The Atlanta Falcons won't play their starters against the Indianapolis Colts in Saturday's preseason matchup, which means fans won't get to see quarterback Tua Tagovailoa redeem himself after Friday's underwhelming debut. Head coach Kevin Stefanski saw enough from his first-team offense and defense during the team's joint practices against the Colts this week, and will let his second- and third-string players carry the load in Week 2 of the NFL preseason. "
By and large, our starters will not play in this game," Stefanski told reporters at Thursday's practice. " This will be the twos and threes, if you will. " Stefanski also said rookie quarterback Jack Strand would play "a half" against the Colts on Saturday. The undrafted free agent out of MSU-Moorhead has made the most of his opportunities thus far. Strand was easily Atlanta's best QB in Friday's preseason opener against the Denver Broncos, even if that's not saying much.
He completed 6-of-12 passes for 50 yards and scored the Falcons' only touchdown on a one-yard run. Stefanski praised Strand after his debut, while saying there's still room for the rookie to improve. “Always room for improvement, but proud of him for his first time out there," said Stefanski. " It’s a testament to him and what he was able to do early in camp when he was the one guy standing there. Like any rookie, (there’s) so much to work on. And that’s the fun part of working with our rookies.
Jack’s got a great attitude. Love how he is in the meeting rooms, love how he is on the grass.” The Falcons will likely start veteran QB Cooper Rush in Saturday's matchup. Rush struggled mightily against Denver, completing 7 of 19 passes for 62 yards, two interceptions and a passer rating of 6.8. We'll see which quarterback rises to the challenge tomorrow afternoon. m. ET inside Lucas Oil Stadium.
This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: Falcons to play rookie QB Jack Strand for one half vs. Colts
