Ungainly performance raises questions about Falcons’ prospects
Perhaps we’ll all look back in a few months and laugh at our naivete.
Maybe by winter we’ll be able to file this one under “a decent team just happened to play like it had just woken up from a pleasant nap.”
But if their first exhibition game was a truthful look into what we can expect from the Falcons this season as they try to end their eight-year postseason drought … yikes.
From the shoddy blocking to the ineffective run defense to the panoply of penalties, the Falcons’ messy 27-7 loss to the Denver Broncos offered powerful incentive to flip over to see how the Braves were doing.
“Plenty to clean up,” coach Kevin Stefanski said after his first time on the Falcons’ sideline.
Friday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the Falcons’ new triumvirate of president of football Matt Ryan, general manager Ian Cunningham and Stefanski gave the public its first official look at a roster whose floor is supposed to have been raised.
The Falcons were outplayed and trampled, and were getting lightly booed by the home crowd before the first half was over. Given that Denver outgained the Falcons 224-119 in that half — during which it also accumulated 14 first downs to the Falcons’ six, won the turnover margin 2-0 (one of which was an interception returned 97 yards for a touchdown) and took a 24-0 lead — it would be hard to blame fans for their response.
“The big message for this entire football team is, you have to take the practice field to the game field and I didn’t think we did that in a bunch of areas, including penalties (Friday),” Stefanski said.
You could take comfort that many starters barely played. But that was kind of the point Friday.
Raising the floor means improving the depth. And the first half of the exhibition did little to give off the impression that anything from last year’s team had been elevated.
The Broncos offensive line consistently dislodged the Falcons defensive front off the line of scrimmage on run plays, allowing Denver to run 17 times for 94 yards in the first half.
When Denver quarterback Jarrett Stidham dropped back to pass, he threw from clean pockets. He had time and room to rip downfield throws that went for 23, 24 and 40 yards as he completed nine of 15 attempts.
It shined a spotlight on the Falcons’ edge rushers, a group drastically depleted with Jalon Walker’s season-ending ACL tear and Friday’s news that James Pearce Jr. will be suspended for the first eight games of the season for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy.
Azeez Ojulari, Cameron Thomas and Samson Ebukam, edge rushers all signed in the offseason, were largely contained by Denver — though Ojulari did contribute the team’s lone sack of the night.
“Confident in our (edge rushing) group,” Stefanski said. “Injuries are a part of the game; we’ve talked about that with losing Jalon. Don’t like it, but we trust that we have the guys to step up.”
On the other side, the Falcons ran 11 times in the first half for 35 yards. (Star running back Bijan Robinson did not play.)
Of the seven first-half drives, six lasted five plays or fewer before the Falcons either punted (five times) or were intercepted (once). On the other possession, newly arrived quarterback Cooper Rush led a 14-play possession from the Falcons’ 34-yard line to the Denver 7, but then threw a pass that was intercepted and returned 97 yards for a touchdown.
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, and then Rush, contended frequently with pass rushers in their face. Rookie Ethan Onianwa, the seventh-round pick who had earned first-team reps in recent training camp practices, had an understandably rough evening as a pass blocker in his first action as a professional.
Veteran tackles Michael Jerrell and Brandon Walton, the latter signed in the offseason as potential depth, had some of their own pass-blocking challenges. Perhaps it was rust getting knocked loose.
“Better to have it now than Week 1, obviously,” left guard Matthew Bergeron said. “Week 1 is real bullets.”
The Falcons are counting on mainstay Jake Matthews at left tackle and Jawaan Taylor (signed as a free agent after the April retirement of Kaleb McGary) at right tackle. But Matthews, who left the exhibition after one series with an injury that Stefanski indicated was not serious, is 34 years old. Taylor’s track record with Kansas City does not promise consistent play.
One of the tackles on the field Friday may be called on this season. Their play did not offer much assurance that they’ll be up to it.
“We’re working, as you guys have seen, in practice and then in these games, we’re working a bunch of people in those positions,” Stefanski said. “And we’ll continue to do that and we’re excited about the work that the guys are doing.”
With two more exhibitions before the regular season, this game will be forgotten soon enough.
For the Falcons’ sake, it’s probably just as well.
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