3 positives, 3 negatives from the Atlanta Falcons’ first preseason game
Positive #2) The Falcons’ young duo of Ta’Quon Graham and Arnold Ebiketie showed significant promise
What position do the Falcons need the most help with? The defensive line, they are scary thin there after putting up just 18 sacks last year. Having the rookie pass rusher and second-year interior defensive lineman show promise is excellent.
Starting with the rookie, Arnold Ebiketie was sent out there early by the coaching staff, which you would expect considering they traded up in the second round for him.
He played 21 snaps, 12 of which were pass rushing snaps, and managed to force a holding penalty as well as having one pressure and one hurry on the QB. Not bad for a rookie in his first game.
The other defensive lineman that showed upside was Ta’Quon Graham. Graham had eight pass-rushing snaps and had one hit on the quarterback where he absolutely bull rushed his man right into the quarterback.
He received a 94.1 pass rushing grade on Pro Football Focus and also led the Falcons’ defense with a 90.4 overall grade.
Negative #2) The Falcons’ starting offense and defensive lines looked like they did last season
The Falcons last season probably had the worst combination of lines in the NFL, saying they looked the same during their first game is NOT what you want.
They allowed 40 sacks on offense and only managed to get 18 sacks as a defense.
Starting with the defensive line, they got absolutely manhandled to open up the game. They got virtually no pressure on Jared Goff which allowed him to carve through the secondary.
They may not have allowed a run over ten yards, but they still were not good overall.
That being said, the Lions really do have a good offensive line with Frank Ragnow, Penei Sewell, and others.
As for the starting offensive line, it was not much better as there is a reason Marcus Mariota had to take the ball himself three times in one drive. Mariota really did bail them out with some excellent scrambling.
Jake Matthews got blown up by Aidan Hutchinson on a run play, Chris Lindstrom got nabbed for a holding call, Drew Dalman and Matt Hennessy were bad, and Kaleb McGary and Elijah Wilkinson were average.
And if you are wondering if Jalen Mayfield was any better, he was not, as he allowed four pressures on seven snaps! We can only hope that is due to his back issue.
These are two positions that have to clean up before week one or else Marcus Mariota will be running for his life and the secondary will have to cover for an eternity.