Last night was a wonderful one for sports fans, as both the Atlanta Braves & the Atlanta Falcons were on TV at the same time, as well as a handful of other MLB & NFL games to watch. I flipped between watching the Braves & the Falcons, & was rarely interrupted by commercials. I’ve since watched the highlights of both games & caught up on all of the action that I’ve missed. Both teams won in dramatic fashion against crappy teams that played great games against them. Enough about the Braves though, let’s focus on what we learned in last night’s Falcons victory.
Desmond Ridder’s “got that dog in him”
This play from Desmond Ridder, a 4th & 9 situation with the game on the line from the Lions’ 21-yard line, perfectly illustrated Ridder’s competitive spirit & compelling game sense. He processed the situation beautifully, knowing that the Falcons crappy offensive line wouldn’t give him enough time to set his feet, so he decided to roll out, run, & throw before taking a sack. Could he have thrown to a receiver who wasn’t blanketed by coverage from a defender? Perhaps. Could he have thrown a more perfect jump-ball that let his receiver go & get it? Absolutely not. He had another passing TD in the second quarter, & a key field-goal drive to tie it up at halftime.
Strong finish against similar competition
The Lions, much like the Falcons, are seemingly destined to be a bottom-five NFL team. That said, we managed to close out a competitive game against them, albeit still in the preseason. The game itself was close throughout, with each team trading scores & lead changes constantly. This one felt like a regular season NFL game, and not much like the first week of the preseason. Continuing this trend into the regular season (i.e. beating the teams you’re supposed to beat) would be welcome news for a Falcons team that seems like they have a long road ahead of them.
Defense is still a work in progress
There’s good news & bad news here, with the good news being that the Falcons forced two turnovers (including one late) that proved to be instrumental in the outcome of this game. The bad news here is that the Falcons managed just one sack, which continues a growing trend. They also allowed nearly 400 yards of offense, two touchdowns, & two field goal drives as well. Needless to say, it was an uneven performance from the defensive unit, featuring more of a “bend but don’t break” type of mentality that can be successful in the NFL with a good offense.
The bottom line
Let’s not get too worked up here, because at the end of the day we just won a meaningless preseason game against the Lions. That said, the previous regime seemingly didn’t care about the preseason much at all, and a win’s a win regardless of the circumstances behind it. There were certainly highlights & lowlights, with the offense as the former & defense the latter. Our starting offensive unit looked good, with Marcus Mariota capping off his first drive in a TD. Rookie WR Drake London also showed flashes last night, converting a first-&-twenty situation. All in all, we’re one step closer to this football season that all NFL fans are looking forward to.
The Sports Beacon 