Around the NFL: Green burns 'relaxed' Samuel

In his second preseason game as an Atlanta Falcon on Thursday night, Asante Samuel was lined up one-on-one with A.J. Green of the Bengals.

The 24-year-old made a quick stutter move on the 31-year-old Samuel, and known as a notorious gambler, Samuel bit slightly, which allowed Green to blow past him for an easy 50-yard touchdown reception.

But afterwards, Samuel made a few puzzling comments that didn’t quite match up.

According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the ex-Eagle and veteran cornerback stated that he knew a long pass was most likely coming because of the circumstances (third-and-long), but for some reason, he didn’t cover for it.

“We were going at it,” Samuel said. “I relaxed on the deep ball a little bit, and he got over on top of me.

“It was third-and-long, so it was time to put the ball up.”

D. Orlando Ledbetter of the AJC noted the perception that Atlanta acquired Samuel for so little -- a seventh-round pick -- because his game was regressing, but Falcons coach Mike Smith isn’t blowing one preseason play out of proportion.

“Listen, Asante has played very effective football for a long, long time,” Smith said. “It was a well executed play by the offense.”