Dec 28, 2011; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Wisconsin Badgers offensive lineman Peter Konz at press conference for the 2012 Rose Bowl at the Marriott Los Angeles Downtown. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

Peter Konz was the Atlanta Falcons first draft pick in the 2012 NFL draft. He played center at Wisconsin, a Big Ten school known for producing large NFL linemen, and ended up being Atlanta’s second round pick. Everyone has projected that Konz will take the starting center job from Todd McClure in 2013, but for this season he has been expected to take the starting right guard job this season. His size is prototypical for an interior lineman position, and his college resume as an elite lineman precedes him.

I have called for exactly this to happen since the day the Falcons drafted him, and other pundits around the world have been calling for the same thing. All of that is well and good, but one thing none of us expected to happen has happened: rookie Konz has not flown up the depth chart the way you might expect a starting NFL talent to do.

Peter Konz has not been an overwhelming force in training camp or in the preseason games. He has the second string right guard spot, but he has that by default as nobody on the roster is a better option than him for right guard. He is still the third string center for the Falcons. When the second team takes the field, or the Falcons sub in for McClure at center, it is Joe Hawley, not Konz who takes the field. When Konz is playing guard with the second team, I haven’t seen anything fantastic out of him. Maybe that is because the rest of the second team o-line is really poor and it’s hard to stand out when the rest of the line is playing horribly. However, he still hasn’t been overly impressive, and I haven’t heard a whole lot of talk about how good he has been performing.

The Falcons didn’t have a first round pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, so they needed to really hit on their first pick (the second round pick). They desperately needed help at a guard, tackle, and the center position, and it looked like the Falcons had gotten a steal by being able to take such a versatile lineman as Konz in the second round. I sure hope that pans out, and that Konz at least proves to be a solid, reliable starting offensive lineman for the next ten years or so. Obviously these thoughts are premature, as we haven’t even reached the third week of the preseason. But the Falcons need Konz to step up this week, to grab the starting guard this week, and to make this team better starting this week and going forward. Every draft pick that the Falcons have must be productive members of this team. Hopefully Konz will at some point very soon.

December 26, 2011; New Orleans, LA, USA; Atlanta Falcons offensive tackle Garrett Reynolds (75) against the New Orleans Saints during a game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The Saints defeated the Falcons 45-16. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

It is easy to feel really positive about the Falcons offensive line following the first preseason game. If history tells us anything, it is to not read too much into what happens in the preseason. However, to an extent what happens with the first team units is important and we can get a slight inclination as to how things will look in the 2012 season. And to this point, I have nothing but good conclusions to draw from the Falcons offensive line performance.

In four series of play when the entire first team offensive line and quarterback Matt Ryan were on the field together, Ryan took no sacks, and I can’t remember him being so much as touched in the pocket. (Joe Hawley replaced Todd McClure at center for the third and fourth series, and the line still performed very well.) Ryan was allowed to complete a flurry of passes, and never even felt pressure until well after he delivered the ball. There were two instances where Ryan sensed pressure and rolled out to avoid it; one was real, and he rolled to the sideline where he proceeded to toss the ball to an open receiver for a ten yard gain and a first down. The other was perceived, and had he remained in the pocket and simply shifted slightly he would have had a very solid pocket indeed. For the most part however, he did a good job of standing tall and delivering the ball. Thats where he plays the position the best, and the Falcons have to protect him.

I’m not surprised that Clabo played well, that we didn’t hear Justin Blalock’s name, or that McClure played very well. He is the most experienced player on that offensive line. Joe Hawley did well at guard last year, so again, I’m not terribly surprised that he performed at least decently.

I am surprised that Garrett Reynolds and Sam Baker performed well at right guard and left tackle respectively. Both of them were absolutely miserable in 2011, and I didn’t expect much from them. The good news is that against that extremely large defensive front that the Baltimore Ravens presents, the Falcons o-line held up well and prevented significant Ryan getting killed in the pocket.

People have been saying that Baker was really hurt throughout 2011, and his battle with injuries was the major reason for his struggles. He has been healthy lately, and if he can play like he did in 2010, the Falcons will get by. I don’t know what Garrett Reynolds excuse was last season. I supposed you could write it off as not having an offseason, but this is going to be his fourth season in the league, so it’s not like he’s completely new to things. For whatever its worth, some players take a lot longer to develop than others (just look at the career of Tyson Clabo himself) and there is no doubt that Reynolds played reasonably well in the preseason game.

Just to temper my exuberance about this offensive line and to not make everyone feel like I’m blowing smoke, I have to point out that the Falcons weren’t exactly facing elite pass rushers. The 3-4 defense, of which the Ravens are adherents, is predicated on the massive three d-linemen up front taking up as many blocks as possible, and allowing the linebackers to flow relatively unimpeded to the ball/the quarterback. Terrell Suggs is out with a torn achillies, and rookie Courtney Upshaw (who is projected to do some pass-rushing of his own) was held out with an injury. Now I don’t have game tape to discover who was rushing the passer. But I can promise you two things. 1. The Ravens were rushing at least four on every single play, if not more and 2. I have no idea what the names of those individuals are. The Falcons stymied the pass rush, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they were facing a quality pass-rush. They did what I expect them to. I think they will be more proven when they are able to successfully block when there is a proven pass-rusher in addition to a big three up front facing the Falcons offensive line.

Aug 9, 2012; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones (11) catches a touchdown against the Baltimore Ravens during the first quarter of a preseason game at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Josh D. Weiss-US PRESSWIRE

I think it would be safe to say that Julio Jones was the story of the preseason game. About that, I have no doubt. 6 catches for 109 yards and  TD in just over a quarter of play is very impressive.

The other impressive thing was how sharp Matt Ryan & Co. looked offensively (with the exception of the interception which I will address). The first series started with two Michael Turner runs, but quickly followed with a 13-yard slant to Roddy White, a 26-yard post route to Julio Jones, a WR screen to Jones for 19 yards, and another fade route for 6 yards. Man, this offense was hitting on the first drive. It consummated in a beautiful goal-line fade to Jones for a touchdown. If you know anything about me, you’d know I am in love with the goal-line fade, and this was a well thrown ball and an even better catch. My goodness, it was just so well executed. That is my dream for this Falcons team, for them to abuse defensive backs who don’t turn to play the ball by using jump balls to Jones and White. I really, really loved that fade play.

One thing I have to comment on was that the touchdown pass as well as a couple of the other passes weren’t thrown at the Ravens #1 corner Ladarius Webb; they were thrown at the #2 corner Cary Williams. He obviously isn’t as good as Webb is, but he is still going to be a starter for the Ravens in 2012. The Falcons picked mercilessly on him.

There was one play that stood out to me that the Falcons did pick on Webb was a 36-yard pass down the field to Julio Jones. It was a go where Webb tried to jam Jones, but instead got called for pass interference. The pass was perfect nonetheless, right past Webb, and right in front of the safety. Neither of them could make the play, or even get a big hit on Jones, the connection went that well. Very exciting play. Ryan had to loft it to put it in that perfect spot so he didn’t really get to showcase his arm strength. However, he did get to showcase his newfound connection and confidence in Jones.

The defense, not to be outdone, looked really good when the first team was on the field. The first three defensive series, the Falcons forced 3 three-and-outs. The tackling from the corner positions was very good (Asante Samuel did a good job on Torrey Smith), and there was a good amount of contribution. There were a couple other players who really looked good yesterday. First was Stephen Nicholas. There were lots of plays where he took up blocks, but there was one where he really penetrated into the backfield and made the tackle on Ray Rice. It really was a fantastic play. On the very next play he batted down a pass from Flacco that was intended for a receiver. I watched at he came clear across the field, got in the passing lane, and made a disruption. It was another great play.

Sean Weatherspoon didn’t play long, but he made his presence felt. On 3rd down in the first defensive series, Weatherspoon came in and smashed Flacco right as he was releasing the ball. It didn’t result in a sack, but it was a very hard yet clean quarterback hit, something the Falcons rarely did and we need to see more of. Weatherspoon looked good.

The final contributor of great note is Peria Jerry. There has been a lot of talk about how much the Falcons need him to start producing at some level. He certainly did that last night by getting in the backfield, putting pressure back there, and even got what looked to me like a couple quarterback hits. He looked really sharp.

Others of note: Kroy Biermann tripped into a sack; Akeem Dent had a big hit for a sack.

The one thing that I paid special attention to was the offensive line situation. The line that started the game was Baker, Blalock, McClure, Garrett Reynolds, and Clabo. I’m not too terribly surprised. I was surprised that Reynolds didn’t fold like a chair when asked to block someone. He actually performed fairly well. Granted Terrell Suggs was out, and I didn’t even see rookie Courtney Upshaw on the field, but they still had all of their big nasty three up front (including Haloti Ngata) which is most of what an o-line needs to block against a 3-4 scheme. They performed admirably and Ryan was rarely hit. Like I said, a major pass-rusher was missing for the Ravens, but they sill protected him well.

In the third offensive series, Joe Hawley took over from McClure, and he performed well. He was the center when they ran the ball into the end-zone with Jacquizz Rodgers. It wasn’t the most forceful push up front, but it certainly moved the defensive line enough to get diminutive Rodgers into the endzone for a touchdown. I think Hawley did well.

I’m sure everyone is curious to see what Peter Konz did; I didn’t see him until the late in the second quarter and he lined up at right guard with the second team unit. I didn’t see anything special out of him mostly because the other linemen were giving up a lot of pressure at this point. It is the second and third stringers at this point I guess, but I would have liked to see a little more out of them.

There was one thing that really worried me, and that was the injuries to important players on special teams. Bradie Ewing went down early with what looked like a knee injury after a punt coverage play. He is probably the best fullback on our roster and we need him if Mike Cox doesn’t perform well.

The most pressing injury was that to Akeem Dent. He is projected as our middle linebacker in 2012, but also suffered a head injury on special teams. Why a stater with a key role like MLB is playing special teams, I have no idea. But he suffered the injury nonetheless. I just hope that he recovers quickly, the injury isn’t serious, and that he can practice and play really soon. If the Falcons are weak at the MLB position without Dent, it could be really bad for the defense in 2012.