FLOWERY BRANCH — After not playing a snap in the exhibition games, Falcons All-Pro right guard Chris Lindstrom and center Drew Dalman believe the offensive line is ready for game action.
The Falcons are set to open the regular season against the Steelers at 1 p.m. Sept. 8 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“I just think there is excitement this time of the year,” Lindstrom said. “You are heading into Week 1. There are a lot of expectations and a lot of goals for ourselves. This is the first week it’s real.”
The Steelers’ defensive front features defensive end/tackle Cameron Heyward and outside linebacker T.J. Watt.
Heyward, the son of former Falcons great Craig “Ironhead” Heyward, played at Whitefield Academy and Peachtree Ridge High before starring at Ohio State. He has 80.5 career sacks.
In 2017, the Falcons picked defensive end Takk McKinley (26th) over Watt, who went 30th to the Steelers. McKinley turned out to be a journeyman, while Watt has registered 96.5 sacks.
“To be able to go out there against a great front that the Steelers have and be able to compete, I’m just really excited,” said Lindstrom, who’s been named second-team All-Pro and made the Pro Bowl the past two seasons. “This is what we do it for. Now, it’s time to do it for real.”
Dalman is in charge of making all of the line’s blocking calls and is set for his third season as a starter.
“I’m excited, kind of like every season,” Dalman said. “I really try to focus on my own personal development, the (offensive) line’s performance, and I really tend not to worry too much about the larger expectations or predictions or things like that.”
Offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford was retained by coach Raheem Morris and given an expanded role of run-game coordinator.
“He has this amazing culture that he’s formed in our (offensive) line (meeting) room,” Morris said. “I said, ‘Hey, you’ve got to bring that outside of the (offensive) line room’, and he’s been able to bring that culture to the tight ends, to our running backs.”
The offensive line was a strength of the team under coach Arthur Smith. Morris wants that to continue.
“The excitement that he has been able to bring outside of that room with that (offensive) line, where they’re got their own little cultish type of behavior that’s starting to spread throughout the team and our offense,” Morris said.
Lindstrom believes that toughness will continue.
“Just the way we play up front, nothing is going to change,” Lindstrom said. “I think the standard has been set. Led has that for us, where we going to play fast up front. He always says ‘speed off the ball,’ then just try and finish and let those guys make their plays.”
Lindstrom believes the offense has a chance to be high-powered.
“That’s our job to watch (quarterback) Kirk (Cousins) and all of those guys,” Lindstrom said. “I’m so excited to watch the explosives that they are able to make because there is nothing more rewarding than watching those guys have success.”
The Falcons had two joint practices with Miami and focused on having competitive practices instead of playing most of their starters in the exhibition games.
“I think guys have done a great job of it,” Dalman said. “Across the board, we’ve got guys that work incredibly hard on both sides of the ball. I think guys just see our best players are our hardest workers in the locker room. The Jake Matthews, the Chris Lindstroms, the Grady Jarretts and the Jessie Bates, all of those guys, they see them and kind of understand that’s a recipe for success. It kind of seeps out from the guys who do it really well.”
Dalman is looking forward to working closely with Cousins.
“He’s just an incredible pro,” Dalman said. “He has great habits. Has knowledge of the game. Incredible player. So, I have a ton to learn from him. He’s been a great huge asset in kind of guiding us and letting us know what we need to do and the expectations we need to meet.”
The Falcons’ continuity up front should help them even though they didn’t play in exhibition games.
“We have so many reps together as a group, that we really know what our best is every single day,” Lindstrom said. “So, when a guy is not bringing their best, everybody else pushes them along. So, when you have a really healthy culture in that sense, you can never really have a bad day.”
Lindstrom and the lineman look to Ledford to set the tone.
“I think he can be a WWE wrestler in a different career,” Lindstrom said. “So he brings that passion and energy every single day.”
So, what would be his wrestling name?
“He’s got one or has thought of one once in his life,” Lindstrom said.
About the Author
