ATL All Day
Fansided

Atlanta Falcons Showoff Early Against the Titans

By Adam Greene

facebooktwitterreddit

The new look Atlanta Falcons showed off their new schemes in their preseason opener at home against the Tennessee Titans, and they impressed early and often.

Matt Ryan looked good early and found Leonard Hankerson on a good 3rd and 6 play. Having him in the mix for the Falcons Receivers bodes well for the team this year. He’s also familiar with the Kyle Shanahan system from their time in Washington. It will be interesting to see where Matt Ryan will be getting the ball out to if the tight ends struggle in the Falcons new system. Hankerson could easily be one of those pick-ups for the Falcons that goes under the radar at first before Fantasy Football owners are clamoring to get him.

-= Related: Atlanta Falcons: 5 Players to Benefit Most From Preseason =-

I liked how on the first drive that they were able to spread the ball around. Patrick DiMarco had a nice 12 yard pass thrown to him and Matt Ryan was also about to hook up with Julio Jones as well for an easy touchdown. In the open field, Julio showed us early that he is a dominant receiver for the Atlanta Falcons as he was able to show off a couple of juke moves on his way to the pay dirt for a quick 6. The drive seemed to go along well without any hitches, so more of that will surely be welcome, as they were also able to chew up nearly 5 minutes worth of clock.

Live Feed

Falcons vs. Panthers prediction, odds, spread, injuries, trends for NFL Week 15
Falcons vs. Panthers prediction, odds, spread, injuries, trends for NFL Week 15 /

Blogging Dirty

  • Every NFL Team's Playoff Odds Following Week 14 (Two New Division Leaders in NFC)Betsided
  • NFC South Odds: Who Will Win the Worst Division in Football?Betsided
  • Atlanta Falcons have yet another chance to slip back into playoff picture Blogging Dirty
  • NFL Week 15 Survivor Pool Picks (Trust Rams, Fade Panthers in Top Predictions)Betsided
  • Road to 272 Bets - NFL Week 15 Picks for Every Game Betsided

    • Marcus Mariota made his NFL debut for the Tennessee Titans and faced a Falcons defense that showed how hungry they were to get after the ball, as they were able to have Paul Soliai make a huge sack on Mariota. The Atlanta Falcons’ front line looks promising, and the Titans tested them early with a few run plays lead by Bishop Sankey. Vic Beasley Jr. got pushed around a little by the Titans’ former first round pick Taylor Lewan, but it didn’t take the rookie very long to adjust.

    The drive for the Titans ended abruptly as Justin Durant was able to pick off Mariota the very next play. The Falcons looked very aggressive early and hopefully we will be seeing more of that going forward. Granted, it is only the first pre-season game, you can’t argue that they look worse than they did last year. Thankfully, anything will be an improvement.

    East Cobb native TJ Yates took over for Matt Ryan at quarterback on the second drive and didn’t find much success despite having stellar field position from the 11 yard line of the Titans after the interception. The Titans took a gamble when the Falcons committed a penalty on third down by backing them up to the 21 instead of letting it get to 4th down. The snap for the Falcons was horrendous and left TJ Yates with no option but to fall on the ball and have old faithful, Matt Bryant boot it through the uprights, quickly making it 10-0 over the Titans in the first.

    More from ATL All Day

    In pre-season games like this, the first few possessions are the most important as the starting offensive and defensive units are on the field against each other. Had the Atlanta Falcons kept up the same pace all game, they would have easily sent the Titans back to Nashville with a loss, as the defense was able to chase off Mariota for the second time in as many tries by stripping the ball for a fumble and taking it to the house for another quick 6 and making the score 17-0.

    The Atlanta Falcons allowed a touchdown by Dexter McCluster early in the 2nd quarter after a nice pass by Marcus Mariota. Good for Marcus for not being phased by his misfortunes against a Falcons defense that got after him early in the first few drives. Fans were able to see Antone Smith break off several good runs early in the second as well. People aren’t giving up on him quite yet at being the starting back in the rotation, and from what we saw tonight, could you blame them?

    More from Atlanta Falcons

    TJ Yates had an abysmal night behind center, so let’s hope that we can see an improvement there. Granted, it wasn’t all his fault. His offensive line collapsed a few times and he threw a bizarre interception that bounced off his receiver on the ground.

    All-in-all, the Atlanta Falcons look like they could be serious contenders in their division against the Carolina Panthers. Look for, and let’s hope for, that they continue to show improvements on both sides of the ball going forward. If we see more of what we did tonight early, then we’ll certainly see some success this year.

    Next: Antone Smith: Back to Full Strength in 2015?

    More from ATL All Day

    Home/Atlanta Falcons