Atlanta Falcons offensive line needs to go back to basics

The Jets gave the Atlanta Falcons a lot to look at after Thursday night’s game and that all starts with who lines up at right tackle for the Falcons in 2019.

Kaleb McGary was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons to be the starting right tackle, but even before his health issues, he was listed behind Ty Sambrailo on the depth chart. McGary, like a lot of rookies, struggled in his initial introduction to the NFL but by all accounts was starting to close that gap rather quickly.

Before we rail on Sambrailo, it would be dishonest to not address what happen last night and why it happen. Jets defensive coordinator, Gregg Williams, is known as a heavy blitz play caller. Even though it was preseason, last night was no different as the Jets blitzed on every passing down in the first half and nearly 80 percent of the snaps on the first four series.

The offensive line looked inept at handling the blitz and often times confused. Let’s address why that is. The offensive line has to have chemistry and they all have to be seeing the same thing and have the same understanding. In the preseason, there is no game planning, so you are not watching hours of game film in preparation of your opponent.

I can look past a lot of what took place last night up front because of that. The preseason is about seeing guys in certain packages to understand their strengths, weaknesses and their reactions. What I cannot get past was the lack of effort on his part.

Two of the three times that Matt Ryan was sacked were because Sambrailo got beat at the point of attack; he got beat for not having football basics. He stood straight up a lot last night at the snap of the ball, did not move his feet and reacted to the lineman in from of him instead of initiating a “punch”. That type of play got Matt killed last night and will get him murdered in the regular season.

Chris Morgan and Bob Kronenberg have to do a much better job at getting this offensive line ready to play and a lot of that is going to be going back to basics and rebuilding a foundation from which they can have success in 2019.