Jacksonville — Falcons rookie left tackle Sam Baker, making his pro football debut Saturday, showed the poise on a veteran.

The former All-American from Southern California held up against three different defensive ends in the Falcons preseason opener against Jacksonville.

Curtis Compton/ccompton@ajc.com (ENLARGE)

Rookie offensive lineman Sam Baker keeps an eye on defenders as Matt Ryan drops back to pass. Baker lined up for about 40 snaps in the first half.

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Baker (6 feet 5, 312 pounds) was adept at handling Paul Spicer's combination of size, quickness and speed. Spicer, a nine-year veteran with 25 career sacks, did race around Baker on one play and sacked quarterback Chris Redman. Spicer's sack was nullified by a false start penalty on Jacksonville's Daryl Smith, the former Georgia Tech standout.

"Paul Spicer is a veteran and he tried to work [Baker] over a little bit," Falcons offensive line coach Paul Boudreau said. "[Baker] accepted the challenge and he did a nice job."

On the Falcons' third series, Baker got his first pancake block, taking Spicer down with a powerful move.

"I think it was a good first time out," Baker said. "But I'm telling you, I've still got a lot to learn."

Baker, who the Falcons are hoping can win the left tackle position, faced a change when Quentin Groves, a rookie from Auburn, entered the game. Groves is a speed rusher, at 259 pounds is a bit small for an NFL defensive end. Baker handled Groves with ease and was able to overpower him on some plays.

Groves got lost from Baker's replacement, Terrance Pennington, and registered a sack of Joey Harrington in the third quarter.

Baker left the game in the second quarter when he got poked in the eye.

"He took a thumb or scratch to the eye and we were talking about get him back in there," Boudreau said. "We were counting his snaps and he had about 40 snaps in the first half, so we really didn't need to put him back in there. He did a good job. There was nothing glaring. The projection was real good."

Last season, the Falcons offensive line had nine different starters, five different starting combinations and four different left tackles. The lack of stability led to pass blocking woes. The Falcons gave up 47 sacks and averaged only 3.9 yards rushing per carry.

With injuries to center Todd McClure (back) and right tackle Todd Weiner (knee), left guard Justin Blalock was the only starter from last season. Alex Stepanovich, a free agent from Cincinnati, started at center Saturday. Harvey Dahl started at right guard ahead of incumbent Kynan Forney and Tyson Clabo started at right tackle.

While Baker was fine, the unit did have some issues.

Clabo picked up an early personal foul on the third play of the game when he threw a defender to the ground well after the play ended.

Blalock, Baker and tight end Jason Rader also had false start penalties in the first half.

The line did give up two sacks in the first half but neither came from Baker's side.

Baker was certainly helped in pass protection by the Falcons quarterbacks Chris Redman and Matt Ryan. They rarely threw long passes that required deep drops and a longer protection times.

Ryan was getting the ball out quickly and was particularly sharp on an 11-play, 74-yard touchdown drive.

The Falcons have been criticized for trading up to draft Baker, who had a second- and third-round draft status by many. But the position was such a big need and left tackles were going fast in the draft , so the Falcons made a move.