Movers and shakers from Falcons’ second preseason game vs. Tennessee Titans

For the second week in a row, concerns for offensive line depth remain. Penalties plagued the offensive front early and halted any offensive momentum from gaining traction. Whether it was false starts by Elijah Wilkinson or holding penalties by Jack Nelson, the offensive tackles had their number called one too many times.

This was actually the first tackle reps Wilkinson has gotten in a preseason game this year. Last Friday, he took his reps from left guard, but moved to left tackle this Friday. One reason may be the Falcons trying to accumulate tackle depth. The Falcons’ primary backup tackle has been Storm Norton. However, Norton has been injured throughout the majority of training camp and the preseason with what Raheem Morris said was a “lower body injury.” On Aug. 13, Morris didn’t have a timeline for Norton’s return. Now, could the Falcons be overly cautious with Norton? Sure. But to not see him at all through the last few weeks? It’s difficult to think that is actually the case. So, the Falcons need to cultivate depth at tackle, but the first half performance of Wilkinson and Nelson didn’t instill too much confidence because of penalties and pressure off the edge.

All offseason the talking point about the offensive line involved the center position, namely who would be Ryan Neuzil’s backup. And while that should still be a topic of conversation as rosters begin taking shape across the league in a couple weeks, the last couple preseason games has called into question the Falcons’ tackle depth, too. Does it need a shake-up? And if so, what does that look like?

I’ll give it to Stick, he got control of the offense when given a little run in the second half. He made a couple big plays: A quarterback keeper that picked up some much-needed yards on the ground as well as a 52-yard pass to Chris Blair that he took in for a touchdown. Still, the offense’s start left something to be desired and was in stark contrast to Stick’s performance in the first half last Friday.

Stick had few — if any — glaring mistakes against the Lions. He made a couple amongst the Falcons’ first half offensive struggles, though. One of which was an interception returned 53 yards for a Titans touchdown. Stick threw another interception while attempting to scramble a few drives later. Offsetting penalties erased the interception, however. Meaning Stick ended his evening going 19-of-32 through the air with 173 passing yards, one touchdown and one interception, which isn’t terrible by any means but the up-and-down nature of the Falcons’ offensive performance weren’t helped early with Stick’s decisions that put the ball in the opponents’ range. He did look more like he did last Friday night in the third quarter, though, so the shake-up needed here may not be as significant at all to the second-team offense line.