Everyone, it’s back. Football is in fact back. The Atlanta Falcons open up the preseason this year against the Miami Dolphins on Friday, August 8th at 7 p.m. EST. The Dolphins, a playoff team last year, offer a unique set of challenges for the Falcons that will hopefully give them a good baseline for building into 2024.
Fortunately, the Falcons have also been facing this Dolphins team in joint practices this week so some of these concerns may have been addressed in some form during practices. But, there are still some potential concerns that this Falcons roster might face during the first preseason game:
Concern #1: The Dolphins Speed on Offense
Guys, the Dolphins are fast.
They’ve built this roster up and have put a massive emphasis on speed with guys like Tyreek Hill, Devon Achane, Jaylen Waddle, Odell Beckham Jr., Anthony Schwartz and even old man Raheem Mostert.
It’s a great way to give the Falcons defense some good tests early to just get a baseline of how to defend against speed like that. Especially with teams like the Kansas City Chiefs and the New York Giants on the schedule.
Concern #2: The Dolphins Secondary
The Dolphins are going to provide a great first test in the NFL for rookie QB Michael Penix Jr. who is expected to start this coming game.
The Dolphins have a good secondary unit with names like Jalen Ramsey, Jordan Poyer, Cam Smith, Kendall Fuller, Marcus Maye, and Jevon Holland. Not sure how much of this unit will play, but this unit has the ability to be one of the best in the league and will provide a good first game for the rookie.
Concern #3: Injuries
It’s the preseason. We hope our starters play some, but we don’t need them playing significantly. Because it’s football, injuries do happen. The last thing we really need is a guy like Kyle Pitts getting hurt by playing pointless minutes in the preseason.
We've already seen how quickly it can happen with the loss of Rondale Moore .
Personally, every starter should get a drive to help knock the rust off and get game speed, work on the calls, get used to a live audience again, and to get accustomed to playing with guys next to them. But last thing we need is starters getting hurt and significantly hurting our chances this season.
What concerns do you have when looking at this preseason game against the Dolphins?
Let us know on X!
Make sure to check out our home page every day for the best and latest Atlanta Falcons news and analysis.
Local Atlanta, GA
Most Popular
Comments / 0