The Falcons impressed during their first preseason game of the season when they defeated Miami 19-3 on Friday. The defense in particular stuck out despite not playing any of their projected starters. The defensive line and secondary made big plays and caused turnovers, including an impressive interception from rookie defensive back DeMarrco Hellams.
The only controversy of the evening was the decision to not give QB Desmond Ridder and the starting offense any reps. Coach Arthur Smith did say after the game that the starters are poised to see action in their matchup with the Bengals coming this Friday. But concerns were still raised that the second-year quarterback with only four starts under his belt could use all the work he can get. Dukes & Bell argued that point on Monday.
“I think a lot of the complaints were saying the game was pointless with them not playing the starters. I looked at that (decision) and said it’s perfect,” John Fricke, in for Carl Dukes, explained.
“We said all offseason long, especially once we got to see them physically…we’ve got some dudes. And a byproduct of that is seeing the depth and seeing what they can do. Admittedly, super disappointed on Friday when we learned we weren’t going to see Desmond Ridder and the starters….But Arthur Smith is banking his job on this so I’ll take a knee,” Mike Bell added.
It has yet to be announced just how much action the offensive starters will see vs the Bengals, but starters typically only play a few series in preseason games. It would be unusual to see Ridder and company play an entire half and incredibly unlikely to go beyond that.
