
Most teams will only go as far as their depth takes them.
On Sunday, the Falcons showed they have a bit of depth and when two players that have played a lot of snaps for the Falcons this season, ![]()
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Entering Sunday's game, ![]()
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But against the Eagles, both players were asked to step into more prominent roles and the Falcons got a win on the road in a hostile environment. Davis played for the inactive Douglas and Konz started in place of Reynolds, who was active but did not play a snap. Davis saw action in 46 of 75 offensive snaps and Konz started every snap at right guard.
Falcons head coach Mike Smith said on Monday the staff decided to give Konz some reps during the week with Reynolds' health in question and he thought the rookie second-round pick performed well in his early assessment.
"After viewing the film, I thought he had a very solid game," Smith said. "It was a situation where you're a rookie and you're playing your first game and you're playing against a defensive line that's very talented. Cullen Jenkins is the starter, but they rotated guys and had different guys lining up against him and I thought Peter handled it extremely well."
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It was Davis' first catch in the NFL and his second catch would be even bigger. Lined up in the slot on third-and-7 from the Philadelphia 15, Davis ran his route right past defenders as they trained their focus on Jones, lined wide of Davis. He caught the wide-open pass in the end zone for a 15-yard TD and gave the Falcons the fast start on offense they wanted.
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Smith credits the locker room mentoring that occurs as a key ingredient to ensuring younger depth players play well when their number is called.
"I really have to say our guys, and when I say 'our guys,' the core group of guys that are the leaders in the locker room, they work with the younger players and they talk to them about their experiences," Smith said. "I've said it many times and I'm going to say it again, I know it's about winning on Sunday, but you win first in the locker room. You've got to have a good locker room."
The Falcons showed a lot in their fourth road win of the season. Once again they reminded many around the league they can go on the road, win outside and win in bad weather. They also showed some of their depth is starting to emerge and with it, they may be able to weather some of the future storms of this season.