No that's not Tony Gonzales but it is the Falcon throwbacks that they will be wearing this year. Now back to the subject.....
On their first possession of the pre-season against Detroit the Falcons first string offense punted. Since then they have had 3 consecutive touchdown drives. Michael Turner ran through a Detroit defense that looked like they were scared to tackle him in the first pre-season game. In last nights game Michael Turner looked like a man playing against boys. Turner has 13 attempts this pre-season for 128 yards (that’s 9.8 ypc) and 2 TDs. Matt Ryan is 12 of 15 in the pre-season for 114 yards and 1 TD (that’s a QB rating of 120.6). Tony Gonzalez and Matty Ice look to be getting on the same page as they connected tonight on a third down conversion and on their first TD pass. These three guys look like they have the Falcons poised to fly high this year. It’s only the pre-season but the Falcons have the ability to have a Top 5 offense in the NFL this year as in addition to the three guys already mentioned the Falcons also have Roddy White, Jerious Norwood and Michael Jenkins as offensive weapons.
All eyes for the next two pre-season games will be on the defense. The first string defense has been really solid so far for the Falcons. In the first pre-season game the Lions scored a FG on their first drive after being stopped at the goaline but then went 5 straight possessions without scoring. The Lions eventually took advantage of the Falcons second and third string units but the first unit only gave up 3 points. In last nights game against the Rams they only scored 3 points in the first 6 possessions of the game. So by my count that’s only 6 points given up by the first stringers this pre-season. Granted we’ve played two of the worst teams in the NFL this year (and the Lions played without their best offensive player in Game One) but it’s promising considering the huge changeover the Falcons defense has gone through this off-season (gone are Keith Brooking, Grady Jackson, Lawyer Milloy, Dominique Foxworth and Michael Boley). 4th Round Pick Lawrence Sidbury stood out last night with 2 sacks. Stephen Nichols has looked really good at LB and Brent Grimes and rookie Christopher Owens (he got a fumble recover last night and seems to have a knack for finding the football) are looking like they could be players for us this year.
Watch out NFL, the Falcons offense could be pretty special this year. Let’s see if the defense can hold up their end of things.
All eyes for the next two pre-season games will be on the defense. The first string defense has been really solid so far for the Falcons. In the first pre-season game the Lions scored a FG on their first drive after being stopped at the goaline but then went 5 straight possessions without scoring. The Lions eventually took advantage of the Falcons second and third string units but the first unit only gave up 3 points. In last nights game against the Rams they only scored 3 points in the first 6 possessions of the game. So by my count that’s only 6 points given up by the first stringers this pre-season. Granted we’ve played two of the worst teams in the NFL this year (and the Lions played without their best offensive player in Game One) but it’s promising considering the huge changeover the Falcons defense has gone through this off-season (gone are Keith Brooking, Grady Jackson, Lawyer Milloy, Dominique Foxworth and Michael Boley). 4th Round Pick Lawrence Sidbury stood out last night with 2 sacks. Stephen Nichols has looked really good at LB and Brent Grimes and rookie Christopher Owens (he got a fumble recover last night and seems to have a knack for finding the football) are looking like they could be players for us this year.
Watch out NFL, the Falcons offense could be pretty special this year. Let’s see if the defense can hold up their end of things.
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