As the Atlanta Falcons prepare for their third exhibition game, Friday in Miami, many of the position battles remain unsettled, numerous roster spots are still up for grabs, and both sides of the ball are still adjusting to new schemes and formations implemented by first-year coordinators.
Friday’s all-important third preseason game should begin to answer some of the more pressing questions, but after two games, here are five thoughts on the Falcons.
1. Where's the run game?
In two games, the Falcons have run the ball 39 times for 152 yards for a respectable 3.8 ypc. Of that, Michael Turner has just eight carries for 14 yards. The Falcons averaged 114.6 rushing yards per game last season. Atlanta will try to break in their run game against Miami, which allowed just 95.6 rushing yards per game last year, third-best in the NFL.
2. Koetter loves the screen play
Based off of last Thursday’s game, you’d have thought that the screen play was a staple of the Falcons offense for years. Instead of exposing Turner to linebackers, offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter floated him out of the backfield behind a wall of offensive linemen. Turner had three receptions on low-risk screen passes on Thursday or, in other terms, more than one-sixth of his 17 total receptions last year.
3. Asante Samuel should never have been burned by A.J. Green
The Bengals were actively picking on Samuel, who was matched up on Green when the first-team defense was in the game Thursday. With 10:38 left in the second quarter, Cincinnati QB Andy Dalton aired out a 50-yard strike to Green, who had beaten Samuel on a double move. On the previous play, Asante Samuel had a chance to intercept a 50-50 ball thrown to Green, and had he done so, he obviously wouldn’t have been exposed on the next play’s deep route.
4. Matt Ryan has looked great through two preseason games
The fifth-year QB has connected on 27 of 34 passes through two games for 329 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. Two of the three incomplete passes Thursday were balls that should have been caught. On one play, TE Tony Gonzalez didn’t look over his shoulder quickly enough and consequently dropped a touchdown pass. In the other, WR Julio Jones missed a deep ball that slipped off his fingers. Ryan's arm looks strong, and his passes have been on time.
5. Too many penalties
In two games, the Falcons have racked up 21 penalties for 242 yards. The Falcons had 93 penalties all of last season, the 10th-fewest in the NFL. A number of them have been stupid penalties, such as DT Peria Jerry’s late hit on QB Andy Dalton in the first quarter of Thursday’s game.
Numbers game:
2: The amount of fumbles forced by Falcons safeties Thursday. William Moore and Thomas DeCoud each had one.
7: The number of preseason games the Falcons have lost in a row.
3-1: The Falcons’ record under coach Mike Smith in the third preseason game.
For more Falcons coverage, follow Mike Singer @CBSSportsNFLATL.
