Falcons coach Mike Smith says his starters will play past halftime during Friday night's preseason contest in Miami in what will be their longest tune-up for the regular season, and quarterback Matt Ryan says improving red-zone efficiency will be a major focus, according to AtlantaFalcons.com.
Of Ryan's seven trips to the red zone this preseason, the Falcons have scored just three touchdowns and managed two field goals. It's something Ryan says has turned into a point of emphasis this week in practice.
"We've been down there a couple of times, we just need to try to continue to finish those drives off," Ryan said. "We've been working hard on that in practice and I think that's something that hopefully we'll do better in the game on Friday."
The Falcons have moved the ball well while the first-team offense has been on the field the first two preseason games, so it's a fixable problem. With the 6'4" Julio Jones emerging as an elite talent and the sure-handed Tony Gonzalez over the middle, Ryan will have plenty of weapons down near the goal line.
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