Falcons cornerback Robert Alford had a rough time in the first game against the Panthers.
He gave up on a play that ended with Panthers wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. scoring on a 74-yard touchdown. Alford thought that Ginn Jr. stepped out of bounds and that he saw a penalty flag.
Alford had a meeting with coach Dan Quinn afterward, but wasn’t disciplined.
Quinn noted Alford was the same player who helped defeat Washington with an interception return in overtime and he bounced back with a strong perf0rmance against Jacksonville.
Alford had a tackle and two passes defensed. He also had a tackle on special teams.
“I wasn’t surprised that Rock came back and had a rock solid performance,” Quinn said. “It was no doubt because it went that way in practice. He’s a great competitor.”
Alford was down in the dumps after the Carolina game.
“He was down, really down,” Quinn said. “The competitor that he is, he’s also ready to get back to work, and that’s exactly what happened all the way throughout the week. We knew he was really going to be ready to play well.”
Alford is not the only player who must rebound against the Panthers.
Defensive tackle Ra’Shede Hageman had a meltdown in which he shoved a couple of his teammates and got in a shoving match with defensive line coach Bryan Cox.
He also elevated his play against Jacksonville and finished with three tackles and a batted down a pass.
Right tackle Ryan Schraeder was yanked by Quinn after he took down one of the Panthers after the whistle. He received an unsportsmanlike penalty and was replaced by Jake Long.
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