Report card: How Falcons played Friday night before the big injury
Credit: AP
Here’s a look at the Falcons’ report card before the first exhibition game was suspended because of the injury to Lions safety Morice Norris on Friday night.
Quarterbacks: Easton Stick and Emory Jones took all of the snaps. Stick was efficient as he completed 15 of 18 passes for 149 yards and a touchdown. He had a passer rating of 119.7. Jones was 4-of-5 for 49 yards and had a 107.5 passer rating: Grade: A
Running backs: The rushing attack was nonexistent. Elijah Dotson received the start and had five carries for zero yards. Nate Carter had three carries for 12 yards. Jones had the longest run, 9 yards. Grade: F
Wide receivers/tight ends: Dylan Drummond had eight catches for 63 yards. Chris Blair had three catches for 54 yards and a 13-yard touchdown grab. Nick Nash had three catches for 35 yards. The much-hyped David Sills V had just one catch for 15 yards. Grade: B
Offensive line: The offensive line didn’t open up any holes in the run game and gave up two sacks. The starting lineup was left tackle Brandon Parker, left guard Elijah Wilkinson, center Jovaughn Gwyn, right guard Kyle Hinton and right tackle Jack Nelson. Grade: C
Defensive line: The Falcons had three sacks. Arnold Ebiketie, Brandon Dorlus and Khalid Kareem each had a sack. Rookies Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr. were not factors. Walker did make a tackle. Grade: C
Linebackers: Josh Woods and DeAngelo Malone started at the inside linebacker positions. Woods had a forced fumble and a team-leading seven tackles. Malone and Nick Kubitz finished with five tackles. Grade C-plus
Secondary: Veteran quarterback Kyle Allen had a nice 68-yard completion and a 1-yard touchdown throw. Lamar Jackson was in coverage on the long gainer and on the 1-yard touchdown pass. Dee Alford had a nice fumble recovery. Grade: D
Special teams: Bradley Pinion had some good plus 4-second hang times on his punts. Krieg was 1-of-2 on his field goal attempts, making a 57-yarder and missing a 53-yarder. There was nothing special in the return game. Grade: B
About the Author
Honored by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his "long and distinguished reporting in the field of pro football," D. Orlando Ledbetter, Esq. has covered the NFL 28 seasons. A graduate of Howard University, he's a winner of Georgia Sportswriter of the Year and three Associated Press Sports Editor awards.
