FLOWERY BRANCH — The Falcons and Lions agreed to play their starters in the exhibition opener at 6 p.m. Friday at Ford Field.
Falcons coach Arthur Smith and Lions coach Dan Campbell, both in their second seasons, have been in contact, according to the Lions’ Twitter account. Campbell is hoping to leave his starters in for a quarter.
“See these guys come out and execute against a different team and scheme,” Smith said of what he wanted to see against the Lions. “Things that you try to simulate in practice that you can’t simulate in games. The liveliness of the pocket, the quarterback, tackling, all of the stuff that you want to see.”
This is a major departure from recent seasons when most teams rarely played key starters during the exhibition season.
Last season, Smith played the starters sparingly. In the season opener, the Falcons looked disconnected and were trounced 32-6 by the Eagles. The Lions lost their opener to the 49ers, 41-33.
Smith, several times over the offseason, said he planned to play the starters. He also added an extra joint practice.
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