The Atlanta Falcons have two young defenders looking to earn a starting spot in the Week 1 lineup. Rookie cornerback Desmond Trufant is currently sitting on top of the depth chart at one of the cornerback positions, but Robert Alford is looking to make a jump in these final weeks of preparation. A few injuries are certainly helping his cause.

Mike Smith continues to throw the rookies directly into the fire, putting the cornerbacks up against Julio Jones and Roddy White. The wide receivers clearly pick on young guns, but it is paying off come game time. While Trufant got the start, an injury put the spotlight on Alford against the Tennessee Titans over the weekend.

In the first half, starting quarterback Asante Samuel went down with a thigh injury, leaving Alford to be the next man up. From then on, the secondary of the Falcons was controlled by two rookies. Titans quarterback Jake Locker took advantage of the inexperience while Trufant and Alford offered up mixed results.

Alford gave up a few big pass plays that likely would not have happened if Samuel was in the game, but overall Smith was impressed with the first big-time test for the rookie.

"He didn't make some of the plays that were presented to him," Smith said. "Some of them were technical and some of them were mental. Those are experiences that will be learning experiences for him. I still believe he's going to be an outstanding player. He got baptized under fire (Saturday) and had to go in there and play when we had Asante Samuel out in the first quarter."

The injury allowed Alford to play the most minutes on the defense. He was active on 53 snaps, playing about 84 percent of the game. In the end, he recorded six tackles and three pass deflections. He grabbed his first career interception in the third quarter, showing a lot of promise.

"He had, what I would call, a learning experience day," Smith said after Saturday's loss. "Those things will pay dividends for us down the road for us as a football team. I think the things that he experienced tonight will make him a better football player. "

According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the severity of Samuel's thigh injury is unknown. The veteran cornerback is expected to be a vital aspect of the overall defense, so the team must hope he is not out for too long. However, the longer Samuel sits out, the more Alford could develop into a true talent.