Falcons gave fans at treat Friday Night Lights event

By D. Orlando Ledbetter

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The skies cleared shortly before kickoff at the Falcons' intrasquad scrimmage at North Gwinnett High School on Friday night.

While nearby-lightning threatened the action, a crowd of 12,200 made its way out for an up-close sneak-a-peek at the 2010 team.

"I'm a die-hard fan," said Norm Leverance, 45, of Woodstock, who was sporting a faded No. 45 T.J. Duckett jersey. "Since ‘79, I've been watching them. I used to sit in Fulton County Stadium on that hard cement and freeze my butt off. I like Mike Kenn and all of those guys."

In a scoring system designed by coach Mike Smith that awarded the defense for sacks, stops and tackles for losses, the offense outscored the defense, 39-22.

Running backs Antone Smith and Jason Snelling scored touchdowns. The offense also could score points for making consecutive first downs and hitting on plays of 20 yards or more.

Wide receiver Michael Jenkins appeared to suffer a shoulder injury when he dropped a deep pass from Matt Ryan. Also, reserve safety Matt Giordano appeared to injury his knee.

Quarterbacks Ryan, Chris Redman and John Parker Wilson played with blue jerseys and were not allowed to be hit.

Smith used the scrimmage to get a look at his kickers, Matt Bryant and Steven Hauschka.

Before the scrimmage started, they both made all of their field goals from 33, 38, 43 and 48 yards. Bryant got his 48-yard field-goal attempt off in 1.15 seconds, and Hauschka got his off in 1.39 seconds.

"We want to make sure we are getting it off in the prescribed time," Smith said.

Leverance was impressed with what he saw.

"I think they have a lot of depth," Leverance said. "We have a good defense. We've got some good defensive backs."

Buddies Jarrett Smith, 20, and Dane Poindexter, 19, are college students and generally can't get home for regular-season games. They attended Riverwood High together.

Now, Smith is an economics major at Washington and Lee, and Poindexter is a computer information systems major at North Carolina-Greensboro.

"It definitely was a great time to come and see the Falcons, and it's free," Smith said. "I want to get a feel for some of the new guys that we have coming in because it’s a new season."

Smith said he was impressed with safety William Moore.

"I think they are looking great," Smith said. "John Parker Wilson played a lot better than [Chris] Redman today, and I'm excited about the season, as always."

Poindexter was scouting for his fantasy football team.

"I'm going to pick Michael Turner," Poindexter said. "I picked him last year, but he didn’t do too good. I'm going to try him again. They say he lost a lot of weight."

The event was taped by the NFL Network, and former linebacker Jesse Tuggle was in attendance.

"One of the great players in Falcons history is here," Falcons broadcaster David Archer told the crowd. The Hammer, a member of the franchise's ring of honor, received a loud applause from the crowd.

At halftime, the field was lined with about 500 youth cheerleaders. After the game, fireworks lit up the sky on what turned out to be a nice summer night.