FLOWERY BRANCH — About the only person happier than Tyson Clabo and Justin Blalock was Falcons’ offensive line coach Paul Boudreau after the team retained two of their three free-agent starting offensive linemen.
The return of Clabo and Blalock meant that most of the unit that has powered the Falcons to three consecutive winning seasons would remain intact. Clabo is set at right tackle and Blalock at left guard.
Clabo and Blalock will join center Todd McClure and left tackle Sam Baker. Garrett Reynolds and Mike Johnson are battling to replace Harvey Dahl, who signed with St. Louis during free agency.
“It is always good to have guys that have been around, know each other and know our system,” Boudreau said Tuesday after practice. “Now, we are going to try to find a guy who can replace Harvey and play with that kind of intensity. We want to have the same kind of chemistry that we had up front.”
However, the happiness hasn’t lasted long for Boudreau.
The offensive line is coming off a shaky showing against Jacksonville in the second exhibition game. Backup center Joe Hawley was starting for McClure, and the unit was out of sync.
While quarterback Matt Ryan was never sacked against the Jaguars, he was running for his life on a couple of plays. Boudreau seems to take it personally when he sees Ryan running around the pocket.
“Right now, we have a lot of work to do,” Boudreau said. “We have got two games to get better. We have a lot of snaps to take before we decide on who is going to make this football team.”
Boudreau, who has been an offensive line coach in the NFL since 1987, would not point out that Hawley, a second-year player, missed a couple of pass protections or that Reynolds is still getting comfortable at right guard.
“The big thing is that we’ve lost a lot with no OTAs, no minicamp, and the little details are what we are missing now,” Boudreau said. “I looked at last year when we played Miami, and when I looked at the game against Miami this year, our pad level is too high. We are not using our hands the right way.”
Boudreau demands that his linemen become master technicians before they turn into mean and nasty maulers.
“We have a lot of work to do before we get to Chicago,” Boudreau said. “We are running out of time, so we have to catch up fast.”
The competition at right guard is going down to the exhibition-season wire.
“They’ve got basically 85 to 90 snaps to win the job,” Boudreau said. “We are going to make it competitive, and the guy that is going to be left there, is going to be there because he earned it.”
Reynolds was a fifth-round pick in 2009. Johnson was a third-round pick last year. Reynolds has more experience, and it’s reasonable to conclude that Johnson wasn’t drafted so high because he looks good in warm-ups and watching games from the Georgia Dome sidelines.
“When we came in as a coaching staff four years ago, [Mike Smith] said the best five guys are going to play,” Boudreau said. “It didn’t matter about draft choices, how much money they made or if they were free agents. It’s the best guy.
“When you make it competitive, you should get the best five at the end because they earned it. Not because any other reason.”
Reynolds has started the two exhibition games and continues to work with the first-team offense. Johnson missed a week of training camp with a concussion.
“[Reynolds] understands our system,” Boudreau said. “He hasn’t been just sitting in the classroom taking up space. He has come in since his rookie year, and he’s prepared like he is the starter. ... he’s got great size. He could be a dominant blocker.”
Reynolds will have to show that he can hold up in pass protection.
“Right now, the little things on pass stunts, we’re on the edge and we have to be cleaner,” Boudreau said. “It’s nonverbal communication. Right now we don’t have that.”
Boudreau contends that he normally sees the biggest growth spurt in his linemen after their first season and after they go through organized team activities and minicamp.
