Welcome to the Cover 9@9 blog — our weekly list of nine things that you need to know about the Atlanta Falcons.
1. The no spin zone. Falcons coach Dan Quinn was pleased with the play of the offensive and defensive lines in the opener against the Seahawks.
The offensive line will face a much stiffer test against the Cowboys, who feature pass rushers DeMarcus Lawrence, Aldon Smith and Everson Griffen, when they play at 1 p.m. Sunday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Smith, who had a bumpy start to his career, has reclaimed his life after being out of football for five seasons. Griffen came over from the Vikings.
Smith had 11 tackles, a tackle for a loss and two quarterback hits in the 20-17 loss to the Rams on Sunday.
Lawrence, a two-time Pro Bowl selection, recorded only one tackle and Griffen had three tackles and a pass breakup.
Quinn was pleased with how the offensive line held up when the Falcons had to pass against Seattle.
Tackles Jake Matthews and Kaleb McGary will need to play stout against the Cowboys perimeter guys. The Falcons also plan to continue to rotate rookie Matt Hennessy in at left guard with James Carpenter.
“Matt Hennessy, having the ability to work in at guard, playing inside, next to Jake and Alex (Mack),” Quinn said. "It’s kind of the ideal setting for a player to come in. Two veterans who really have their game in order. Rely on them, communicate with them.
“Good to see him get some snaps. Hopefully those were increase as we go.”
Carpenter and Hennessy will have to help Mack with former Falcons nose tackle Dontari Poe.
“I thought Carp played well,” Quinn said. "It was probably one of his better games he’s played as a Falcon. Having both of them in there, it’s good to get the looks against new guys in different spaces.
“I thought Carp came out of the game with a strong performance on his side of things. Yeah, live work as we’re going through it. Sometimes it’s not quite set. You need a few weeks to get into that space, roles to determine and go. You don’t want to it at a lot of positions, but you can manage it if it’s at one.”
2. Falcons are road 'dogs. The Falcons are 6-point underdogs against the Cowboys. But John Breech of CBS Sports picks the Falcons to win 34-31.
3. Morris, Whitt have work to do. Columnist Michael Cunningham was not happy with the play of the defensive backs and the team’s inability to develop replacements for Desmond Trufant and Robert Alford. He hates dead money on the salary cap, too.
The Falcons need to play tighter coverage or the season is doomed from the start. The headline on the column is “Falcons are in trouble if the defensive backs can’t cover.”
I’m thinking defensive coordinator Raheem Morris and defensive backs coach Joe Whitt will get them ready to perform much better than in the opener.
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
4. Analytics discussion. Falcons offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter had a good discussion with the media about going for it on fourth down and analytics. AJC contributor Jason Butt wrote a story where Koetter discusses analytics and his math prowess.
5. Series history: This will be the 27th regular-season meeting. Dallas leads the series, 15-11. Dallas is 2-0 against the Falcons in the playoffs including a crushing defeat after the 1980 regular season.
Before 28-3, there was 24-10.
The Falcons blew a 24-10 led against the Cowboys in their divisional playoff game Jan. 4, 1981. Danny White connected with Drew Pearson on a 23-yard touchdown pass with 42 seconds left.
The Falcons are 2-1 against the Cowboys under Quinn. Also, Breech points out that Quinn is 5-1 against Dallas coach Mike McCarthy.
6. Cannon at Madison Dinner. What was Falcons executive Steve Cannon doing at one of those taxpayer funded “Madison Dinners?”
He made the AJC’s The Jolt political column.
The Falcons declined comment on the matter – except to say that Cannon was not attending the dinner as a team representative. We’re told that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Cannon both graduated from West Point in 1986 and are personal friends.
7. Former Falcons corner. Was wondering how the former Falcons did in their debuts with their new teams.
Linebacker De’Vondre Campbell, who was the Falcons' leading tackler over the past two seasons, had a great debut with the Cardinals, who upset the 49ers, 24-20.
Campbell was the second leading tackler with seven behind safety Budda Baker, who had 15 tackles. Campbell played all 62 snaps on defense.
Cornerback Desmond Trufant had two tackles in Detroit’s 27-23 loss to Chicago. He played 48 of 65 defensive snaps (74%).
Tight end Austin Hooper caught 2 of 2 targets for 15 yards in Cleveland’s 38-6 loss to the Ravens. He played 56 of 73 snaps (77%).
8. Freeman watch. Former Falcons running back Devonta Freeman told our pal Josina Anderson, formerly of ESPN, that he’s ready to play and that he’s choosing between four teams. While Freeman is still looking for a job, former Falcons wide receiver Mohamed Sanu signed with the 49ers on Tuesday.
9. Depth chart: The Falcons waived offensive lineman Timon Parris from the 53-man roster and released cornerback Josh Hawkins from the practice squad, the team announced Tuesday, and later in the day signed offensive lineman John Wetzel.
The moves could open a spot for the Falcons to bring back wide receiver Laquon Treadwell to the practice squad. Treadwell was released by the team before the season.
The Falcons claimed Parris off waivers from Washington last week. He signed with Washington following the 2018 NFL draft. He has spent the majority of the past two seasons on Washington’s practice squad and appeared in four career games.
Hawkins has appeared in 32 games over four seasons with the Packers, Panthers, Chiefs and Eagles. He spent the first week of the 2020 season on the Falcons' practice squad after he signed in April.
The Falcons signed Wetzel from their practice squad. He has played in 42 NFL games, including two with the Falcons last season. He has been in the league since he was drafted by the Raiders in 2013.
Here’s a look at the official depth chart for the Dallas game, which was released on Tuesday:
OFFENSE
QB -- Matt Ryan, Matt Schaub
WR -- Julio Jones, Christian Blake
WR -- Calvin Ridley, Olamide Zaccheaus
WR -- Russell Gage, Brandon Powell
TE -- Hayden Hurst, Jaeden Graham, Luke Stocker
RB -- Todd Gurley, Brian Hill, Ito Smith, Qadree Ollison
FB -- Keith Smith
LT -- Jake Matthews, Matt Gono
LG -- James Carpenter, Matt Hennessy
C -- Alex Mack, Justin McCray
RG -- Chris Lindstrom
RT --Kaleb McGary, John Wetzel
DEFENSE
DE -- Takk McKinley, Allen Bailey, Charles Harris
DT -- Grady Jarrett, Marlon Davidson, Deadrin Senat
DT -- Tyeler Davison, John Cominsky
DE -- Dante Fowler, Jacob Tuioti-Mariner
LB -- Deion Jones, LaRoy Reynolds
LB -- Foye Oluokun, Mykal Walker
CB -- A.J. Terrell, Darqueze Dennard, Blidi Wreh-Wilson
CB -- Isaiah Oliver, Kendall Sheffield
FS -- Damontae Kazee, Sharrod Neasman
NS -- Ricardo Allen
SS -- Keanu Neal, Jaylinn Hawkins
SPECIAL TEAMS
K -- Younghoe Koo
P -- Sterling Hofrichter
LS -- Josh Harris
KR --Olamide Zaccheaus
PR --Brandon Powell
Holder -- Sterling Hofrichter
KO -- Younghoe Koo
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