friday night’s second preseason
game against Kansas City.“That was obviously not what we wanted for the first
time out,” Ryan said after Monday’s practice. “Too many mistakes, too many
procedural penalties to put us behind the chains. There were some good things
too from the young guys but a lot for us to clean up. But that’s what this time
of year is about. It’s about seeing where you’re at and improving as we move
forward.”The Falcons were called for two penalties on Ryan’s only possession.
The first penalty, an illegal shift, came on Ryan’s 3-yard pass to Mohamed Sanu.
He also completed a pass to rookie Calvin Ridley for a loss of 2 yards.It was
such a marred and brief time on the field that Quinn said “there was definitely
a side of me” that wanted to reconsider the one-series plan for Ryan.Ultimately,
Quinn stayed true to his emphasis of evaluating as many players as possible ,
especially rookies. Wide receiver Julio Jones and running backs Devonta Freeman
and Tevin Coleman were held out.“I was tempted for sure because I certainly
didn’t like how it started, but at the end I wanted to stick with the plan
knowing there’s a lot we have to do from an evaluation standpoint,” Quinn said
Monday when asked about the possibility of giving Ryan another series.The
Falcons’ first-half statistics were especially ugly: 10 plays, one first down
and 34 total yards.Even in the first preseason game, when player evaluations are
more important than team
results
Black
Takkarist McKinley Jersey , it was an ugly showing for an offense seeking
improvement in coordinator Steve Sarkasian’s second year.“I was concerned,”
Quinn said before backtracking to say he didn’t know if that was “the right way
to say it.”“I think the penalties certainly got in our way some,” Quinn said.
“There were a lot of things I wasn’t happy with.”There are many areas where
Quinn will be looking for improvement.“I think the way we come off the ball, the
run game, the play-action that comes with it, the shots down the field, I didn’t
feel that to the extent I’d like to so I’m hopeful that some of those short
yardages now get converted, the drives get converted,” he said.Ryan and the
starters may have another brief stint against the Chiefs. Starters normally see
extended playing time in only the third preseason game.Ryan said the goal will
be to “clean up on some of the mistakes we made and try to play more efficient
and better football.”NOTES: After being held out against the Jets, PK Matt
Bryant (undisclosed injury) wore a cap instead of a helmet as he was a spectator
in the portion of practice open to reporters. The plan is for Bryant to kick in
practice Wednesday, and then a decision will be made on his status for Friday
night’s game. … OT Ty Sambrailo (right hand) returned to practice after missing
the game.Falcons vs. Saints: One reason to feel confident, one reason to worry
about Week 3 Every week, there are reasons to feel good about this Falcons
team
Takkarist
McKinley Jersey 2019 , and reasons to worry an awful lot. Here are those
reasons this week against the New Orleans Saints. Feel confident about the
Falcons offenseCam Jordan is a threat. The Saints defensive line in general is
quite solid, and they have a solid secondary on paper with second year studs
Marshon Lattimore and Ken Crawley. On paper.The reality is that this is the
weakest defense the Falcons have faced their year by a wide margin. There’s no
insanely deep collection of pass rushers like the Eagles brought to bear, and no
extremely beefy defensive tackle rotation to worry about. There’s no great
linebackers or safeties here to punish the Falcons. There’s just one elite pass
rusher, some very good linemen beside him, and some very good cornerbacks who
have scuffled early on in the year. The Falcons just hung 31 points on Carolina
and will have failed mightily if they come up significantly short of that
against the Saints. Feel worried about stopping the pass How could you not?The
Falcons still have one of the better cornerback corps in the game, which goes a
very long way against a Saints offense that has been content to spin out shorter
and shorter passes as Drew Brees ages. This is still a potent, volume-based
attack, however, and the Saints won’t be content to simply throw it to their
wide receivers.Instead, look for the Saints to challenge Damontae Kazee and this
group of linebackers early by throwing it to their tight end group and (most
dangerously) Alvin Kamara. Ideally, the Falcons would be able to clamp down on
that early and force Brees to challenge Atlanta’s cornerbacks, who are good
enough to at least slow this attack down significantly, if not come away with
some crucial interceptions.There’s also the question of whether the pass rush
can get home. Grady Jarrett has done yeoman’s work on the
interior
John
Cominsky Atlanta Falcons Jersey , but he’s the only defensive lineman
getting consistent pressure, with Takkarist McKinley also doing so. Takk is hurt
and may not play, though, leaving the Falcons with a potential Vic
Beasley/Brooks Reed/Steven Means rotation if Derrick Shelby also can’t go. It’s
hard to see a ton of production coming off the edge, and the team’s best hope is
probably to see Jarrett and Jack Crawford bringing heat right in Brees’ face.
I’m concerned that won’t happen, though, and if Brees can dink and dunk his way
down the field to Kamara and leave Duke Riley trying to catch up, the Falcons
are in trouble. That sets them up for success on offense more or less across the
board, and Kamara could punish this team in the open field. That may not
translate to a win for New Orleans, but it’s going to make for a very long
afternoon.
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