The offensive line will likely be the biggest hurdle the Atlanta Falcons may face in their quest to win a Super Bowl. After saying goodbye to a few veterans in the offseason, the Falcons were tasked at replacing experience with talent to protect quarterback Matt Ryan. After Mike Johnson went down with a season-ending leg injury in the preseason, Lamar Holmes has been tapped as his replacement, but head coach Mike Smith wants more experience.
The team announced the signing of Jeremy Trueblood, a veteran right tackle. Trueblood has 84 starts under his belt after playing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He could likely find himself in the starting rotation. At this point Holmes is the starter in place of Johnson who was replacing Tyson Clabo. Smith remained very coy on whether Holmes and Trueblood would be competing for the starting spot.
"Any time we make a roster move we are trying to better our roster," Smith told the Atlanta Journal Constitution. "We feel like adding experienced offensive lineman gives us an opportunity to better our roster. I'm not going to say anything is impossible in terms of getting a guy ready. We've improved our roster today by adding a guy who makes us a better team."
Offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter understands just how important it will be for the team to establish chemistry on the offensive line. Filled with a long of inexperience, the coaching staff is working overtime to develop the young players before the season starts. Along with Holmes and Trueblood, Ryan Schraeder has seen time at right tackle and could also play a role in the starting rotation.
"It's a work in progress. Those guys are both good enough to get it done. They just haven't played very much. It's knowing what to do and then doing it. We have a whole bunch of different ways that we give guys help from week to week. It does change how you attack people, but if the quarterback gets sacked, it doesn't matter how many guys you have out running routes," Koetter said.
The Falcons have the depth they have been searching for. Now they are tasked with finding the right pairings to keep Ryan off the ground. Atlanta opens up against the New Orleans Saints in Week One of the season.
