What Jets writers said about New York and Atlanta’s joint practices on Friday

The first day of joint practice for the Falcons and Jets was one of ups and downs, by the looks of it. Falcons reporters in New Jersey reported that Atlanta’s defense was cooked by Joe Flacco all afternoon, which is not the omen we want or need for Monday night.

Of course, you can only invest so much meaning in that, given that we heard all about the Falcons kicking the Dolphins’ butt in joint practices last year in a way that translated into a win against Miami in the regular season, but we didn’t. made. No bodes well for Atlanta’s fortunes in general. You should take a shaky day of this team for what it is: a day. Still, some of the concerns raised today are bigger concerns for this team, so they’re worth at least keeping an eye on.

A little earlier today, Matt Chambers did us the favor of compiling the Falcons-centric coverage from the beat writers. Now, we’ll see what the Falcons looked like from the Jets’ perspective. A word of advice to Pride of Detroit, from whom we’re “borrowing” this format based on their reports from the joint Lions-Colts practices.

Falcons offense vs. Jets defense

It didn’t look like the best day for Atlanta here from the Jets’ perspective, though Desmond Ridder threw a good touchdown pass to Jared Bernhardt early on that was encouraging. He also led the team on a field goal drive in an unscripted stage at the end of the game at the end of practice.

Unfortunately for the Falcons, Ridder wasn’t that successful all day, throwing a pick under pressure. Ridder’s willingness to put the ball in danger and his fight under pressure were the two significant negatives to an impressive first night against the Lions, so it’s something he will have to continue to work on as he tries to push Mariota. . the upcoming weeks. However, he is progressing well.

Mariota and company also had their hiccups, with the veteran mixing a brilliant run with a few misses in the air. Rosenblatt noted that Mariota struggled more against the Jets’ defense than Joe Flacco, that’s not surprising given that Flacco works against them every day, but Mariota was sacked multiple times and couldn’t close out a scoring drive in a two-minute drill. . However, he once again looked great running the ball.

We didn’t see much of Mariota as a passer a week ago against the Lions — his only attempts were good passes, but he didn’t play much — but we know he’ll be the starter in Week 1 and he’s done that well all camp. Monday night should give us a chance to see more of him when it comes to shooting the ball, hopefully he’ll soon forget this practice effort. I’m not really worried about his ability.

Part of their lack of success seemed to be due to tight coverage and defenders who also made plays on passes.

Still, the fact that pressure was a constant theme for both quarterbacks against a capable Jets front set off familiar alarm bells. Atlanta’s pass protection is maybe the a big concern for the 2022 offense, and we’ll need to see them hold up effectively Monday night to feel good about where things are headed. It’s worth noting that Tori McElhaney praised Kaleb McGary and took a more positive view of the line, which she said kept Mariota and Ridder clean much of the day. I prefer your take.

Falcons defense vs. Jets offense

Things sounded a bit rough on this side. No disrespect to Joe Flacco, a quarterback who will go down in history as one of the greatest passers of the early 2010s, but his best days are welcome and it’s not great news that he’s finding success and open options.

Or that he’s running from Falcons defenders, frankly.

However, the biggest play of the day came from rookie running back Breece Hall. I’m a big fan of Hall, so it’s not surprising to see him do well, but a 75-yard touchdown run that looks pretty easy isn’t ideal for this defense.

However, not everything was bad. Cimini points out that Grady Jarrett did Grady Jarrett things, overwhelming the Jets’ offensive line to pin Flacco at one point. No matter what happens to the Falcons’ defensive front this season, Jarrett will be Jarrett, which is a huge consolation.

Practice ended on this note for Rosenblatt, which is certainly a somber note.

Again, it’s a practice, so remember it’s not wise to jump to blanket conclusions about the fitness and ability of this team. However, after an up-and-down preseason game against the Lions and with familiar pass protection concerns, we’ll be eager to see the Falcons show us that their perceived weaknesses are improving tomorrow during practice and Monday night at the week. 2 preseason matchups.