Falcons center Peter Konz, who’s set to make his first start of the season, will be on the hot set against the New York Giants on Sunday.
After the offensive line was ravaged against the Giants in the 2011 playoffs, the Falcons attempted to revamp the unit through the draft. They selected Konz in the second round of the 2012 draft with the hope that he would take over for Todd McClure.
He started last season, but couldn’t keep the job.
After the season, general manager Thomas Dimitroff acknowledged a “missed assessment” of the readiness of some players. It was clear that one of the players was Konz, who was beaten out by Joe Hawley this season.
Hawley suffered a season-ending right knee injury Sunday against Minnesota and now, Konz has a second-chance to prove his worthiness.
“I want to play with a chip (on my shoulder),” Konz said. “I want to play like I’ve got something to prove because it means a lot to me. This game means a lot to me, and this team means a lot to me.”
Quarterback Matt Ryan believes that Konz may flourish under new offensive line coach Mike Tice.
“Peter will do a great job,” Ryan said. “He’s obviously a guy who’s played a lot of football for us, and we’ve got a lot of trust in him when he’s out there. I think Mike Tice has him in a good place, and he’s ready to roll.”
He played 591 snaps and was the 34th (of 35) ranked centers in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus. He received a higher negative grade in run blocking than pass blocking. He also gave up two sacks, one quarterback hit and 14 hurries.
Konz had a strong offseason and worked to improve his strength. He has to anchor better than he did last season.
“He worked extremely hard, and he’s taking it really personally,” Ryan said.
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