MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The Atlanta Falcons faced the Miami Dolphins in joint training camp practices Tuesday and Wednesday before kicking off the preseason Friday night inside Hard Rock Stadium.

With each meeting came an opportunity for Falcons coach Raheem Morris to evaluate his entire team — from the 90-man roster to his assistant coaches — and resulted in a week full of lessons learned for Atlanta’s first-year boss.

Prior to Wednesday’s joint practice, Morris was asked about standouts from the day before. He spoke highly of his team’s trench play, where pads popped and physicality was as high as it has been all summer.

“It was the first time I got a chance to see our big guys other than Grady [Jarrett] play in pads versus another team in this setting,” Morris said. “So, I learned a lot about everybody. You get a chance to really see D.O. [David Onyemata] come to life — it was nice to watch. It was good to see T.Q [Ta’Quon Graham].”

Jarrett, Onyemata and Graham sit atop Atlanta’s interior defensive line, but several others beneath them also impressed Morris — starting with veteran Kentavius Street and trickling into the rookie class, where second-round pick Ruke Orhorhoro, fourth-round selection Brandon Dorlus and sixth-round choice Zion Logue each made plays.

“That was really good to see, the physicality of the play, the temperament of even Street going out there, even though he’s a veteran type guy,” Morris said. “But it was nice to see those guys and those presence. And then obviously add in Ruke, and you get a chance to see Dorlus come to life and Zion and all those guys.”

Yet for as encouraged as Morris was by the defensive front, the Falcons’ offensive line was equally impressive.

Among Atlanta’s five starters, Morris was the interim head coach over three of them — left tackle Jake Matthews, right guard Chris Lindstrom and right tackle Kaleb McGary — in 2020. But everyone else in the room, from the other starters in left guard Matthew Bergeron and center Drew Dalman to the reserves, is new.

And the offensive line, with a blend of both new and old faces, stood out to Morris.

“Going back again and getting a chance to look at Chris Lindstrom and see how violent he plays when he comes off the ball,” Morris said. “And even Kaleb McGary and then watching Drew Dalman sit in there and [backup center Ryan] Neuzil.”

The group of blockers next to the offensive line also left a lasting impression, as Morris effused praised on tight ends Ross Dwelley and Charlie Woerner, who signed with the Falcons this spring after spending six and four years, respectively, with the San Francisco 49ers.

“Really on both sides of the ball was huge, particularly at tight end to watch the new tight ends that we brought in and watch those guys go to work,” Morris said. “Both of them — Dwelley and Charlie — seeing those guys play physical at the point of attack, it was fun.”

But that was practice. The game setting was another animal.

The Falcons’ pass rush failed to sack Dolphins quarterbacks Skylar Thompson and Mike White, but the two passers were hit seven times. Harrison had two, while Orhorhoro and Street led five players with one apiece.

Jarrett and Onyemata did not play, giving Morris an extended look at the rest of the room — and he saw a handful of players capitalize on the opportunity.

“You’re really excited about what some of those early guys did when it comes to Street and ‘TQ’ and Zach Harrison,” Morris said. “You’re able to get those guys in there and get those guys out and then you get some of your young guys and they have some extensive play like Dorlus and Ruke.

“That was a lot of fun to see those guys do those things, be able to rush the passers and do different things.”

Behind the defensive line in the middle of Atlanta’s defense is where linebackers J.D. Bertrand, Milo Eifler and Donavan Mutin spent Friday night.

Morris, asked postgame if he had any gut reactions about surprise players, said he wasn’t surprised because he sees the players each day and saw all of them get “good looks,” but the linebackers were the main group that impressed — especially Mutin.

“I will say those linebackers, inside linebackers, Mutin and those guys did a nice job of going out and really playing and playing physical, making some nice plays on defense and really stepping up a couple times there and giving us a chance to win the football game,” Morris said.

Mutin finished second on the team in tackles with six, and led all Falcons with five solo stops. Bertrand posted four tackles, tied with safety Micah Abernathy for third-best.

The Falcons did not play any of their three starting-caliber linebackers in Kaden Elliss, Nate Landman and Troy Andersen. Morris said Atlanta will be counting on that trio throughout the season ahead.

But on Friday night, the story was about those who played.

“You’ve got J.D. who you had really high hopes on, and at the end of the day, Mutin went out and played really well for us,” Morris said. “Those guys played well all across the board at the inside linebacker position. That’s fun to watch and that’s something good to see.”

In the secondary, Morris spoke highly of cornerback Kevin King, who intercepted a pass and broke up another in his first game since the 2021 season. But Morris also offered impromptu praise to another corner: Veteran nickel Antonio Hamilton.

“Pretty positive showing for him,” Morris said about King. “Went out and made a couple nice plays on the ball, got a nice pick. Pretty excited to see him go play. Got a chance to go see Kevin King really show some things and do some things really well for us.

“‘Ham’ had a nice night too also for us, other than the time he guessed that one out when he should have been a deep third, but other than that, he did a pretty good job. Pretty fired up about those guys.”

Morris and staff will get three chances — Monday, Wednesday and Thursday — to see their team practice this week before heading to Baltimore for a preseason bout with the Ravens.

The second preseason game is an important barometer to see which players took coaching points after the first game and ensuing practices, and it’s another key opportunity to prove oneself before cutdown day Aug. 27.

Atlanta and Baltimore are scheduled to play at noon Saturday inside M&T Bank Stadium.

With Kirk Cousins scheduled to be the starting quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons in 2024, it was an excellent, and somewhat rare, opportunity for a first-round quarterback like Michael Penix Jr. to get extensive action in the preseason.

Penix had a solid debut on Friday night against the Miami Dolphins, going 9 for 16 passing for 104 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions. He showed off the arm that made him a top-10 pick in April’s NFL Draft.

After the game, Penix was asked to self scout and give his thoughts on his performance.

“I feel like I did OK,” Penix said after the game. “You know, some things that you know definitely want to get better. I feel like I executed the offense the best that I could. I had one mistake. One mistake, the fans, they wouldn’t have noticed it, but in our offense, I know it.

“Other than that, you know, just trying to get points on the board. Whenever I was out there was able to get some points. We want to score every drive, we ended in field goal. I’m not sure how many times but you know I want to score. But it’s always room for improvement.”

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Penix was pressed on the one mistake he made.

“I looked the wrong way on the play, but I found a check down,” Penix said with a grin. 

Players are almost always asked about their first experience, when it felt real to them being on the field in an NFL uniform, but Penix took it all in stride.

“It was fun to be able to be out there compete, you know, with my brothers,” Penix said. “I’ve been having fun out there, just going out there, playing playing a game. I’ve been playing since I was 5 years old,” said Penix. “So no nerves, no jitters. Just ready to go.”

Penix was happy to see a different uniform out there. He thinks the familiarity of facing one’s own defense actually makes practices harder than having the element of surprise against an opponent.

“I always say the game is easier than practice.” Penix said. “I don’t know why; I think it’s because our defense sees our looks so many times, it’s harder to get completion against them. But in the game I feel like the routes be wide open and you know it be slower; it’s slower than practice.

“So I was good.” 

Michael Penix Jr. was good in his debut for the Atlanta Falcons. He’s a tantalizing piece the Falcons plan to have in reserve the next-two seasons as long as Cousins performs to the level he’s accustomed to… and stays healthy.

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – Atlanta native Spencer Cline has nearly completed a seven-week cycling trip totaling 3,700 miles to honor his late father and raise awareness for frontotemporal dementia, which claimed his father’s life.

Thus far, he’s raised over $50,000 while documenting his journey on social media. He biked to his home in Atlanta Saturday after beginning his cross country journey in June in Oregon.

“Coming in and seeing the skyline was like, ‘Wow I made it,’” he said. “Crazy being back in the city that I flew out of a month and a half ago to get to Oregon and now I’m back and only have a week left.”

“I’ve gone through Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, now in Georgia and then South Carolina next,” he said. “Seeing the amount of people who have donated. People donating $20 up to $10,000, it’s been breathtaking.”

Years ago, Cline lost his father Larry to frontotemporal dementia, a hereditary disease that’s difficult to diagnose.

Cline says he and his siblings have a 50% chance of developing frontotemporal dementia, which is why every mile counts.

He is hoping his journey from coast to coast will raise awareness to find a cure for the disease.

“Doing this so other families don’t have to go through what we went through,” he said. “It was such a long time to get an accurate diagnosis and going through multiple misdiagnosis.”

He’s had some hurdles, including a chaotic crash in Idaho to avoid running over a furry friend.

“A dog ran out in front of me and caused me to fall and break my wrist. So, it put a delay in the ride,” he said.

He was back on his bike a week later, following surgery.

He aims to complete his journey next Saturday in Charleston, South Carolina.

Cline’s online fundraiser can be found here.

Atlanta News First does not vet or endorse individual online fundraisers. Donate at your own risk.

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