Aug 16, 2012; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Falcons defensive tackle Peria Jerry (94) makes a hand signal to the crowd before the game against the Cincinnati Bengals at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Josh D. Weiss-US PRESSWIRE

According to a report from the Falcons Jay Adams, defensive coordinator Mike Nolan didn’t expect a whole lot of defensive tackle Peria Jerry coming into camp. Why would he? He had never had any real contact with Jerry. All that he knew about the man was that he suffered an injury extremely early in his career, and hasn’t been the same guy since. In Nolan’s own words, his expectation for Jerry were ‘in limbo’ coming into camp.

Now that Jerry is healthy and ready to be a productive member of the team, he seems to have flourished under the tutelage of Nolan. Last season Jerry couldn’t generate any push up the middle, was never getting the the quarterback, and was generally unproductive. This preseason he has been very, very good.

That’s really good news. Nolan, Coach Smith, the defense, and all of Atlanta are depending on him to produce while defensive tackle Corey Peters is out for the first six weeks of the season with a foot injury. Obviously he is going to get the starting time next to Jonathan Babineaux. If he is as productive as he was in the pre-season, it should really offset the lack of Peters.

People often wonder whether or not an offense or defense will hold things back in preseason games so as to not tip their hand for the regular season. Dirk Koetter absolutely confirmed that. While it can be a little frightening running plays that you haven’t necessarily tested against a live defense, Koetter had this to say:

You’ve got that little fear of the unknown, but you’ve just got to put your players out there, give them the tools to play fast and just trust that your guys can make plays.

Amen. I know all of us would like to have seen more of the deep passing game. However, I think that we saw just a hint of it that we all wanted to see from that. A deep 9-route to Julio Jones down the right sideline against the Ravens was the extent of that, but its exactly what we needed to do to test what needed to be tested. I suppose that once we saw what we needed to see, that was enough for the coaching staff, and they decided to shut that element of the offense down.

To say I am excited about the unveiling of this offense and defense would be a tremendous understatement. I am so fired up for this game against the Chiefs, it’s unbelievable.

Sep 25, 2011; Tampa, FL, USA; Atlanta Falcons defensive tackle Corey Peters (91) lines up during a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Fernando Medina-US PRESSWIRE

We have some really bad news coming from the Atlanta Falcons. According to sources, Falcons defensive tackle Corey Peters will be out for the first six weeks of the regular season. After the first six games, Peters will be able to begin practicing, and the Falcons can make a choice as to whether or not they will leave him on the reserve/non-football injury list. If he is progressing well from his foot injury, the Falcons will activate him, but there are no guarantees what his production on the field will be like.

Obviously this really hurts the Falcons. Peters was huge for Atlanta last season lining up at defensive tackle next to Jonathan Babineaux. The Falcons didn’t have a wealth of talent behind those two on the depth chart to begin the year with, and this didn’t help. Behind the starting tackles, the Falcons have Vance Walker, and rookie Travian Robertson lining up.

The good news is that Peria Jerry has been looking like a force throughout the pre-season. The Falcons 2009 1st round pick has been playing up to his billing this preseason after three disappointing, injury plagued seasons. He will line up next to Babineaux on the starting defensive line. Again, no guarantees that he is overwhelming during the games that count, but having him be a productive member in the fold is very good.

Drafting a defensive tackle like Peters in the 3rd round and having him become a starter very quickly is a great thing, but it hurts just as bad when he isn’t available. If ever there was a time for Peters to step up and produce for the Falcons, it is with this 2012 team.

Aug 16, 2012; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan (2) throws passes to warm up before the game against the Cincinnati Bengals at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Josh D. Weiss-US PRESSWIRE

In the Falcons preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals, there were certainly some things to take away from the game. It is obviously imprudent to read too much into these games, but based on what I saw early on, there are some very good conclusions to be made.

First thing that popped off the screen when watching the game was that Matt Ryan was under duress on the first two drives. I think this Bengals defensive front is very good even without Carlos Dunlap, and was able to generate pressure on the pocket. I think it was highlighted by the second offensive possession of the game when Matt Ryan faced massive amounts of pressure, dropped back twenty yards, and then completed a pass to Jacquizz Rodgers that went for a seven yard loss. Not only was Ryan under fire early, but the running game had a tough time getting rolling. Ryan didn’t take any sacks or any hits worth speaking of, but he was under pressure. My apologies to Bengals fans: your defensive front is very good. The Falcons offensive line didn’t do anything to bail them out, though.

The Falcons didn’t hesitate to use the screen pass. A running back screen to Michael Turner garnered decent gains, and wide receiver screens twice to Roddy White were extremely productive as well. We all clamored for more screen passes, and Dirk Koetter has acquiesced our collective requests. With that, the Falcons offense can offset the pass-rush a little, keep them on their heels, and keep more pressure off of Ryan.

One final thing about offense. In the third and fourth offensive series, the Falcons looked very comfortable, particularly Matt Ryan. He was sharp as a tack on those drives, and even though he threw his first incomplete passes of the game in the third drive,  he was very effective and efficient. He utilized various personnel sets, play action, shotgun, and most importantly a healthy amount of the no-huddle attack. Ryan was hitting all of his receivers in spots where only they could catch the ball, and for solid gains. Even Michael Palmer collected a 21-yard catch. I think on the first two drive, Dirk Koetter was trying to work short underneath routes, but allowed Ryan to take some shots in the no-huddle. Ryan threw a deep pass down the left sideline that was extremely well covered, and placed the ball deep to Jones in stride. It was a little long, but it was in a spot that only Jones could get, and it showed Ryan can make that throw. Despite a dropped pass by Tony Gonzalez that would have resulted in a touchdown, the Falcons offense looked great on those two drives. Look at the back to back 16-yard pass to White and 23-yard post to Jones on the touchdown drive. Great series, great chemistry between Ryan and his receivers, great use of the no-huddle, and the great threat of deep passing plays to explosive receivers. Awesome two series.

I would never have thought this coming into the season, but Peria Jerry has been a force up front all throughout this preseason. He has been constantly applying pressure as a pass rusher from defensive tackle, been very good against the run, and been in on a great many tackles. We desperately need a third defensive tackle to play alongside Jonathan Babineaux and Corey Peters, and so far Jerry is looking like he may take that role. If he keeps up this, Corey Peters won’t have a spot when he returns from an injury, and will be the third guy in the rotation. If Jerry keeps this up, this could be a good situation to have.

I thought John Abraham, Kroy Biermann, and Ray Edwards were doing a great job of applying pressure on Dalton. The unfortunate thing is that they always seemed to be just a beat short of actually getting a sack. The pressure forces Dalton out of the pocket, to do things he didn’t want to do, and to release a couple throws before he really wanted to. No interceptions or the like, but eventually those pressures will turn into sacks. I also saw Abraham get blocked in the back on two sure sacks, so that and fifty cents will get you a cup of coffee as the proverbial saying goes.

Coverage was something that the Falcons first team did a decent job of, but they got burnt badly once by A.J. Green. Earlier in the game, Dunta Robinson was matched up against Green, and lined up in off-man coverage. He left a cushion on Green that was eaten up and he only got slightly past the first down marker. That is definitely better than the alternative, which would be giving up a long touchdown pass. Asante Samuel played in off-man coverage, but he bit a little bit on a stutter & go route, and got beat by Green’s speed. He eventually caught up, but only after Green made the catch, and then got dragged into the endzone by Green. Not a good look for Samuel. However, he did have a couple deflections otherwise on the night. The other corner who looked really good? Dunta Robinson. He was good in space, and a fine tackler. I think this could be an up year for Robinson.

One final thing that absolutely has to be cleaned up for the Falcons is silly penalties. These aren’t the penalties that were poor calls by the replacement officials; these penalties that need to be cut out is ones like touching the quarterback’s head, late hits, offsides. It is very easy to eliminate hitting the QB in the head, and a penalty like that can lose the game for you at some point. It’s nothing serious, but it has to be addressed and taken care of.