Pass rush vs. The No. 1 overall pick
There was no position group that impressed me more with their progress Friday night than the defensive line. And I’m talking about the whole group: interior guys and edge rushers. They played with a different demeanor — one players and coaches alike have claimed would be obvious. And it was on Friday night, as the group did well working off each other, collapsing the pocket and making the Lions’ quarterbacks uneasy.
What’s cool is we actually did get to see a lot of the defensive line rotation in action Friday, way more than even I expected. Save for David Onyemata and Leonard Floyd, the defensive line was running deep for the preseason game and, yes, they made their presence known.
Coming off the high of that game, I am curious to see the impact this group has going against Tennessee’s first-team offensive line and, of course, Cam Ward. Titans’ coaches were pleased with what they saw from Ward in the team’s first preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. How do those good feelings transfer to joint practice? Can the Falcons’ defensive line thwart them?
It’ll be tough to truly judge the impact of this defensive line on Ward’s practice performance, but we still should be able to see if his protection is holding up or if the Falcons are collapsing the pocket around him. Those moments — depending on how frequent they are — could be indicators of continued progress for this defensive line.
Michael Penix Jr. off script
Slightly similar to the question of Ward, how will the Falcons’ young quarterback handle a more intense joint practice?
If we’re going off last year’s joint practices against the Miami Dolphins, Penix faired well. His first true (live) snaps as a quarterback in this league came in that preseason game against Miami. He may have the same level head now as he did then, but he’s a bit more poised these days, if you can believe it.
He’s the starter now, and joint practices are a good opportunity to show everyone how he leads his team through any high-intensity and highly emotional moments.
When he has to go off script, how does he fair? What do his connections with receivers look like in one-on-one situations? Has Penix found the best locations and timing for his guys? All of this we will be able to see firsthand in practice on Tuesday and Wednesday. And honestly? It may be all we get this week if the Falcons choose not to play some starters again on Friday… but more on that later.
