What We've Learned About Every Positional Unit so Far in Falcons' Preseason

The Atlanta Falcons' first preseason game has come and gone: a 31-17 loss at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens.

While a disappointing result, the contest, along with the few weeks the team has been practicing at Flowery Branch, has given us plenty to digest already.   

Here's a look at what we've learned from each of the Falcons' positional units thus far.

Quarterbacks

Matt Ryan has played as expected after following up a reportedly near-perfect performance in practice with last Thursday night's impressive showing against the Baltimore Ravens.

Who hasn't played as expected are his backups.

While long-time veteran Chris Redman may know the offense in-and-out after spending the last five years with the Falcons, it looks as though age has taken its toll on the 35-year-old's body after he looked slow and off target in the game against the Ravens. He finished one-of-six for eight yards.

The statistics indicate third-stringer John Parker Wilson fared better after completing eight-of-13 passes for 69 yards. However, most of Wilson's incompletions were the result of very poorly thrown balls, some of which went straight to the turf. At this point, Wilson looks no better than the undrafted free agent he was four years ago.

Meanwhile, 2012 undrafted free agent Dominique Davis impressed in his first ever preseason contest and has the potential to compete for second string. But few teams would even consider having a rookie free agent as their No. 2 quarterback over an experienced player, and the Falcons don't seem to be one of them.

Redman and Wilson still have three games to go to prove themselves, but for now the Falcons appear to be in big trouble if Ryan were to be lost to injury for so much as one game this season.

Running Backs/Fullbacks

Jacquizz Rodgers showed he could do it all in the Falcons' opening preseason game: block oncoming linebackers, catch the ball out of the backfield, run hard between the tackles.

Rodgers looks ready and able to cut into Michael Turner's workload this year, but that comes as little surprise after the Falcons repeatedly spoke of their plans for the two this offseason.

What was a little more surprising, however, was the front office's reaction to rookie fullback Bradie Ewing's injury.

The fifth-round pick suffered a severe leg injury against the Ravens, leading to the belief second-year pro Mike Cox would earn the starting job by default.

Instead, the Falcons showed they aren't yet fully confident in Cox's abilities after swiftly adding to the roster once Ewing was placed on injured reserve. That leaves Cox, Polite and the undrafted Lee Meisner to battle for the spot.

Cox filled in valiantly at fullback when Ovie Mughelli was lost for the year midway through last season, but it would appear he'll have to prove himself all over again if he hopes to have the starting job from day one this time around.

Wide Receivers

The headlining news following last Thursday's game was that Julio Jones is the real deal after he hauled in six catches for 109 yards and a touchdown in just a quarter's worth of play against the Ravens.

But garnering a lot less buzz so far in training camp is the battle for the No. 5 receiver. At this point, two players look to be the front-runners in a very tight race for the spot: Kevin Cone and Drew Davis.

Both receivers were on the team's practice squad last year, but with Eric Weem's departure this offseason, it looks as though one of them has a realistic shot at surviving the final cut.  

The statistics might lead one to assume Cone is ahead after making two catches for 25 yards to Davis' one for three. However, head coach Mike Smith has already said the last receiver spot will come down to the more valuable special-teamer of the group.

And in that category, Davis seems to be leading according to Daniel Cox.

But we've only had one game to compare the two. Right now, neither Cone nor Davis looks to have a definitive lead over the other in the race to No. 5, and it could be long before the victor is decided upon.

Tight Ends

While the Falcons have clear front-runners in the race for the fifth and final receiver spot, that's far from the case when it comes to the third and final tight end spot.

Newly signed Falcon Chase Coffman (pictured above) joins 2012 undrafted free agents LaMark Brown and Aron White and 2011 practice squad member Tommy Gallarda in the fight to make the roster after Adam Nissley was waived following injury.

Thus far, all have shown to be anything but impressive after a dropped pass by Brown and fumble by White led to turnovers against the Ravens, while Gallarda stayed quiet with just one catch for four yards.

Coffman figures to add more competition as the most experienced player of the bunch as he enters his third season in the league, but with just three career catches, he isn't necessarily a lock to make the team.

At some point, one of these guys is going to make a play big enough to distinguish themselves from the pack. The question is, who? 

Offensive Line

If we've learned anything about the Falcons' offensive line at this point in the preseason, it's that we haven't learned much at all.

While not perfect against the Ravens, the line seemed much-improved over their previous contest, the one in which the Falcons were dominated up front by the New York Giants in last season's playoffs.

Matt Ryan finished his shift last Thursday unscathed on 13 attempts, while running backs Michael Turner and Jacquizz Rodgers both were generally effective on the ground.

But apparently the offensive line's preseason performance hasn't yet warranted any guaranteed starters (via Atlantafalcons.com's Jay Adams).

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“When we’re talking about starting guys, we’re talking about starting guys today, of course,” Smith said. There’s three more opportunities for us to evaluate all of the guys that are competing, and I believe there’s 12 guys that legitimately have a shot for the nine spots on our offensive line. We’ve got to look at different combinations, gameday combinations, 46-man-roster discussions, as well as the 53-man roster.”

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With a starter today potentially a backup tomorrow, it could take all of training camp before knowing which five guys will be blocking for Ryan and paving the way for Turner on opening day.

Defensive Line

If there's one thing we've learned so far about the Falcons' defensive line, it's that they're stacked at the unit.

At defensive end, the Falcons already know what John Abraham was capable of, have high hopes Ray Edwards can bounce back from a dismal 2011 season and look to have a player waiting to break out in Lawrence Sidbury.

But after the Ravens game, it looks like they'll have to make some room for 2012 fifth-round draft pick Jonathan Massaquoi.

The defensive end from Troy showed great burst and a relentless motor in his debut with the team, recording four tackles—two of which were for a loss—and bringing strong pressure on numerous other snaps.

But it doesn't end there for the team's D-line.

At defensive tackle, 2009 first-round pick Peria Jerry has been picking up the slack alongside Jonathan Babineaux with starter Corey Peters out with a foot injury. Jerry finished the night with two tackles and an assist to his name, but what will stay off the stat sheet is how well he collapsed the pocket when he was in the game.

Perhaps the unit's biggest surprise of the night was seventh-round pick Travian Robertson. While mostly lining up against backups, Robertson drew numerous double-teams and was still able to record a tackle and two assists.

If Massaquoi, Jerry and Robertson keep it up, the Falcons might actually field a deep, potent rotation along the defensive line in 2012.

Linebackers

In hindsight, maybe it wasn't such a good idea to let Curtis Lofton walk in free agency earlier this year.

That decision, along with the season-ending injury to free agent Lofa Tatupu and the concussion Akeem Dent suffered in the Ravens game, has left the Falcons with a cloud of uncertainty facing its bone-thin linebacking corps.

Starters Sean Weatherspoon and Stephen Nicholas know what's expected of them, but what can Mike Peterson, Spencer Adkins, Robert James and a bunch of undrafted free agents offer? 

36-year-old Mike Peterson can no longer run and cover like he used to. Spencer Adkins has done little in his three seasons as a pro. Robert James has been in the league since 2008 but has nothing to show for all his years in the league.

As for the undrafted free agents, Alabama product Jerrell Harris has looked to be the best of the bunch after "turning some heads at camp."

Considering the Falcons are one injury away from complete disaster at the position, the other rookies better start doing the same, and fast.

Secondary

When the Falcons traded for Asante Samuel the night before this year's NFL draft, the most obvious benefit was how his play-making ability would bring much-needed improvement to last year's 20th-ranked pass defense.

Less obvious was how much the team needed his swagger, too.

The Falcons defense seemed to play without an identity, without a voice these past few seasons.

Now, it seems, they're making their presence felt loud and clear.

Samuel has been an outspoken, cocky, non-stop trash-talker since he landed in Atlanta, and he's doing his best to share that attitude with his new teammates (via ESPN.com's Ashley Fox).

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When safety Shann Schillinger, a sixth-round pick out of Montana in 2010, picked off Ryan, Samuel ran from one sideline across the field, dancing and jawing the whole way, to congratulate him.

"You're going to get a penalty for excessive celebration," Smith said to Samuel.

"Every time you pick it, I'm going to get a $20,000 fine," Samuel said to Schillinger, "and you're going to pay it."

About Samuel, one team official said, "He's got even Shann Schillinger believing he can play."

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Samuel's influential demeanor has the Falcons defense feeling confident. If last Thursday's first-quarter performance was just a preview, that confidence could make it one to be feared come September.

Specialists

The biggest question mark surrounding special teams this offseason was who would replace Eric Weems on punt return and kickoff return.

The Falcons look to have found the answer to at least half the question.

With Harry Douglas sitting out due to injury, Mike Smith hoped Dominique Franks could deliver at punt return on Thursday night.

And did he ever.

Franks provided one of last Thursday's most exciting plays after returning a first-quarter punt 45 yards before being dragged out of bounds at the Baltimore 15-yard line.

It would be his only return of the night, but it was enough to show Franks has the potential to shine on punt return, perhaps giving him the edge to win the job before Douglas even fields his first punt.

That's because with Douglas set to play a more prominent role under new offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter, keeping his risk for injury as low as possible is a definite priority.

If that's the case and Franks wins the job, a touchdown return or two wouldn't be out of the question for him this season.