Battling for job, Wilson has respectable outing

By D. Orlando Ledbetter

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Falcons reserve quarterback John Parker Wilson, an undrafted rookie free agent from Alabama, had a respectable showing in his first extended NFL action.

He relieved Matt Ryan in the first quarter of the exhibition season finale against the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night at the Georgia Dome.

Wilson finished the first half and played well into the third quarter. He led the team to two field-goal attempts; one was missed by Jason Elam.

Wilson got off to a shaky start before he settled down.

His first drive was a three-and-out, that featured a sack and a declined illegal-receiver-downfield penalty.

He started to warm up by his second series, when he connected with Brian Finneran to pick up a first down.

Wilson was a prep legend in Alabama, leading Hoover High in suburban Birmingham to three consecutive state championships. Last season, he had the Crimson Tide in the hunt for the national championship before they lost in the SEC championship game.

He went undrafted because several NFL teams questioned his arm strength and ability to drive the ball downfield against NFL quality secondaries.

Against the Ravens, Wilson threw most of his passes inside the hashmarks on a variety of slant patterns. He ventured downfield late in the second quarter, but Robert Ferguson couldn’t haul in a pass in the back of the end zone and get both of his feet inbounds.

Before giving way to D.J. Shockley with 2:14 left in the third quarter, Wilson completed 13 of 19 passes for 80 yards. He completed passes to eight different receivers, but his longest completion was a 13-yarder to tight end Keith Zinger.

Etc.

● Center Todd McClure and defensive end John Abraham did not play. Brett Romberg started for McClure and Kroy Biermann, who had a sack, started for Abraham.

● Backup running back Thomas Brown, a former University of Georgia standout, broke loose on a 25-yard gain in the third quarter. He also returned kickoffs.

● In a mild surprise, tight end Ben Hartsock was released this week. That left Zinger and Jason Rader to battle for the third tight end position. On a third-and-7 from the 23 in the third quarter, Zinger helped his case when he came down with a 13-yard reception.

● Punt returner Chandler Williams, attempting to impress the coaches, let a punt go into the end zone, but then threw a hard block on one of Baltimore’s gunners to stop him from downing the ball before it went into the end zone.

● Jayson Foster, a former Georgia Southern and Cherokee High standout, caught a pass for a 7-yard gain in the first half for the Ravens. He has also been in camp with Miami, Denver and Pittsburgh.