The Atlanta Falcons offense is driven by a strong run game, which all stems from having a dominant offensive line, but it isn’t often that maulers in the trenches get credit, especially when they’re backups.
Falcons head coach Arthur Smith deviated from the norm recently by pointing out that Tyler Vrabel (son of Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel) has performed well in place of offensive tackle Jake Matthews.
“I thought he played well,” Smith said of Vrabel. “It’s never easy to come in there, but that’s his job. When you’re up as a third tackle, you’re a play away. It happened yesterday. It happened to Storm the week before, and it happened to Storm against Houston. So, I thought he did a really nice job. A guy that’s been in our program. He’s worked extremely hard. Like I said, we were able to move the football. As with all of us, there are a couple of things that we need to continue to work at, but very pleased with what he did.”
After going undrafted a year ago, Vrabel spent all last season on the Falcon’s practice squad. When Matthews went out against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a knee injury last week, it opened up an opportunity for Vrabel to show what he’s made of, and he proved that he was up to the task.
Atlanta’s next game will be against the Carolina Panthers this Sunday as the team attempts to rebound from last week’s loss to the Bucs with a victory that should keep them in contention for the divisional crown.
Matthews has returned to practice this week, so he should be good to go for that matchup, but luckily for the Falcons, Vrabel has shown enough skill to be a competent plug-and-play backup offensive lineman should another situation arise that forces him back into the lineup.
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