Last week, Atlanta lost the preseason opener to the Jets, but for the most part the Falcons players involved weren't the ones who will be playing the regular season. Both teams had 3-and-out opening series, and that was the end of the night for nearly all of Atlanta's starters for that game. How did Atlanta do against the Chiefs this week? Second verse, same as the first. Andy Reid had already made it known that the Chiefs would play their starters for the entire first half. Atlanta (with 32 rookies on the roster, most in the NFL) continued its usual practice of playing the prospects early and often. That meant the KC first and second units were frequently playing against Atlanta's undrafted rookie prospects. As you'd expect, that didn't go so well for the Falcons. Matt Ryan and Matt Schaub each had one touchdown drive plus one drive each that ended in missed fourth down attempts. In the regular season, these probably would have been field goals. But with kicker Matt Bryant still out and with the coaching staff wanting to get in some valuable evaluations, they passed up the easy points and went for it on fourth down both times. (Both failed plays involved rookies.) The "turning point" play of the game came in the final minute of the first half, when Kansas City's starting offense hit a bomb for a 69-yard touchdown against Atlanta's third string secondary. Yep, third string. Only the most die-hard training camp fans would have known the jersey numbers in the Falcons secondary on that play. KC followed up with another touchdown on the first possession of the second half, with veteran quarterback Chad Henne getting 39 total yards by repeatedly targeting fourth string DB prospects Secdrick Cooper and Chris Lammons before beating Falcons second round draft pick Isaiah Oliver for the touchdown pass. That last play is one for Falcons fans to remember, as this is one of the very few defensive mishaps during the game by a player that actually matters. Oliver only gave a very weak jam at the line, as if he thought he had safety help behind him. But it wasn't a cover two assignment - he was on his own. Once the receiver left him at the line, it was a foregone conclusion that Henne would hit his man for the easy 27-yard touchdown play. So it was either a rookie mistake or a truly inept bump-and-run jam. Hopefully it was the former. And that was the last offensive touchdown by either team. KC added a field goal and a defensive touchdown (with a two point conversion). The Atlanta third/fourth stringers added nothing at all. Who struggled for the offense: after an impressive outing against the Jets, undrafted rookie QB Kurt Benkert came back to earth playing behind Atlanta's backup linemen against KC's second unit defense. He was frequently under pressure and his throws were off target, including a pick-six on a play where he simply overthrew his intended receiver. It was generally another fruitless outing for the "deep" prospects at RB. After two games, Justin Crawford now has 8 rushing yards on 8 attempts. Terrence Magee had one rushing attempt for zero yards and fumbled his only reception, turning the ball over to the Chiefs. Ito Smith has likely nailed down the #3 RB role, but he was also drafted with his return potential in mind. He muffed two kickoff returns in this game. Who shined for the offense: first rounder Calvin Ridley opened the game with a 35-yard kickoff return, then led the team with 3 receptions for 49 yards and a touchdown. Starting tight end Austin Hooper had the key reception to keep the opening drive alive on a long third down, then scored Atlanta's first touchdown. Last year's fifth round TE Eric Saubert also showed his development with a 24-yard catch and run across the middle. Matt Schaub woke up this week and showed he can still throw the ball, leading a touchdown drive against KC's first unit defense. His most important throw was an 18-yard strike to late round rookie Russell Gage on the far sideline, meaning that the ball traveled more than 40 yards through the air - and wasn't intercepted. Yep, the pass had some true zip to it. Not bad for a 96-year old quarterback. Both candidates for the starting right guard spot have played well in both games. It's likely that free agent signing Brandon Fusco wins the job, but 2016 late rounder Wes Schweitzer isn't making it such an easy decision. The team hasn't used the fullback spot very much this preseason, so that competition isn't over yet. But Ricky Ortiz has shown he's capable of taking on the job. He had some highlight blocks last week, and this week he had two receptions to show that he can contribute as a receiver as well as pass protection. Who struggled for the defense: the starters got lucky on an early play (with blown coverage) where a touchdown was called back on a penalty, leaving the Chiefs to settle for a field goal. Otherwise, it's hard to say that anyone important had a bad game. KC's two offensive touchdowns came on drives featuring their starters vs Atlanta's third unit and their second unit vs Atlanta's third/fourth unit defense. With that in mind, it's likely that even the scrubs didn't hurt their chances of making the practice squad too badly. Who shined for the defense: last week nickel corner Brian Poole only got to play one snap against the Jets, as the first unit only had one series (a three-and-out) where just one play involved the nickel package. So this week was essentially Poole's preseason debut, and he made his presence felt with 3 tackles (including a TFL on Kareem Hunt) and generally solid coverage. After his tremendous performance against the Jets, backup safety Damontae Kazee only played two snaps on defense this week. He made them count. The second snap was an interception. Undrafted linebacker Jonathan Celestin also followed up last week's strong outing by leading the Falcons with 6 tackles against the Chiefs. Free agent Garrison Smith is hoping to win a roster spot to round out the DT group. He helped his cause with a sack and two quarterback hurries. Duke Riley wasn't a star of the game, but he did fare much better this week than last week, when he was working in tandem with third unit safeties in zone coverage. He had three tackles (with one more nullified by a penalty on the offense) and an assist on defense plus a tackle on special teams - which is an area where the Falcons as a whole continue to struggle. He was part of the first unit coverage group and played well. The bottom line: while the final score shows a disappointing loss, the Falcons came away from this game looking quite strong. Their first and second units played against the Chiefs starters and outscored them 14-3 - even without Julio Jones and Devonta Freeman. Calvin Ridley, Austin Hooper, Eric Saubert and even Ricky Ortiz showed that they will be factors in the passing game. The run defense was able to keep Kareem Hunt in check. Poole and Kazee both flashed for the secondary. Both right guard candidates look pretty good, which also means the team has better depth at the position than last year. The tight ends are showing continued development. On the flip side, the "vanilla" preseason defense hasn't shown much pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Special teams play is still poor, with no one standing out among the return candidates (other than Calvin Ridley, who might be too valuable to risk as a return man) and too many lapses on the coverage units.
