The Falcons had their fair share of strong performances but they also need to clean up a lot of things
The Falcons took the field for the first time last Friday to take on the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. It all started off with the starting offense for the Lions walking right through the Falcons’ starting defense like they were not even trying.
To say it started out ugly would be an understatement. They looked overmatched by the Detroit Lions who are led by Jared Goff.
However, the positive was that their offense had no trouble marching down the field as a unit, and they did it without any contributions from Cordarrelle Patterson or Kyle Pitts.
Not to mention, they overcame a couple of penalties to keep the drive alive, which they do need to clean up because you are not going to be able to consistently overcome holding penalties through the year.
Overall, it was just nice to see the offense play freely. They did not look stressed at all, they just went out and played football.
Anyways, let’s get to the point of this article by taking a look at three positives and three negatives from the Falcons’ first game of the year.
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.
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.
Positive #3) The Falcons’ veteran and rookie quarterbacks played great in their first action of the year
Marcus Mariota took the ball for the Falcons and ran with it, quite literally. It was so much fun to watch.
He started out the drive with a nine-yard scramble and ended it with a six-yard rush for a touchdown. It is good to see that he is comfortable with himself and is not making the game too complicated, after all, who cares whether you run or pass the ball the whole game, as long as you gain yards and score touchdowns.
Mariota also managed to overcome holding and false-start penalties, while playing behind a shaky offensive line.
The same things can be said about Desmond Ridder, while he made a couple bad passes that should have been interceptions, he did not care and managed to end those drives in touchdowns.
He looked calm, cool, and collected. There is reason to be excited for the future at the quarterback position for the Falcons.
Negative #3) Every Falcons receiver, not named Drake London, was inconsistent and ineffective
The Falcons should be excited about Drake London. He played just five snaps and made one great catch for 24 yards, but that is beside the point.
Every other receiver failed to make a consistent impact. Only one receiver — Frank Darby — managed to snag more than one pass and he only had two. Drake London also led the team in receiving. Let’s reiterate this, London only played five snaps!
Desmond Ridder also had three passes dropped on 22 attempts which have to get cleaned up. Last thing this offense needs are drops.
The Falcons are basically writing in Drake London, Bryan Edwards, and Olamide Zaccheaus 1-2-3 on their depth chart, past that it is a competition between guys like Auden Tate, Frank Darby, Geronimo Allison, and others. They did not impress at all.
Expect them to settle in against the Jets in the next game because they really are talented players.