The Falcons traveled to Baltimore last night for their first taste of road-game action in 2013. The game was, basically, all in Atlanta's favor...until the fourth quarter. In the team's defense, the starters were not in the game. According to some Falcons fans on Twitter, if the starters had been in the game during the fourth quarter, ESPN and the NFL Network (more specifically, Warren Sapp) would've loved nothing more than to be on the Falcons' case about allowing a Ravens comeback.

Just like last week, I'm going to break down what I saw in the offense and defense. No special teams this week (There weren't any big plays or "boo-boos" unlike last week.)

Offense:
The first drive made me pretty upset. After the first play of the game, back to back false start penalties turned a 2nd and 4 into a 2nd and 14. The Falcons were also penalized for delay of game. The Ravens had their share of penalties too which allowed the Falcons to catch a mulligan; but this won't always happen. Last season, the Falcons prided on being one of the least penalized teams in the league. I know for a fact that head coach Mike Smith has a plan to make sure his team is well disciplined for the season so those types of penalties are eliminated.

Steven Jackson showed the fans more than he did against Cincinnati. He had a few nice, long runs that got him to 42 yards on only 8 carries for an average of just over 5 yards per carry. Jackson also had a nice catch out of the backfield in which he broke a tackle en route to a first down. Plays like this are exactly why the Falcons signed Steven Jackson. As if fans weren't already excited enough, they should be very excited about what Jackson can/will do come regular season.

Don't let all this Steven Jackson talk distract you from seeing that the Falcons have some great depth at running back. We all know that Jacquizz Rodgers is one heck of a ball player; and if you read my last blog, you should know that Snelling has had his moments too and shouldn't be overlooked. Last night, Josh Vaughan and Antone Smith played well during their playing time. Vaughan had 44 yards on 5 carries averaging close to 9 yards a carry. Smith had a couple of catch and runs to convert some 3rd downs.

The biggest story from the offense is Roddy White suffering an ankle injury in the first quarter and not returning. On the play he was injured, he tangled feet with a Baltimore defender in the end-zone. He hopped right up, complained that he was interfered with, and then jogged to the sidelines; so this injury shouldn't be serious. Also, Julio's back! Julio saw his first live action in 2013 and he did not fail to impress. He racked up 55 yards and a touchdown during his limited action in the game.

Domonique Davis definitely improved from last week. He finished with an 107.5 passer rating after throwing for 98 yards on 10 attempts.

Defense:
The starting defensive unit had its ebbs and flows. They started off solid by forcing Joe Flacco and his gang to go three and out. But then they allowed a slant route to go 77 yards for a touchdown. Basically, two bad things led to that touchdown: Asante Samuel played way too far off of Torrey Smith, and William Moore took a terrible tackling angle. The Samuel interception almost made me forget about that play.

The starting defensive line seemed inconsistent against the running game. Sometimes they would stop Ray Rice for a small gain of yards or no gain at all; but then allow Rice to squeeze through the middle for a chunk of yards.

Dominique Franks performed well. He had a pass breakup that should have been picked off for a touchdown, but made up for it by intercepting a terrible pass by Tyrod Taylor in the red zone.

Paul Worrilow was impressive once again. He had 6 solo tackles and his first NFL sack. Give this guy time and he could send Stephan Nicholas packing.

Most Impressive: Josh Vaughan, Paul Worrilow
Most Disappointing: Peyton Thompson (He has allowed receivers to beat him all preseason. I would cut him right now!)

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