Desmond Ridder showed that he's ready to take over as the permanent starter. He played one series, leading the team on a long drive. He had two passes that I would say were off target, but both were caught. He had one incompletion that was a high ball where Drake London really should have caught it. The drive ended on an interception that basically bounced off of Scotty Miller (after he was interfered with, but no flag) and popped up in the air. Matthew Bergeron looked good in that one series as well. I'd want to see more of him before I say Atlanta is in good hands at left guard, but he has progressed steadily throughout camp and looked solid in his first game action. The first units didn't play at all against Miami, and they were sloppy with penalties, with Chris Lindstrom getting flagged for two holds (one ticky-tack but legit, one questionable), whild Kaleb McGary and Drake London both had false starts. KhaDarel Hodge got flagged on special teams, and there were some early calls against the defense as well. Arthur Smith will focus on cleaning everything up before the season opener. We'll see how they do next week - if the starters play. It's still a question mark on whether Logan Woodside should be on the roster as the #3 emergency quarterback or if the team would be better off sticking with two QBs and using the roster spot for another player. Last week he helped his cause. I'd say this week was a mixed bag. He had two consecutive three-and-out series that used very little clock time - with the team holding a small lead in the fourth quarter. The defense gave the offense good field position thanks to a turnover, and Woodside couldn't do anything with it. That gave the Bengals one last opportunity to score the go-ahead touchdown, and the garbage-time defense couldn't stop them. The 10-6 Atlanta lead became a 13-10 deficit with less than a minute remaining. But that also put the Falcons into their own two-minute mode, and the Cincinnati garbage-time defense couldn't stop Atlanta either. Younghoe Koo put the field goal through the uprights to seal the 13-13 tie. So I'm guessing the media stories will focus on the quick scoring drive to tie the game, but for me the bigger story is that the Falcons last unit offense couldn't get a first down to keep the clock running and end the game 10-6. Demarco Hellams had another interception this week, and it was an impressive catch. He also had plenty of other plays on defense, basically showing that wherever the ball went, he'd be right there. I think he has done enough to grab one of the final roster spots. The prospect WRs had several highlights. As a whole, the prospect receivers are looking better this year than last year or 2021. It's not just one guy standing out like last year. One play that grabbed my attention was a longer pass route and catch by backup tight end Parker Hesse. It's important because Hesse has always been a blocking TE and hybrid fullback. Last year Arthur Smith credited Hesse with doing all the unheralded blocking assignments that made the offense work. So having him make a downfield catch shows that he too can be part of the "positionless football" attack. Ryan Neuzil got the duty as the #2 center with Matt Hennessy now on IR. He didn't have his best outing, particularly with shotgun snaps. He had two errant snaps, with one of them coming in a clutch situation. The team picked up several ex-USFL and XFL players over the last couple of weeks, and a lot of them got significant playing time in this game. Most of the defenders had their share of highlight moments. I don't think there will be more than one or two roster spots up for grabs, but next week's game will at least let these guys keep making their case for practice squad spots.
Another standout player worth noting was backup tight end John FitzPatrick, who was a late round pick last year that spent the season on IR. He's the biggest TE on the roster and was known as a blocking beast in college. But he had the key catch downfield in the final scoring drive that set up the game-tying field goal. In other words, he showed that he too can be a threat as a receiver rather than just a mauler at the line of scrimmage. That complicates the roster picture as far as the third QB or extra WR or RB go. We might see Arthur Smith keep Pitts, Jonnu Smith, Hesse, MyCole Pruitt AND FitzPatrick. He has frequently kept four TEs on the roster as a matter of routine, so a fifth really wouldn't be all that big of a stretch - especially when you consider Pitts typically splits out as a receiver (so think of him as part of the receiver group), Hesse doubles as a fullback, and Jonnu Smith has lined up all over the place to the point that he has jokingly told reporters that he doesn't actually have a position. I'd say the biggest challenge for FitzPatrick at this point is that the team recently resigned Pruitt. I'd still put Pruitt ahead of FitzPatrick in the offensive system, though their roles are likely to be different. And that means FitzPatrick is also up against the fourth RB, the sixth WR, the ninth and tenth offensive lineman, the extra DB etc. in the battle for a final roster spot.
Torgo, come join us on the Steelers site for the game thread Thursday if you want. It’s a meaningless game with probably zero starters playing but it’s still fun to watch. Our teams both have a good chance to win their divisions this season. Both teams improved their rosters this offseason pretty much. Good luck for the season and may injuries be on the low side for our teams this season.
I stand corrected by Tomlin. He’s going to play everyone that’s available Thursday night. I hope that the Falcons play their starters too. I thought the last game that the starters would sit, but he’s playing them.
