Falcons trying to walk the line, avoid penalties

FLOWERY BRANCH – Falcons left tackle Sam Baker has drawn the scrutiny of the officials early this season.

He's been whistled for four holding calls in the first two games, which equates to once every six Atlanta possessions.

"Yeah, they got me for a couple," Baker said on Monday. "I think it comes down to playing your techniques and playing to the line and not going over it."

Falcons coach Mike Smith preaches to the team about being aggressive, playing until they hear the whistle and playing on the edge. However, players may have trouble pursuing that aggressive brand of football without going over that proverbial edge.

"It's difficult," Baker admitted. "You have got to be on that line. The refs will warn you. They'll let you know where that line is going to be for that day. Then you have to take the responsibility to find where that is."

Smith believes that the rash of holding calls on Baker are related to the new positioning rules of the umpire, who now lines up in the offensive backfield and not behind the defensive line. While Smith doesn't want to appear to be making excuses for Baker, he said the coaching staff does plan to monitor when the offensive holding calls are made and by which official.

"We have to make sure that we understand how they are calling the game," Smith said.

Smith would not concede that Baker has a specific problem with holding.

"I don't know that there is any issue," Smith said. "The umpire is definitely in a new position. We've got to block better. We can't have offensive holding penalties."

Overall, the Falcons have been called for nine penalties for 99 yards in the two games. In Sunday's 41-7 pummeling of the Cardinals, they had six penalties for 75 yards.

Smith was also troubled by the three unnecessary roughness calls, which may have been by-products of the team establishing a more physical tone after losing 15-9 to Pittsburgh in overtime in the opener.

Fullback Ovie Mughelli, wide receiver Brian Finneran and safety William Moore were all called for unnecessary roughness penalties against the Cardinals. Finneran got tangled up with Arizona safety Adrian Wilson around a pile of players.