The Falcons’ first-team offense was disjointed and unable to sustain drives in the red-white scrimmage over the past two practices.
There were interceptions, wrong routes ran and the pass blocking by the revamped offensive line was shaky. Wide receivers Julio Jones (foot injury) and Calvin Ridley (hamstring) were not available.
Quarterback Matt Ryan was on the move too much as he tried to rally his team, but was defeated, 23-15, by the reserves on Monday.
Ryan likes the additions of offensive linemen James Carpenter, Jamon Brown, Chris Lindstrom and Kaleb McGary.
Credit: Curtis Compton
Credit: Curtis Compton
“You’ve got four news guys in the building that are talented, tough and add to the unit as a whole,” Ryan said. “Right now, it’s a work in progress. We are figuring out who fits well together and who fits where.
“I’m just happy with the way those guys are approaching it, working it and competing in a good way to make us better.”
The play of the offense, after seven practices, was not inspiring.
“Guys have worked really hard, but we’ve got a long way to go to be the kind of football team that we want to be,” Ryan said. “We’ve got a lot of hard work in front of us.”
Ryan is not alarmed. The defense is normally ahead of the offense early in training camp.
Also, the Falcons, who are playing in the Pro Football Hall of Fame exhibition game, have an extra week of practice.
“We have a long way to go,” Ryan repeated. “(Matt Schaub) reminded me this morning as we were warming up, that it’s not even August yet.
“So, we have a ways to go with training camp. It’s good for us. The extra work, the additional days that we’ve gotten, I think that’s going to help us. It’s an advantage for us. I think the guys have the right mindset. There’s a lot of hard work in front of us and you just have to focus on that day to day.”
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