Falcons finish strong preseason

            We went 2-1 against the Lions, Jets, & Jaguars who, in all likelihood, will have several of the top picks in next year’s NFL Draft. So, whatever that means (or doesn’t mean), we’ll take it. After all, a win’s a win, and it’s especially sweet that our win against the Jaguars was our first home preseason win since 2016. Our new regime places an importance on preseason action, which is something that Dan Quinn & Thomas Dimitroff failed spectacularly at accomplishing. The Falcons next game is our season opener at home against the Saints, which will be exciting.

Desmond Ridder continues to impress

            Ridder piloted the Falcons offense to four touchdown drives on the day after rebounding from two ugly interceptions earlier in the contest. He continues to look like the real deal, and if nothing else he’s a great backup QB for us this year, and we haven’t had one of those in a while. His final stat line was adequate: 14/21 for 185 yards, 1 TD, & 2 INTs for a passer rating of 98.0. Time will tell whether or not we draft another QB next year, but Ridder is certainly making his case to stay on the roster long-term. We’ll see if he gets into any regular season action this year.

Pass rush is still a concern

            The Falcons defense managed just two sacks in our key win over the Jaguars yesterday. That’s a slight improvement from last week’s zero sacks & the one sack in week 1; however, I believe the team should’ve had several more as we repeatedly struggled to take down the QB. AKA, we missed out on several sack opportunities yesterday, and doing that during the season could come back to haunt us. I will say that we did a good job of generating pressure though, as the defense had two takeaways, and the special teams blocked a kick at the Jaguars 1-yard line. I’m still waiting for it to all come together for this defense, but we certainly have some players.

Injured players return

            Deion Jones & Isaiah Oliver made their preseason debuts yesterday after overcoming offseason injuries. Jones didn’t record any stats in his limited playing time, while Oliver was credited for a tackle & two assisted tackles. Getting these two guys back into form would be a huge boost for our defense. Basically, our defensive unit needs all the help it can possibly get. We’ll see if they’re ready to rock in two weeks when we play against our hated division rival.

The bottom line

            This has been an encouraging preseason overall. There are still areas for improvement, as the pass rush & offensive line has looked very mediocre at times; however, we haven’t had anyone of consequence get injured & we’ve finally strung together some preseason wins to boot. I’m cautiously optimistic that we’ll start to see signs of overcoming this rebuild later in the year. There’s no doubt that this season will be a forgettable one, but maybe we’ll start to see the fruits of our labor pay off and head into next season with momentum, cap space, and good draft picks. Desmond Ridder, Drake London, Arnold Ebiketie, and others are the future of our beloved team. Growth from those players, as well as veterans like Kyle Pitts, would greatly boost our chances.