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Younger Black Alex Mack Jersey , better, deeper, and ready to make a difference." />Skip to main contentclockmenumore-arrownoyesHorizontal - n or Sign UpLog InSign UpFanpostsFanshotsLibraryFalconsOddsAboutMastheadCommunity GuidelinesStubHubMoreAll 322 blogs on Horizontal - WhiteFanposts Fanshots Library FalcFans Podcast on The FalcoholicContact The FalcoholicFalcons StoriesScheduleRosterStatsYahoo Falcons NewsYahoo Falcons Team PageYahoo Falcons ReportYahoo Falcons Depth ChartYahoo Falcons TransactionsYahoo Falcons PhotosOdds About Masthead Community Guidelines StubHub ✕A post-draft look at the Falcons 2019 offensive line New,24commentsYounger, better, deeper, and ready to make a difference. EDTShareTweetShareShareA post-draft look at the Falcons 2019 offensive line Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty ImagesThe Falcons decided their offense needed two things: A change at offensive coordinator and a rebuild of the offensive line. Two first round picks and many millions later, they’ve accomplished both goals, and now the offense is positioned to be as elite as it’s been since Kyle Shanahan roamed the sidelines. If all goes well, of course.Suffice to say the offensive line looks better and deeper than it did a year ago. The Falcons are trying to improve that line right now while Matt Ryan is playing the best football of his life—his three year run from 2016-2018 has seen him throw 93 of his 295 career touchdown passes—and also build an elite unit to protect him as he ages. There are still question marks here, but they’re much less urgent than they were in February. StartersThere’s a little uncertainty here, but only a little.Jake Matthews is locked in at left tackle. He emerged as one of the five or so best left tackles in the game last year, and with youth, a long-term deal, and a still-developing toolkit, he could be special for the next 5-10 years. The Falcons have their franchise bedrock at left tackle, and when all is said and done it’s quite possible he’ll be the second best player to man the position in franchise history, behind only should-be Hall of Famer Mike Kenn. It took a little while, but Matthews has arrived and left tackle is set.Left guard is up in the air but the Falcons will likely use either veteran James Carpenter or rookie first rounder Chris Lindstrom there. Carpenter is a dependable sort who fares pretty well as a run blocker and in pass protection, but has notable misadventures in both as a full-time starter. He’d be a one-to-two year stopgap if he took the job. Lindstrom, meanwhile, is an exciting young guard with elite athleticism and a tremendous college career under his belt, but he’ll have to adjust to the NFL where his opposition is bigger, stronger, and faster than he’s used to. No doubt he’d be a better option at left guard than Carpenter over the long haul, but he’ll have his growing pains if he winds up there.Center is Alex Mack’s position. It’s a mark of just how elite the veteran has been that his play fell off last year a bit and he still was one of the best two or three centers in football, and he should be able to finish out his contract in Atlanta on a strong note Alex Mack Jersey 2019 , if nothing else. Having him helps a great deal as the Falcons try to break in new options at guard around him.Right guard will come down to either Lindstrom, who has been practicing there a lot, or veteran Jamon Brown. The latter is a huge, strong guard with stretches of elite run blocking play under his belt and at least flashes of quality pass protection, but an overall uneven history with the Rams and Giants. He has the upside to be a mauler at the position but Lindstrom would appear to be running ahead of him at the moment. Then there’s right tackle, where rookie Kaleb McGary is the odds-on favorite to win. McGary is fresh off a pretty dominant senior season where he excelled in pass protection and showed strong run blocking chops, and the Falcons seem eager to press him into service. Again, expect some early growing pains, but McGary’s good enough to be an asset right away.Reserves At tackle, there’s Ty Sambrailo, a couple of veterans, and some projects. Sambrailo is the swing tackle unless he miraculously beats out McGary for the starting job, and his strong 2018 and quality athleticism make him at least a passable starter in case of emergency. John Wetzel is a big, burly veteran with experience across the line and at least replacement level play wherever he’s ended up, making him a solid choice for the last lineman the team keeps. Dieugot Joseph and Matt Gono are projects and look like longshots at the moment, though Gono cross-trained a bit at guard and remains young enough and interesting enough to push his way into a role down the line. Undrafted free agent Jaelin Robinson could push for a practice squad spot if the team doesn’t keep Joseph or Gono around for that At guard, the team’s top option will be Brown or Carpenter, depending on which one gets sent to the bench. They’ll also almost certainly keep Wes Schweitzer, who has extensive starting experience at left and right guard for this Falcons team and offers quality athleticism and a track record of at least decent play. Schweitzer also may be called upon to be Alex Mack’s de facto backup at center—he’s been listed there before—and hopefully will never have to see the field in that role. Beyond those two, former fourth rounder and 2018 practice squad player Sean Harlow is still lurking and developing, while Adam Gettis brings Schweitzer’s ability to play the interior spots at a lower price, if the Falcons want to go that route. Rookie undrafted free agent Chandler Miller is the only other true center on the roster beyond Mack, which might be enough to earn him a practice squad spot heading into the year. He’s a longshot to make the roster with Carpenter/Brown, Schweitzer, Sambrailo, and Wetzel probably close to locked in. Outlook This should be one of the better, deeper groups the Falcons have had in a while. Matthews and Mack are among the better players in the league at their respective positions Black Ricardo Allen Jersey , Lindstrom and McGary have a ton of talent and upside, and Carpenter and Brown should offer solid guard play in 2019, regardless of which one starts. Their depth should feature multiple players with significant starting experience, and guys like Schweitzer and Wetzel have enough versatility to step up at multiple spots if the need arises.After watching Ryan Schraeder struggle mightily for long stretches of 2019—injury possibly being a factor there—and seeing their two starting guards get hurt and force them to shuffle the deck, the Falcons aren’t taking many chances when it comes to injury decimating them this year. But they also went out and made the line the offseason’s biggest priority, sinking dollars and draft picks into upgrading the overall talent level. There are sure to be hiccups because Carpenter and Brown are not elite players and Lindstrom and McGary are only rookies, but it’d be surprising if the offensive line was not significantly better in 2019 than it was in 2018. ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Falcons‘ defense has one primary goal entering Sunday’s game against Dallas: Slow down Ezekiel Elliott and make Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott try to beat them with his arm.The Falcons will need all their resources to corral Elliott, who leads the NFL with 93 runs of 10 or more yards over the last three years.Atlanta coach Dan Quinn says his defense, which gave up 211 yards rushing in last week’s loss at Cleveland, must maintain gap control against a patient, powerful running back.“He can wait to set up a block and stick his foot in the ground and really explode,” Quinn said. “Oftentimes, you can see him take a handoff and see a read about to happen, then he can change the direction and really explode. I would say the second piece of that is he’s really effective as a pass catcher, too.”Atlanta’s struggling defense was hoping to get a boost from the return of middle linebacker Deion Jones, who hasn’t played since breaking his right foot in the season opener and was ruled out a couple of days after rejoining the active roster. When healthy, Jones is the Falcons’ best defender. He calls the plays, is stout against the run and is fast enough to cover running backs and receivers in coverage.Jones’ injury and season-ending surgeries for starting safeties Keanu Neal and Ricardo Allen have been too much for the Falcons to overcome. They rank third-worst in average yards allowed and fourth-worst in scoring average.Elliott is coming off a dazzling performance — 19 runs and six catches for 187 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns — in a win at Philadelphia. But the Cowboys had to stay the course early when Elliott had just seven yards through the team’s first two possessions.“Honestly, at the beginning, it was a little bit tough sledding,” Elliott said. “We made some good adjustments. We have to have the same mentality going into this game.”Dallas’ defense faces a tough challenge in matching up against Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan and star wideout Julio Jones, who has reached 10,000 yards receiving quicker than any player in NFL history.So, there isn’t much wiggle room for either team. Both are 4-5 and trying to stay in the playoff hunt.Here are things to know about the Cowboys-Falcons matchup:THIN D-LINEThe Cowboys started practice this week with five defensive linemen sidelined by injuries: David Irving (ankle), Taco Charlton (shoulder), Maliek Collins (knee), Daniel Ross (calf) and Antwaun Woods (concussion).Collins and Woods both played more than 60 percent of the snaps against Philadelphia. If either can’t play against the Falcons Ricardo Allen Jersey 2019 , the depth on the interior line will be tested.Dallas might not be able to use Tyrone Crawford outside as much to ease the load on DeMarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory. Lawrence, who has battled shoulder issues this season and has a history of back trouble, played a season-high 90 percent of the snaps against the Eagles.FIGHTING FOR RESPECTFalcons cornerback Desmond Trufant is enduring his toughest year as a pro with five dropped interceptions, the worst coming on Cincinnati’s game-winning drive in Week 4.Trufant, a first-round pick in 2013, takes the blame for not playing consistently sound fundamentals.“I’m judging myself harder than anybody else can,” he said. “So it is what it is. It’s the league. I’m in the spotlight. I’m earning what I’m earning. It just comes with it. That’s just how it goes. I’m in that position. I’ll just keep working, attack the issues, stay humble. I’ve been here before. I’ll just keep working.”COMPARING PICKSThe Cowboys were high on Calvin Ridley going into the draft, having spent plenty of time with the former Alabama receiver and needing a replacement after releasing Dez Bryant, the franchise’s career leader in touchdown catches, in a cost-cutting move in the offseason. Instead, Dallas went with Boise State linebacker Leighton Vander Esch at No. 19. The Falcons chose Ridley seven picks later.Both teams are pleased.Vander Esch set a rookie franchise record with 19 tackles against the Eagles, according to the coaches’ count. Ridley leads all rookies with 500 yards receiving and has been a strong complement to Julio Jones.LOOKING BETTERPrescott was steady in leading 75-yard drives for touchdowns in the fourth quarter last week, each of which answered a TD from the Eagles. It has been an inconsistent season for the 2016 NFL Offensive Rookie the Year as he ranks 33rd in average yards passing, but Dallas coach Jason Garrett says the team ignores outside criticism.“Well, we don’t spend much on that,” Garrett said. “We spend most of our time on ourselves and what we need to do to be better. That’s every one of us. Every coach. Every player. And we love Dak. Dak has done some really great things for our team in the 2½ years that he’s been our starting quarterback. He’s continuing to grow as a player.”STAY STRONGRyan needs the threat of play-action, but that’s hard to maintain when the Falcons’ running game starts strong and fades. It’s been a frustrating trend all season.“We just need to stick with it,” he said. “Last week, we just played from behind most of the third and fourth quarter, which makes it difficult to run the football. I thought that we had our opportunities. We did some nice things in the run game last week, so staying in front of the chains and staying ahead and the score is key to keeping our run game rolling.”