Atlanta, GA- The 2019 NFL season is inching closer as the Atlanta Falcons get set to take on the New York Jets in their third preseason game at home inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
In their second preseason game last week against the Miami Dolphins, Atlanta elected to hold out their starters due to inclement weather at South Beach. Atlanta Falcons head coach Dan Quinn announced that the starting squad will play this Thursday night, but said their time in the game will be on a player to player basis saying, “Definitely our plan heading in with a number of the guys is to get more work. That will depend a little bit by the player, it won’t be just one unit for these extended amounts of plays.” He continued, “Some guys need the work, some guys need the reps. We’ll take a look on an individual basis, but for sure, we’re going to extend a lot more players in this game.”
That means Falcons star quarterback Matt Ryan will make his 2019 debut against the Jets, and the 11-year veteran spoke about getting on the field saying, “excited to get back out on the field. Put in a lot of hard work the last couple of weeks and still a lot of work for us to do to get ready for the regular season, but it’ll be a good chance to get in our home stadium. “
Most of the starters will make their debut alongside Ryan, including running back Devonta Freeman, who is making his return from season-ending sports-hernia surgery last season. Star receiver Julio Jones will not be appearing at all this preseason for Atlanta, as the two-time All-Pro receiver says he practices the way he plays and will be ready for week one when Atlanta takes on the Vikings in Minnesota on September eighth.
Making his preseason debut alongside Ryan will be last year’s rookie standout receiver Calvin Ridley, who has missed the last two weeks with a hamstring injury that has had him sidelined throughout training camp. Ridley is looking to build upon his solid rookie season, and it will be fun to see his development with Ryan.
Coach Quinn talked about Ridley’s return saying, “We’re excited to see Cal [Calvin Ridley] back. It’s been about two weeks since he’d been out, so we did a good job of making sure he was fully himself: his strength, his quickness, his explosion.” He continued, “We’ll ramp him up again today, but he looked good on the first day. It was great to have his energy back out there too.”
On defense, the only starter being held out is linebacker Deion Jones, who is also working his way back from an injury last season. Coach Quinn said they will continue to ramp up his workload in practice and games for the next three weeks and he will be ready for week one.
Overall, this should be an exciting first look for fans at the Falcons inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium as they square off against the Jets and promising young quarterback Sam Darnold. It will be interesting to see how long coach Quinn uses his starters with two more preseason games following tomorrows matchup, but even a series or two means that meaningful football is close.
The Atlanta Falcons and New York Jets kick-off Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. EST. from Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Written by Brian Pohl
