Preseason isn't to blame for Atlanta Falcons massive struggles

Raheem Morris chose not to play his starters during the three-week preseason citing injury concerns. It was met with ridicule that only amplified after the Atlanta Falcons laid an egg in week one against the Steelers.

Make no mistake about it, not much would've changed if the starters had played a few series during the meaningless games. It wouldn't have changed the massive struggles the offense showed because the issues were rooted in other things.

Preseason isn't to blame for the Atlanta Falcons week 1 clunker

What issues did we see with the Atlanta Falcons in their regular season debut? A quarterback who couldn't move around, vanilla playcalling, and a right tackle who couldn't get a hand on the best defender in the NFL.

Which one of those problems would have been fixed by playing four or so series in the preseason? You could make the argument that it would have helped if Cousins' struggles were more mental than physical but things only got worse as the game progressed on Sunday. Look at how each of the offensive series ended for the offense:

1. Field Goal
2. Interception
3. Punt
4. Touchdown
5. Fumble
6. Punt
7. Punt
8. Punt
9. Interception
10. End of Game

In other words, the offense only got worse the more snaps they played. While it isn't a one-for-one comparison, it is reasonable to say that playing a few series in the preseason wouldn't have changed anything.

It appears that Kirk Cousins' issues are more physical than mental. If you were watching the pregame, you might have seen Cousins grimacing every time he threw a pass. No matter what people within the organization say, he isn't healthy right now, that much is obvious.

It makes me laugh when I see people blaming preseason for starting 0-1. This team would have lost even if their starters had played every snap of the three meaningless games.