These Atlanta Falcons players needed a full preseason to prepare for 2020
By Deen Worley
Atlanta Falcons players really missed out on a full preseason experience.
It came as no surprise that the NFL stepped in and eliminated preseason games entirely. However, there were a few Atlanta Falcons players that needed to have a full preseason in order to be better prepared to help the team succeed in 2020.
The Atlanta Falcons did get better this offseason by way of the draft and their free-agent signings but throwing it all together in week one will be a more difficult task than what we saw in 2019.
Every year, we are all well aware of how important the preseason is for players who were drafted late or undrafted altogether. The preseason is life or death for these players – in a football sense.
Taking away the preseason games all together eliminates the four showcase events for these players to show how they can help the team. You also cannot replace these games with in-house scrimmages simply because it’s impossible to replicate game energy.
Kurt Benkert
While Kurt Benkert is the third quarterback on the Atlanta Falcons roster, there is potential here for him to solidify his role as a backup quarterback behind current starter Matt Ryan. Last preseason, Benkurt saw an early exit with a toe injury and was forced to sit out the remainder of the year, thus not allowing him to truly compete with current back-up Matt Schaub.
This past offseason, the Atlanta Falcons extended Schaub for one more season, and this feels like a safety net due to the uncertainty of Benkert. By not having preseason games, Benkert isn’t able to showcase his abilities and will most likely keep Schaub as QB-2 for one more season.