LISTEN: Was Falcons' Rookie Jalen Mayfield Set Up to Fail vs. Eagles?
The Atlanta Falcons kicked off their 2021 season Sunday with a resounding 32-6 loss at home to the Philadelphia Eagles.
It's definitely not the start the team was looking for after a lot of optimism in the offseason. It's also not how rookie offensive lineman Jalen Mayfield was hoping his NFL debut would go.
"I thought I did some good things but there’s a lot I need to improve on," said the third-round pick in last April's draft. "Other than that, you know, we got it out of the way and now we’re on to Tampa. I have to do everything better. There’s not one thing in my game that’s fully complete. I have to improve on everything that I do.”
Mayfield often lined up opposite Eagles' 300-pound defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, who poses a challenge for even the most prolific offensive linemen. Hargrave finished the day with two sacks.
While many teams opted to ease their rookies into the season, the Falcons sent Mayfield out on the season's first snap. His performance poses the question on whether the team was right in expecting so much, so soon?
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On this episode of "Locked On Falcons," host Aaron Freeman shares his takeaways from the Falcons' 32-6 Week 1 loss to the Eagles.
He also discusses Matt Ryan's quarterback performance, the offensive line, Arthur Smith's play-calling, the lack of pass rush and wonders if Mayfield was set up to fail.
He summarizes the game including the strong start for the Falcons offense followed by stagnation along with the ups and downs of the team's defense.
Then, he hands out grades for the passing and rushing attacks on both sides of the ball as well as special teams.
Aaron deals with all that and more on this episode of "Locked On Falcons." For more podcasts and information, join us here.
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