It has been said plenty of times already, but it needs to be said again.
Football is back!!
After months of labor negations, the players got back on the field this weekend for preseason action. The Falcons made their return to the Georgia Dome as they faced the Miami Dolphins in a Friday night tilt and were able to jump to a 17-0 lead. But with the help of Dolphins quarterback Matt Moore and punt returner Phillip Livas, the Dolphins came away with a 28-23 win.
As much as the Falcons wanted to win, head coach Mike Smith wanted to evaluate the players to see how they do in their first live game of the 2011 season.
“There were a lot of good things, there were a lot of bad things and there some okay things in the ball game,” Smith said. “We as a coaching staff will dissect it when we watch the tape tomorrow and make the corrections.”
The good things for the Falcons came in the first quarter. The first team offense and defense played the majority of the first quarter and looked as sharp as one could for the first preseason game. The defense opened with a bang as John Abraham picked off a Chad Henne pass which led to a Michael Turner 2-yard touchdown run. That Falcons offensive drive also featured Julio Jones who caught a 21-yard strike from Ryan to set up the score.
“[Ryan] runs our offense,” Jones said who ended the night with two receptions for 43 yards. “He just takes the best matchup.”
The Falcons scored again on their next drive as Ryan threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Harry Douglas to put them up by 14. The pass from Ryan to Douglas was a throw down the seam in double coverage.
“Harry ran a great route,” Ryan said. “He kept his speed up at the top of the route and broke towards the post. He really made a good catch.”
The Falcons scored again late in the first in with a Matt Bryant 27-yard field goal which was set up by another Henne interception by Brent Grimes.
As the second quarter began, that is when some of the bad things came into play for the Falcons. The Dolphins got on the board for the first time thanks to a Henne 44-yard touchdown pass to Brian Hartline. The reason that play was successful was lack of communication with the defensive backs.
“It was tough for those guys,” Smith said. “We have not seen that route combination. It will be part of our installation as we move into next week.”
There was another deep pass play for a touchdown at the end of the second quarter as Dolphins backup quarterback Matt Moore threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Roberto Wallace to end the half down by three.
The third quarter featured more second and third-team players from each team. Falcons third string quarterback John Parker Wilson played the second and the third quarter, but had to leave the game due to an injury. The Falcons were able to add three points to their lead midway through the third with a Bryant 24-yard field goal, but Miami took the lead on the ensuing drive with a 13-play 65-yard drive that ended with a Moore 6-yard touchdown pass to Clyde Gates.
Miami added to their lead early in the fourth with a Livas 54-yard punt return and Smith knows exactly why Livas was able to make that play.
“We lost leverage and the ball got outside of us,” Smith said. “Anytime you lose leverage, you have nine guys or ten guys running inside out.”
Bryant kicked another FG late in the fourth to cut the Miami lead to five. The Falcons had a chance to win the game as they had possession with 1:30 left in the fourth at the Dolphins 44-yard line. But rookie free agent quarterback Adam Froman threw a pick to Vincent Agnew at the Dolphins 7-yard line to end the game.
“That’s a great experience, not only for him, but for every one of those guys who are out there,” Smith said talking about Froman. “We play to win and that’s very important.
The Falcons will be back on the practice field on Sunday and will practice the next two days before they head to Jacksonville on Tuesday for a combine practice on Wednesday with the Jaguars. The Falcons will play their second preseason game at Jacksonville next Friday.
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