Falcons 26 Patriots 23

Yeah, I know, it's just pre-season. But, for a pre-season game, last nights' 26-23 victory by the Falcons over the Pats was pretty exciting.

As can be expected, the majority of offensive starters played in just the first series. Tom Brady was 3 out of 4 for 24 yards. Michael Vick was 3 out of 4 for 26 yards and had one carry that went for 16 yards. After both teams' opening drives, the game was tied 3-3. Offensively both starting units looked impressive, but I can't say that about the defensive units. New England's pass rush was minimal and Atlanta's run defense looked reminiscent of last year's team. As Atlanta fans out there know, that's not a good thing.

Newly acquired defensive end Jonathan Abraham made his presence felt on the second series of the game for the Pats, as he stripped back-up quarterback Matt Cassell and fellow defensive end Patrick Kerney fell on the loose ball. Atlanta would score the go-ahead touchdown on the next play.

Outside linebacker and perennial Pro Bowler Keith Brooking sprained his ankle after being clipped on the first series of the game for the Pats. The severity of the sprain was not known last I heard.

It's hard to state too much about the starters, but offensively, they clicked pretty well. Vick completed a couple dump-offs to Warrick Dunn and a sideline pass to Michael Jenkins. His only incompletion came on third and long when he scrambled and short-hopped a ball to Roddy White. The scramble made me nervous, since it's pre-season, but he looked as quick and elusive as ever. Hopefully he'll keep his pre-season rushes down to a minimum. Warrick Dunn looked as fresh as ever, as he galloped for one long run. Roddy White didn't do a whole lot, but Michael Jenkins played pretty well, making a great catch in the end zone for a touchdown to put the Falcons up 10-3 in the second quarter. Newcomer Kevin Youngblood made some nice catches as well. The O-Line seemed to play pretty well for the majority of the game, but it's tough to get excited about that, considering the majority of the game, they were playing against 2nd and 3rd stringers (as they were also).

T.J. Duckett had one nice long carry. Second-year linebacker Beck out of Cal-Poly (I forget his first name) hit hard in the second half, especially on special teams. Backups Matt Schaub, Bryan Randall, and D.J. Shockley all performed decently as the 2, 3, and 4 quarterbacks.

The two guys that grabbed my attention, though, were kicker Michael Koenen and rookie tailback Jerious Norwood. One big question mark going into the season for the Falcons was at kicker. Veteran Todd Perterson converted 91% of his field goal attempts a year ago, but was limited in range to about 45 yards (max), so the Falcons released him. Undrafted free agent Michael Koenen came onto the scene last year as the punter and kickoff man for the Falcons, performing well at both. He attempted two long-range field goals a year ago, missing from 55 and making from 58. Last night, Jim Mora's prayers may have been answered, as Koenen went 4 for 4, making field goals from 44, 45, 50, and 40, which happened to be the game winner as time expired. Mora has noted that he's worried of giving a kicker all three responsibilities. If that's the case Jim, find someone else to handle kickoffs or punts, because from what I saw last night, you may just have found yourself a place kicker. The 3rd round draft pick out of Mississippi State, Jerious Norwood made his presence known last night, especially in the passing game, where he took two screen passes and darted out with his 4.33 speed for 35 and 40 yards, one of those being for a touchdown. His style of running may be better suited to the Atlanta system that T.J. Duckett. I've heard Duckett's name being rumored as trade bait. From what I saw last night, the Falcons may be better with DVN (Dunn, Vick, Norwood) than they were with DVD (Dunn, Vick, Duckett).

There are two moves I'd like to see Atlanta make. T.J. Duckett and Matt Schaub are free agents next year. Watching the game last night reminded me why I had hoped to trade Schaub in the off-season for some defensive talent or a high draft pick. When it comes to arm strength and accuracy, I think he and 3rd stringer Bryan Randall are fairly similar. The only difference is the fact that Randall can run. D.J. Shockley has an even stronger arm than either Schaub or Randall and is probably just as quick as Randall. In the end, I'd like to see Vick start, Shockley be the back-up, and Randall as the #3. If Vick gets hurt, the team won't have to adjust much in terms of their offensive gameplan, because all three are athletes. Shockley and Randall may not be quite the athlete that Vick is, but they are good and quick enough to scramble around and buy time for the receivers to get open and even pull a Donovan McNabb and run for 5-10 yards if they find the open space. With Dunn not showing signs of slowing down and the emergence of Jerious Norwood, I think the Falcons could also gain some talent by trading T.J. Duckett. These are back-ups they're trading where they could potentially receive starting talent in return and where they won't lose anything, as they have a player just as talented replacing the back-up in Shockley/Randall and Norwood.

After watching the game last night, Atlanta's biggest question mark for me is their run defense. They finished 26th in the league a season ago and last night, they didn't look much (any) better. Assuming Brooking will be ready in time for the season opener and hoping middle linebacker Ed Hartwell doesn't get hurt again, Atlanta is still a bit suspect at the other outside linebacking position and also at the defensive tackle spot outside Rod Coleman. What they could use is a big run stopper opposite Coleman. Atlanta has three of the four best pass rushers in the game along their line in Abraham, Kerney, and Coleman, but they're not the greatest run stoppers in the world. What they need is someone to jam the line and make it more difficult for runners to power their way through. Also, at outside linebacker, either DeMorrio Williams or Michael Boley (3rd and 2nd year players) will start unless Atlanta trades for another. Both are very quick, athletic, and talented, but struggle against the run. If Atlanta improved at these two positions, that defense would be something to watch this season. But, until that happens, they'll be pretty strong against the pass, great at rushing the quarterback, but weak against the run.