As the Falcons prepare for Thursday’s preseason game at home vs. the Bengals, coach Mike Smith is still struggling to find the right balance between how much practice and how much exposure to contact his players will endure.
“You have to get your guys prepared, and it’s a fine line,” Smith said after Saturday’s practice. “You’re always walking that fine line in terms of right amount of work, the right amount of contact, and overworking your players.”
It’s a relevant topic given Thursday night’s injuries against the Ravens in Atlanta’s first preseason game. MLB Akeem Dent suffered a concussion while on punt coverage at the 9:52 mark of the second quarter, and rookie FB Bradie Ewing sustained a severe knee injury while also on punt coverage midway through the first quarter. Ewing was placed on injured reserve and will miss the entire season. The extent of Dent's injury is unknown.
Smith said he’s trying to alternate practices that expose his players to contact drills. As a result, the Falcons, who worked in pads on Saturday, had a lighter practice on Sunday with shorts and no pads.
“The No. 1 thing we want to try and accomplish is to be as healthy as we can be when we get to the opening game, and that is very difficult to manage simply because this is the time of the year when you have the most contact,” Smith said.
Smith defended his use of Dent and Ewing in Thursday night’s game, saying that if they’re going to see time during the regular season then they need to practice at that position.
"[Dent's] going to have to play some special teams throughout the season. When you are a base player, you are playing about 45 percent of the snaps. No regrets whatsoever," Smith said.
The Falcons are scheduled for walkthroughs and practices on both Monday and Tuesday and then a final morning practice on Wednesday before hosting the Bengals on Thursday.
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