Falcons coach Arthur Smith was not pleased with his team’s exhibition-opening 23-3 loss to the Titans on Friday.
He went as far as apologizing to media for having to watch the “ugly” game, which included 11 penalties for 99 yards by the Falcons.
However, when the play of defensive lineman Marlon Davidson was discussed, Smith snapped out of his somber mode.
“He’s had a good camp,” Smith said. “It was good. He was a guy that is a second-year, sophomore class that didn’t get the (exhibition games) or offseason last year.”
Davidson, a second-round pick out of Auburn in 2020, had a rough rookie season and has been battling through a knee injury to show his worth in 2021. He played 34 defensive snaps (51%) and three plays on special teams against the Titans.
Davidson was stout against the run and finished with three tackles and one quarterback hit.
“I felt that I played pretty good,” Davidson said. “I felt ecstatic. Put it like that. I had fun.”
After a 57-yard punt return put the ball inside the Falcons’ 20, Davidson and outside linebacker Brandon Copeland came up with a stop on third-and-7 to force a field goal.
He later nearly had a sack with defensive tackle Ta’Quon Graham, showing the explosiveness the Falcons coveted when they drafted him.
“Well, probably why he was drafted here, he flashed as a pass-rusher,” Smith said. “That was kind of his trait coming out. Marlon has been able to grind through some things. He’s dealt with a lot this year. He’s kind of grinded through this camp.”
The Falcons need some help along the defensive line.
“It’s good to see him have some success,” Smith said. “Obviously at the line of scrimmage, how physical we play against the run, then earning some reps to go out there to rush the quarterback. I thought Marlon did that (against the Titans).”
Davidson, who’s listed at 6-foot-3 and 278 pounds, played in 51 games at Auburn and had 175 tackles, 29.4 tackles for losses and 17 sacks for the Tigers.
Last season, Davidson played in only eight games and had eight tackles and one pass defensed. Even though he was playing against backups Friday, it was a positive step forward for Davidson.
“I felt that we did a pretty good job today against the quarterback, we showed that we can actually play ball,” Davidson said. “They had two big players, so there was a difference, so we had our guys step up.”
When Davidson went to the sideline, two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Grady Jarrett was there to help with motivational chats.
“He was just telling me to play fast,” Davidson said. “He could tell I still had my jitters in, and he told me not to worry about it, ‘Be the player that you want to be,’ and ever since then for a game it just changed for me. I told him that during a game, ‘I appreciate you, bro, like I needed that.’”
Davidson wants to put his rookie season behind him as soon as possible.
“It’s a happy feeling man,” Davidson said. “Just coming from last year not doing anything and coming to this year and (showing that I) actually can play a little bit and showing people that we can actually play. I look at some fans and be like, dang that’s our second-round draft (pick). It feels good man. It feels good, really good.”
Davidson is fine with playing through double teams.
“I’m always trying to play fast man,” Davidson said. “Take about two guys and just have fun.”
The Falcons’ defense finished with four sacks. With the push from the big guys in the middle, others came free for sacks.
“Of course, man you always want to go out there and be able to tape-record that,” Davidson said. “You want to get back out there and put some pressure on him, knock on the ground and do something to rattle him. You know what I mean, but I felt that we did a great job.”
Davidson wants to build on his strong showing.
“We did some good things, and we did bad things, but we (have to) go back in the office, and we (have to) fix it,” Davidson said. “I feel like we can get the job done.”
Davidson will get another test when the Falcons travel to hold joint practices with the Dolphins on Wednesday and Thursday before playing them in an exhibition game Saturday.
“I felt that I left a lot of plays on the field, but I can do better,” Davidson said. “Anybody that plays the game of football can do better than what we did, so I have to keep continuing to grind and improve.”
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