Atlanta Falcons Coach Raheem Morris Tabs Standouts vs. Dolphins

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.