Five things that should be on your radar when the Falcons and Titans meet for joint practices.

Tori McElhaney

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. At no other time in the preseason does one find out more about a team than during joint practices.

For teams like the Falcons, which limit starters' participation in preseason games, the two days of joint practices are the closest they get to really taking the gloves off. They still can't tackle to the ground in practice, but the intensity rises significantly as players get to go up against someone they don't consider their teammate. Finally.

Joint practices with the Tennessee Titans will be held Tuesday and Wednesday morning. For those looking to get in on the action, tickets can still be claimedhere. If you can't make it to Flowery Branch, fear not: Dave Archer and Taylor Vismor will be hostinga live training camp showbeginning at 9:50 a.m. ET on the Atlanta Falcons YouTube channel. And of course, yours truly, Terrin Waack and Will McFadden will be giving you all of the insights into practice in our camp report Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon. There will also be a podcast on the Atlanta Falcons Podcast Network recapping each day.

In essence? We've got you covered.

But what should be on your radar? Here are five things on mine.

Pass rush vs. The No. 1 overall pick

There was no position group that impressed me more with their progress Friday night than the defensive line. And I'm talking about the whole group: interior guys and edge rushers. They played with a different demeanor one players and coaches alike have claimed would be obvious. And it was on Friday night, as the group did well working off each other, collapsing the pocket and making the Lions' quarterbacks uneasy.

What's cool is we actually did get to see a lot of the defensive line rotation in action Friday, way more than even I expected. Save for David Onyemata and Leonard Floyd, the defensive line was running deep for the preseason game and, yes, they made their presence known.

Coming off the high of that game, I am curious to see the impact this group has going against Tennessee's first-team offensive line and, of course, Cam Ward.Titans' coaches were pleasedwith what they saw from Ward in the team's first preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. How do those good feelings transfer to joint practice? Can the Falcons' defensive line thwart them?

It'll be tough to truly judge the impact of this defensive line on Ward's practice performance, but we still should be able to see if his protection is holding up or if the Falcons are collapsing the pocket around him. Those moments depending on how frequent they are could be indicators of continued progress for this defensive line.

Michael Penix Jr. off script

Slightly similar to the question of Ward, how will the Falcons' young quarterback handle a more intense joint practice?

If we're going off last year's joint practices against the Miami Dolphins,Penix faired well. His first true (live) snaps as a quarterback in this league came in that preseason game against Miami. He may have the same level head now as he did then, but he's a bit more poised these days, if you can believe it.

He's the starter now, and joint practices are a good opportunity to show everyone how he leads his team through any high-intensity and highly emotional moments.

When he has to go off script, how does he fair? What do his connections with receivers look like in one-on-one situations? Has Penix found the best locations and timing for his guys? All of this we will be able to see firsthand in practice on Tuesday and Wednesday. And honestly? It may be all we get this week if the Falcons choose not to play some starters again on Friday... but more on that later.

How position battles start shaking out

If Friday's first preseason game showed us anything it's that there are some hotly contested position battles emerging. Think second safety beside Jessie Bates III, nickel, that sixth wide receiver spot, etc. There's also some new ideas that emerge with some recent signings. Like, could center Jake Hanson disrupt the depth chart, for example?

AsTerrin Waack wrote when the signing became official Sunday, Hanson is a young player who played a key role in depth for the New York Jets the last couple years. Last season, Hanson played in 12 games and made two starts taking 103 offensive snaps for New York during that span.

I am not saying Hanson is in Atlanta to usurp Ryan Neuzil. But he may be in Atlanta to be a sturdier piece of depth behind him, which is something I believe the Falcons still need.

With that being said, there are a lot of positions, roles and even starting jobs up for grabs. Truth be told, this could be a week we look back on as a time when someone truly established themselves.

Hey, Calvin Ridley!

I was going to write that Ridley probably knows this facility better than most but then I remembered all of the construction that happened last year began after he was already on another team. So, really, he probably knows less about the layout maybe he'll want a tour to see what the Falcons did with the place?

In all seriousness, for the first time in four years, Ridley will make his way out on to the Falcons' practice field. He'll just be doing so with the Titans. I'm sure there will be some emotions attached to that moment, especially since Ridley was coached by Raheem Morris when he was here. That'll make for great content. Well, that and potentially seeing Ridley go up against A.J. Terrell. Terrell is a very different entity than he was the last time the two probably went head-to-head in 2020-21.

Quality of the work

Based on how two days of joint practices go, do you feel strong enough to not play your starters in the game Friday?

This is a big question for Morris and Co., right? It follows a similar line of thinking to last week when Morris said how much key starters and role players ultimately played in the first preseason game vs. Detroit would hinge on how much work they were able to get in during the team scrimmage last Wednesday. It wouldn't surprise me if 1) the coaching staff follows this same cadence of decision making, but also if 2) we don't see starters in this second preseason game, either.

I could absolutely see a world in which even less key players play this Friday than last. I say that because I know joint practices can be two of the toughest, most physically demanding days of the entire preseason slate. So, it stands to reason the coaches could see fit to build up starters over the course of those two days and then de-load Friday and through the weekend, with the intent to play starters in the third and final preseason game in Dallas.

But, I admit, that is speculation on my part. And maybe they do the exact opposite of what I am saying.

Good thing we have a whole week of practices and conversations to hold before Friday gets here.

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