The Toughness Crusade took one on the chin in Cincinnati. The Falcons failed their first major physical test of the 2014 season.
The franchise spent $80.5 million in free agency and expended two high draft picks with the hopes of being stouter in the trenches along both offensive and defensive lines.
Additionally, an inordinate amount of time was exhausted debating — externally and internally — if they were tough enough to rebound from last season’s 4-12 campaign.
When the NFL schedule came out, the Falcons knew they could judge their improvement when they faced the Cincinnati Bengals, stout on the offensive line and mean and nasty on defensive front.
The Falcons failed the exam on both sides of the ball Sunday. The defense was unable to stop the run. The offensive line, minus two projected starters, was not able to protect quarterback Matt Ryan.
“It’s a concern,” coach Mike Smith admitted.
The Bengals, after all, are the defending AFC North champs. “Experts (note) that the AFC North is probably the most physical division in all of football,” Smith said.
The Falcons were without one of their offensive upgrades in left tackle Jake Matthews, who was out with an ankle sprain. Sam Baker, the projected starting left tackle, is out for the season with a knee injury.
Matthews practiced on Monday in a limited role and expects to play against Tampa Bay on Thursday at the Georgia Dome.
“I know that I personally think I’ll be ready to play,” Matthews said. “But we’ll see how the week of practice goes and we’ll see what Coach (Smith) has to say.”
Right guard Jon Asamoah ($22.5 million) was added in free agency to firm up the interior of the pocket alongside incumbent center Joe Hawley and left guard Justin Blalock.
Ryan was sacked twice against Cincinnati, but was hit nine times and had 12 passes broken up. He was dodging around the backfield for most the day and took off on three runs for 28 yards that netted two first downs.
The Bengals pressured Ryan on nearly 39 percent of his dropbacks, but only blitzed on 14 of 49 passing snaps, according to analytics site, profootballfocus.com. Ryan had a 61.9 passer rating when not blitzed and just an 8.5 passer rating when blitzed.
“We weren’t able to get the ball down the field and create explosive plays,” Smith said.
The Bengals most feared defensive lineman, Geno Atkins, wasn’t dominant. He played 46 of 69 snaps and had two quarterback hurries in 39 snaps rushing the passer, according to profootballfocus.com.
While Atkins is working his way back into form after suffering a torn ACL last season, defensive end Carlos Dunlap was the Bengals’ most disruptive player. He helped to shut down the Falcons with six pressures, a pass breakup and three tackles.
On the Atlanta defensive side of the ball, linemen Paul Soliai ($33 million) and Tyson Jackson ($25 million) were added in free agency. Defensive tackle Ra’Shede Hageman was drafted in the second round.
Soliai was strong Sunday with six tackles, but received little help. Jonathan Babineaux was the only other defensive linemen with a solid game against the Bengals, who rushed for 170 yards.
The Falcons’ defense has yet to show any tangible improvement from last season’s poor showing. The team ranks last in yards allowed per game (472) and per play (6.79). They are also 32nd in yards allowed per passing play (9.62), nearly 1 1/2 yards more than 31st-place Kansas City.
“You’ve got to get stops,” Smith said. “You’ve got to force punts. You’ve got to be able to change the field position.”
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