3 positives, 3 negatives from the Atlanta Falcons’ first preseason game

Positive #1) Falcons’ rookie RB Tyler Allgeier was as advertised in his first NFL game

The Falcons might have a perfect compliment to Cordarrelle Patterson in the backfield with the likes of Tyler Allgeier.

While he only played 18 snaps and only took three handoffs during the game, he showed a little bit of what he can do. We know he has power, he showed that during his career at BYU, but he also showed off some impressive agility — the same can be said for Qadree Ollison.

On his 15-yard gain, he found the perfect hole on the right side, slipped through an attempted tackle by the Lions’ defensive lineman, and then almost slipped another tackle at the end that would have picked up another few yards.

So, we might have only seen a little bit from the rookie runner but what we saw was impressive. The Falcons got a steal in the fifth round and now have a thunder-lightning duo in the backfield.

Negative #1) The Falcons’ depth cornerback Mike Ford did not do himself any favors

The Falcons have A.J. Terrell and Casey Hayward written in permanent marker at the outside cornerback position. They also hope that Isaiah Oliver will be at full strength come week one, if he is then they have him locked in at the slot position.

What they are lacking right now is depth at cornerback. They are hoping that Darren Hall takes a step up in his second year, but even if he does, they still need to have a couple more guys they can rely on.

They are hoping to have that in Mike Ford, but his first preseason game did not give anyone much hope.

He played just 17 snaps but gave up three catches on four targets for a total of 63 yards. Again, it’s hard to write him off after just one game and 17 snaps, but giving up three catches for that many yards is not good in any way. It is also worth noting that he only played 12 coverage snaps, so for every four coverage snaps he had, he gave up a catch. Not good.

Oh, and he also had that facemask penalty, as you can see in the picture above.