By Mike Conti
GKS Contributor
ATLANTA- All of the usual caveats and asterisks apply. This was, after all, a preseason game.
But the third preseason game of the exhibition season is the one that NFL teams treat the most seriously. Now, the Falcons are left with serious questions, after the starters in their already shaky secondary were torched for 255 passing yards in just four possessions by the Chargers Saturday night.
It was a Chargers offense that did not include Running Back LaDainian Tomlinson nor Tight End Antonio Gates. But Quarterbacks Phillip Rivers and Billy Volek had a field day, picking apart undersized Falcons corners Chris Houston and Brent Grimes.
In the case of San Diego Wide Receiver Vincent Jackson, his treatment of Houston could be considered borderline abuse, on a pair of 30 yard catches he made against the third year man from Arkansas.
Houston may be the Falcons version of Jason David: a target loved by opposing quarterbacks and vilified by his own team’s fans. His play so far this summer has done little to silence the critics.
The determined but diminutive Grimes was also beaten badly on a touchdown reception by Michael Bennett late in the first half. Grimes was reinserted in the second half to play against the Chargers’ third team offense, but was equally ineffective.
So disgusted was Falcons coach Mike Smith with the performance of his defense, he walked away from a sideline meeting involving coaches and players in the first half, waving his hands in disgust.
The uncharacteristic display of emotion by Smith was greeted with loud cheers by Falcons fans sitting behind the bench.
The rest of the defense can’t be absolved of blame either. Poor tackling allowed speedy Chargers running back Darren Sproles to spring a few big gainers.
The Falcons defense, and the secondary in particular, were already considered liabilities on a team that feels it has the talent on offense to win the division. The Falcons formula for success in 2008 involved a run-oriented offense that kept opposing offenses off the field.
It appears a similar strategy may be required this year out of necessity. While the Falcons defense has a front line that’s able to pressure the quarterback (John Abraham), the team’s undersized secondary could be an attractive target for a certain pass happy offense in the NFC South that also plays their home games in a dome.
As for the Falcons offense, quarterback Matt Ryan engineered an easy touchdown drive against the Chargers defensive starters, but was also error-prone, throwing two easy interceptions that were dropped by San Diego defenders.
“We have to get better and keep getting better,” said Ryan, who ended 14-20 for 140 yards and one touchdown.
Holdout wide reciever Roddy White looked good, catching three balls for 45 yards. If he showed any signs of rust, they were not apparent.
“I just have a lot of catching up to do, especially in our two minute packages,” said White after Saturday’s game.
NOTES: From my seat in the Press Box, it appears a number of Falcons fans spent their hard earned money on Matt Ryan jerseys over the off-season. But, a LARGE number of Falcons fans continue to show up at the Georgia Dome wearing Michael Vick jerseys… Saints fans coming to the Georgia Dome later this year will notice that two new high definition video boards have been installed… Referee Alberto Riveron apparently didn’t get the message that this was a preseason game. He spent five minutes in the second quarter attempting to get three seconds put back on the clock.
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