Atlanta Falcons: Pre-season Game One Notes
By Kit Anderson
The Atlanta Falcons had their first game action since the Super Bowl losing to the Miami Dolphins. While wins are nice they are also meaningless as the focus is on position battles.
The Atlanta Falcons first team offense didn’t miss a beat on Thursday night with Matt Ryan going a perfect three-for-three and passing for a touchdown. The offense looked as sharp as it did last off-season though the Dolphin’s defense may not be the best test.
Position battles at kick-returner and running back were the focus of the game with Terron Ward looking sharp and Brian Hill looking solid though he was obviously outplayed by Ward. The battle for third string running back behind Tevin Coleman and Devonta Freeman will be an interesting position battle to watch as the pre-season continues.
While the job may still be open to competition Andre Roberts has all but locked up the role with a nice run early in the game. His competition fumbled and failed to make much of an impact. While it is still a bit early to hand out the job just yet it would take Roberts struggling for anyone to pass him on the depth chart at this point.
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Elsewhere the Falcon’s receiving core looked sharp with Austin Hooper getting involved early and showing depth at the receiver position. The one gaffe on the night for the Falcons was a missed field goal from Matt Bryant. While that isn’t a concern this early in pre-season it is important to remember Bryant’s age and to keep an eye on him for the remainder of camp.
Next: Braves Off-season Targets
The Falcon’s young defense looked as fast as advertised and should continue to take steps forward both in the regular season and through-out the next few games. The Falcons next game will be on NFL Network on August 20th against the Steelers.