Falcons without Matthews for trip to Cincinnati, Carimi to start

As NFL debuts go Jake Matthews was probably hoping for something a little smoother. Not that he had a particularly bad outing allowing just the one hurry all game as he finished with a -1.0 grade, 

What does this mean? Well it could very well mean the team will have to rely upon Gabe Carimi again after a shaky fill in display against the Saints. His day saw him flagged for three penalties, get beaten for one sack and allow four more hurries in an effort that earned him a -7.1 grade that was the worst of any tackle in Week 1. 

The team might be hopeful that he'll be better for first team reps at tackle this week, but you have to feel that Robert Geathers, Wallace Gilberry and Carlos Dunlap will all be licking their lips at the prospects of going up against a lineman who does his best work going forward and is better suited to playing guard. That trio had three sacks, one hits and three more hurries in the opener and will be looking to inflate their resumes going to work on Carimi.