The second-stringers took the field to start off the second half, and thus far have played reasonably well. Chris Redman got alot more playing time in this one, and led the Falcons on a quiet but efficient seven-minute drive that ultimately resulted in a 34-yard Matt Bryant field goal. The drive actually would have ended in a Jacquizz Rodgers TD run, except that was negated by yet another offensive penalty. Backup LT Jose Valdez also picked up a holding penalty on the very same drive.
However, so far Jacquizz Rodgers has looked really impressive. He's shown great vision and agility, picking up 39 yards on six carries thus far. Also worth noting is that Julio Jones played a little bit into the second half, and picked up his second catch of the night. Kerry Meier had a really nice catch too, but that was overturned by a Jacksonville challenge (really, who challenges in a preseason game?).
On defense, the backup squad has looked very solid against Blaine Gabbert and his compatriots, holding them to two field goals in the third quarter. However, one of those field goals game off of a muffed punt by Antone Smith, who I've actually never seen used as a punt returner until now. With him battling Gartrell Johnson for possibly the fourth RB spot, that certainly won't help Smith's case.
A couple guys that stood out to me were Chris Owens and Cliff Matthews. Owens, who is coming off of a pretty poor game against Miami, got the nominal start at corner this week for the injured Dunta Robinson and has made a few good plays so far, including a very near INT off Gabbert. Matthews has also looked pretty sharp so far, getting a good jump off the line of scrimmage in pass rush.
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