The Falcons offensive line won some battles and lost some during two 9-on7- periods against the Houston Texans’ stout defensive front in a joint practice at the Houston Methodist training center on Wednesday.
During the first period, the Falcons concentrated on running the football. Here's a video from parts of the practice.
In the second session, they were worked on pass protection.
All eyes were on the two top 10 draft picks, Falcons tackle Jake Matthews and Texans outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney. Matthews was picked sixth overall and Clowney, the former South Carolina star, was the first overall pick.
Both had flashes.
Matthews had some good plays against Texans defensive end J.J. Watt, the two-time All-Pro pick. With his dad Bruce Matthews watching, Matthews had a bad play that likely would have resulted in a holding penalty.
Matthews also had a good play against outside linebacker Brooks Reed, where he sealed him off from the ball carrier.
Clowney mostly went against Falcons left tackle Sam Baker. Baker had several good stops of Clowney. However, Reed did get past Baker on a pass rush that would have been a sack if the teams were tackling live.
The showing was much better than the offensive line had last season against the Cincinnati Bengals in a joint practice.
