The release date for the 2013 NFL schedule has been set and the announcement will come at 8 p.m. ET Thursday, April 18, per NFL spokesperson Greg Aiello’s Twitter account.

The Falcons are set to play a slate of opponents with a combined 107-99-2 record in 2012, including the entire AFC East and the NFC West, North and East champions.

The NFL announced the preseason schedules for all 32 teams last week.

The NFL announced the preseason schedule for all teams last week, but kept a few dates ambiguous. Those dates and times have been set and are as follows below.

Week 1: 8 p.m., Thursday, August 8, vs. Cincinnati
Week 2: 7:30 p.m., Thursday, August 15, at Baltimore
Week 3: 8 p.m., Saturday, August 24, at Tennessee
Week 4: 7:30 p.m., Thursday, August 29, vs. Jacksonville

Looking like just another name to pad the numbers, Toone fell into line with the wide receivers and did his best to learn the offense as quickly as possible when he got here. It didn’t take too long for him to try to make a name for himself despite finding himself at a crowded position late in the game.

“I had to learn the whole offense. I had to try to understand it and understand the techniques (wide receivers coach) Terry (Robiskie) was trying to teach us,” Toone said after Sunday’s practice. “I’ve been to a few different teams, starting fresh every time, so the first thing I did when I came out here was just run as fast as I can and try to learn the routes as quick as I can.”

If you caught Friday night’s game against Miami, you no doubt caught Toone’s fantastic touchdown in the second half that put the nail in the coffin. Sitting out in man coverage by himself, Toone was checked into the deep route by quarterback Dominique Davis, who then found Toone with a perfectly placed pass.

The two connect in practice all the time on the same route — Davis with his arm and Toone with his blazing speed. While much of the attention was on Davis at the time, as he continues his magnificent preseason, Toone stood out and cemented his name with the fanbase on the play.

Drafted as the final pick of the 2010 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions — earning him the title “Mr. Irrelevant” — Toone spent time in Detroit before bouncing around to Buffalo and Denver and finally landing in Atlanta at the start of camp.

With a wide receiver battle raging on right now with no clear leader for the open and coveted No. 5 spot, Toone finds himself right in the mix as a valuable receiver and viable return man.

“It’s nice knowing there’s a chance. If there is or isn’t, it doesn’t change my mindset and how I’m going to work toward how I want to play and how I want to present myself,” said Toone, who added that he’s out of practice squad eligibility. “If it’s not here and I’m not able to make that spot, other teams are able to see what you can do and you might have a chance somewhere else.”

During Friday’s win over the Miami Dolphins, Gonzalez had to be licking his chops as Matt Ryan bombs flew downfield to Julio Jones. While there were several passes the two didn’t connect on, Gonzalez sees the value in taking the shots in the first place.

“Defenses are going to have to respect that and realize that we can do it at anytime,” he said after practice Sunday. “It’s going to open things up underneath. The more those guys can stretch the field — you put them on the outside and let them run and let me work the middle with Harry (Douglas) on the other side, it’s a good combination. It’s a good place for us to be, and with the way Matt’s throwing the ball, it’s a beautiful thing.”

Through three games in 2012, the scene has become familiar: Matt Ryan drops back, looks, gets time and slings it downfield to Julio Jones.

Sometimes the play works, sometimes it doesn’t.

But whether it works or not seems to be a small matter compared to just simply going for it, Jones said after Friday’s game.

A couple of long passes by Ryan on Friday either went off of Julio’s hands, fell victim to good coverage or were just overthrown, but Ryan and Julio were able to connect on a 49-yard completion at one point, showing that the play can certainly work.

Replicating the deep ball in practice isn’t exactly as simple as tossing it deep, but Jones says completing those passes on a more regular basis will come. For now, he says, the Falcons just want to focus on going for them.

“We’re gonna get it eventually. We’re just taking shots. We’re trying to be an explosive team and we’ve got to take those shots and we know when those plays present themselves, we know we’re going to be able to hit them during the regular season,” Jones said. “It’s good to get them out there now. It’s preseason. It’s just all about timing, and that’s why we’re trying to get on the same page.”

“It went all right,” Konz said after the game. “Forgive me if I don’t sound excited, because I did give up a sack. There were a couple of plays where I felt like I could have done better — a better job, better pad level. That’s what preseason is for and that’s what practice is for.”

But to get to this point in the preseason when the coaching staff wants to see what you can do against a first-team defense is no small accomplishment, despite Konz downplaying the chance to hang with the first group.

Rotating in with Garrett Reynolds at the right guard spot throughout the first half, Konz saw plenty of action against the Dolphins’ starters. Drafted in the second round of April’s draft, Konz was expected to come in and compete for a starting gig right away and he has clearly done that.

A center in college at Wisconsin, Konz says he feels more and more comfortable at the guard position with every snap he takes.

“We’ve said all along that we were going to have open competition and there was going to be evaluation across the board at every position, and I think that we’ve done that through the first three games,” head coach Mike Smith said after the game. “We still have another game where we’ll be able to continue that evaluation, but when we’ve been able to we’ve been making sure to rotate guys in there, and at the offensive line that’s the toughest one to do.”

Two defensive offsides calls on the young DE had his third preseason game of 2012 off to a rough start. But Sidbury soon made up for it near the end of the third quarter with a sack-strip that gave the Falcons the ball back.

Chasing down Dolphins quarterback Matt Moore from behind, Sidbury slapped the ball out of his hands and fellow young defensive end Cliff Matthews was there to pounce on it.

The Falcons failed to turn it into points with a missed field goal at the end of the drive.

Ryan was pulled in the third quarter after going 18-of-26 for 220 yards, one touchdown and a QB rating of 107.9. For the preseason, Ryan is 45-of-60 for 549 yards, three TDs with a 111.0 QB rating.

Before exiting Friday’s game, Ryan found Roddy White for a 20-yard touchdown to give the Falcons a 16-3 lead over the Dolphins.

All of Bryant’s kicks Friday were from 40-plus yards out, and his final before the end of the half was good from 51.

Bryant made 27-of-29 field goals in 2011.

Through two quarters Friday night, Turner has caught three passes for 36 yards. While it may not seem like much, it does show that Turner can be a viable and versatile weapon in the passing game.

One of Turner’s catches against the Dolphins netted him 20 yards, and another later added 11.

The off-field emotions of feeling for a teammate have been difficult to come to terms with, but the offensive line knows it must press on without Svitek. While rookie tackle Lamar Holmes will get his shot this week with his first preseason action, Mike Johnson is also eager to show off his skill set with a big opportunity in front of him.

Johnson, who is listed as a guard, is really a hybrid of both guard and tackle as he’s been cross-training at both positions. The thought is that Johnson’s versatility is going to keep the Falcons deep at O-line.

“I’m feeling pretty good right now,” Johnson said of his comfort at the two positions. “I’ve been working almost since the start of training camp doing both the first couple of weeks, and then here in the last couple of weeks I’ve been playing mostly tackle and playing only tackle in games. It’s getting better. Hopefully I’ll just continue to grow as the weeks go by.”

With cross-training comes several differences as each position comes with different nuances — from timing to footwork to responsibility, every position is just a little bit different. Johnson having tackle experience from college certainly helps the situation, but he’s been working hard at re-adjusting to the position with offensive line coaches Pat Hill and Paul Dunn.

The additional position work has been good for Johnson, the offensive line and the team.

“When I started at tackle, it was to create a little more versatility just in case something like this happened,” Johnson said. “Now that it has, I’ve just got to go after it that much harder. ‘Accountability’ has been a big word (for us), so hopefully this team can believe in me at tackle and go forward from here.”

The injury occurred during Sunday’s practice and Smith said he learned today that it was enough to keep him out for the season.

Svitek was able play both right and left tackle and Smith said this presents a new opportunity for other players on the roster. Starting 10 games for the Falcons last year after starter Sam Baker went down with an injury of his own, Svitek is a player the Falcons will miss when it comes to depth.

“We cross-trained some guys early on and that will be something that we’ll have to adjust with and start cross-training some more guys from the guard/tackle positions,” Smith said. “Will is a real tough guy, one of the toughest guys I know. He played through a lot of injuries and did a nice job when called on when Sam was injured last year.”

In his stead, Smith expects rookie tackle Lamar Holmes to pick up the slack and expressed confidence in the personnel on the roster at the tackle position.

“We were very careful the first couple of weeks with Lamar, and he’ll get some significant playing time in the game this week,” Smith said. “Mike Johnson has been cross-trained at both guard and tackle, so we have options for that position. Believe me, you’re always prepared for injuries because that’s going to happen. You have to have a plan and follow that plan, and we’re looking forward to seeing some of these young guys get some significant playing time.”

That’s the mentality he’s taken into a quarterback battle that has quickly and interestingly heated up in the first two preseason games, and it seems to be paying off for the undrafted rookie out of East Carolina.

Davis hit the field during Thursday’s 24-19 loss to the Bengals down 24-13 and almost led the Falcons’ backups to a final-minute win, starting his night in the middle of the fourth quarter by going 8-for-8 and finishing the game 11-of-18 for 121 yards and a touchdown.

After the performance, Davis had a typical quarterback reaction to his play.

“We didn’t finish. We got the L,” Davis said. “I’m a guy that’s very hard on myself. If we don’t get the W, I’m very hard on myself. That’s all I can really say. There’s something to look forward to next game.”

Despite his critique of himself, he could very well find his name on the 53-man roster when all is said and done. By all accounts, Davis has had a very nice camp and continues to show improvement every time he steps on the field.

And others have taken notice.

“I thought Dom did a great job,” starter Matt Ryan said after Thursday’s game. “He came in there in the fourth quarter, scrambled around, made some plays with his legs, made some plays with his arm. He’s a guy that works hard every day and is getting better. He’s getting better day in and day out, and it’s amazing how you can see it with the rookies, the young guys. Their improvement is leaps and bounds, and I think he’s doing a great job.”

It’s what he concentrated on all week during practice after having a rocky performance against the Ravens last week, and it definitely showed against the Bengals on Thursday as the rookie finished with four catches for 47 yards and a touchdown.

“This week, I went back to what I know how to do and that’s just focusing on making a play one play at a time instead of trying to rush and make a play,” Brown said.

The Minnesota-Mankato product, who is making the transition from wide receiver in college to NFL tight end, knows that every single play is important to his future in the league.

Behind Tony Gonzalez and Michael Palmer, the road seems wide open for Brown, Aron White or Chase Coffman to step up and claim the No. 3 TE spot.

“It’s going to come down to who can perform on offense and at the same time, who can go out and perform on special teams,” Brown said, “so I’m just trying to go out and get better every day at everything I have to do for this team.”

Well, it’s happened. Turner got involved in the passing game quite a bit — well, at least by his standards — during Thursday’s preseason game against the Bengals at the Georgia Dome.

Turner caught three passes for 14 yards out of the backfield, yet rushed three times for minus-3 yards in his extremely limited time on the field Thursday.

We could be looking at a new trend.

The Falcons, under defensive coordinator Mike Nolan, have put a premium on causing and recovering turnovers. So much so, in fact, that the defense is instructed to treat all incomplete passes as if it’s a loose ball up for grabs.

So while the offense is generally heading back to the huddle, the defense is still completing the turnover play.

Against the Bengals in the first quarter, we saw why that work has been so important to the Falcons. Bengals running back Brian Leonard took off up the middle of the field after receiving a handoff and was soon found without the ball as safety William Moore punched it from his grasp.

A moment later, Thomas DeCoud pounced on it and the Falcons offense got back onto the field.

All that work on turnovers certainly paid off on that play.

Falcons secondary vs. Bengals WR AJ Green
It’s no secret that two years ago in the NFL Draft, Georgia’s AJ Green was closely tied with Alabama wide receiver Julio Jones in the talent department as not much separated the two. Green went to Cincinnati, Jones came to the Falcons and the rest is history. Still, the Falcons secondary will have a tough test in trying to keep the second-year WR contained. Practicing every day against Jones should certainly help, but a good measure of where the secondary is at this point will be shown in Green’s stat line at the end of the night.

Falcons WRs Roddy White and Julio Jones vs. Bengals secondary
Speaking of Jones, teaming up with Roddy White tonight creates an interesting matchup with Cincinnati’s cornerbacks. Leon Hall and Nate Clements are two top tier cornerbacks in the NFL and will be tough to contend with. Jones’ outstanding camp and his comfort this year, however, may prove to be the separating factor between these two position groups. A more comfortable Julio Jones could mean more attention on him, which could in turn open things up even more for the always-dangerous White.

Falcons offensive line vs. Bengals defensive front
You’ll be hard pressed to find any game in 2012 when the Falcons offensive line isn’t featured as one of the top and most important matchups. The Bengals defense presents an interesting challenge with defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer’s scheme. With big tackles Domata Peko and Geno Atkins in the middle, and middle linebacker Rey Maualuga lurking behind them, the challenge to keep Matt Ryan upright and Michael Turner running free is very real.

Falcons defensive ends vs. Bengals offensive tackles
John Abraham and Ray Edwards — along with Kroy Biermann and Lawrence Sidbury — are charged with a big task of being the force that kickstarts the Falcons’ pass rush. Against Bengals tackles Andrew Whitworth (left side) and Andre Smith (right), the four DEs will get a chance to see what they can do against some very sizey competition. Smith goes 6-4, 335 and Whitworth checks in at 6-7, 330. The speed coming off the edge for the Falcons could be an advantage if they can get that extra quick step on the big men.

The veteran backup quarterback may have a lot of weight on his shoulders, but the Alabama product isn’t stressing out. He’s rolling with the punches and making the most of every opportunity he gets.

The preseason is his proving ground as he continues through training camp knowing that he’s out of practice squad eligibility with rookie Dominique Davis is nipping at his heels. Through it all, Wilson is keeping with the status quo.

“If I started (changing anything), I think I’d try to press or try to do too much and go out and say, ‘I’ve got make this many passes,’ ” Wilson said Tuesday. “You can’t do that. You’ve got to do what the defense gives you. You’ve got to go through your reads and prepare like I’ve been preparing since I was a starter at Alabama.”

Preparing is hard enough for regular season games, but a little known fact about the preseason is that teams don’t game-plan for one another during the exhibition season. For a position that thrives on research and knowledge about the opponent to be successful, it creates even more pressure at the position.

Against a very tough Ravens defense, Wilson went 8-of-13 for 69 yards with no interceptions or touchdowns. Against a defensive scheme with depth to back it up like Baltimore’s, the inability to game-plan makes things very difficult.

“They’ve got so many looks on defense and so many different things they do,” Wilson said. “We try to take in the most concise game plan as we possibly could and keep it simple with the rules and let the things we go over stand up against all the looks, and it did. It worked out well, but they’re a complicated defense.”

Wilson said that the look from Baltimore was great for him to see where he was at and what he needs to work on from here on out. One thing that won’t change, despite the pressure, is his ability to remain cool.

“Like I’ve learned from Matt (Ryan), Red (Chris Redman) and guys I’ve worked with along the way,” Wilson said, “to say that everything’s on the line — which it is — I try not to go into it like that.”

The veteran backup quarterback may have a lot of weight on his shoulders, but the Alabama product isn’t stressing out. He’s rolling with the punches and making the most of every opportunity he gets.

The preseason is his proving ground as he continues through training camp knowing that he’s out of practice squad eligibility with rookie Dominique Davis is nipping at his heels. Through it all, Wilson is keeping with the status quo.

“If I started (changing anything), I think I’d try to press or try to do too much and go out and say, ‘I’ve got make this many passes,’ ” Wilson said Tuesday. “You can’t do that. You’ve got to do what the defense gives you. You’ve got to go through your reads and prepare like I’ve been preparing since I was a starter at Alabama.”

Preparing is hard enough for regular season games, but a little known fact about the preseason is that teams don’t game-plan for one another during the exhibition season. For a position that thrives on research and knowledge about the opponent to be successful, it creates even more pressure at the position.

Against a very tough Ravens defense, Wilson went 8-of-13 for 69 yards with no interceptions or touchdowns. Against a defensive scheme with depth to back it up like Baltimore’s, the inability to game-plan makes things very difficult.

“They’ve got so many looks on defense and so many different things they do,” Wilson said. “We try to take in the most concise game plan as we possibly could and keep it simple with the rules and let the things we go over stand up against all the looks, and it did. It worked out well, but they’re a complicated defense.”

Wilson said that the look from Baltimore was great for him to see where he was at and what he needs to work on from here on out. One thing that won’t change, despite the pressure, is his ability to remain cool.

“Like I’ve learned from Matt (Ryan), Red (Chris Redman) and guys I’ve worked with along the way,” Wilson said, “to say that everything’s on the line — which it is — I try not to go into it like that.”

With an injury to starting middle linebacker Akeem Dent that will keep him from Thursday’s game against Cincinnati, fortunately, James won’t have to worry about picking up the slack since the two play different positions, but if he was asked to play more, he would in a heartbeat.

It’s pretty much impossible, however, for James to play any more than he did last Thursday against Baltimore — a game during which he logged 62 snaps. That’s the most he’s seen the field since his days of starting for Arizona State.

“I was pretty tired after that,” James said Tuesday. “I’ve gotta get it right. Gotta hydrate up this week.”

Because it’s the preseason, it’s his time to shine and prove that he belongs in one of the 53 final spots on the roster — and he’s off to a great start.

In relief against the Ravens, James led the team in unassisted tackles with 5.0 and also recorded a sack. General manager Thomas Dimitroff, talking to CBS Atlanta during an interview aired while the game was going on Thursday, had high remarks for the veteran linebacker and thinks he could settle into a more permanent spot on the roster.

“Robert’s worked really, really hard in the offseason,” Dimitroff told CBS Atlanta. “He has an element of hustle and urgent athleticism. He has playmaking ability and hopefully he really comes into his own in this scheme.”

James recognizes that he has a long way to go before he can feel settled, but he’s thankful for the playing time he’s getting and the opportunity to make the most of all the snaps he can get — even if he gets another 62.

“I felt a little rusty. Like I said, it’s been a while since I played that many snaps,” James said. “I played a lot of special teams and defense, as well, but I think this game (against Cincinnati) will be a better game. I’m hoping for the best.”

After practice Tuesday, White glowed about fellow WR Julio Jones. Asked if he thinks fans should be excited about Jones’ prospects this year, White made no hesitation.

“Absolutely. They should get excited,” White said of his teammate. “He’s going to be important to us. We’re going to need him throughout the whole season, throughout all 16 games. He’s got to continue to be who he is: be big, explosive and make plays down the field.”

Wide receiver Harry Douglas, who sat out of last week’s game due to an injury from the combined practice with the Tennessee Titans, will play against the Bengals, Smith said.

After Thursday night’s loss, it was unanimous amongst the Falcons’ youth: They can’t make the mistakes they made against the Ravens.

“This was a lot of guys’ first experience on this level — all of us,” rookie defensive end Jonathan Massaquoi said. “It’s important for us to take everything back to the film room, back to practice and apply everything we’ve learned from our mistakes. I believe that we’re going to come out here in the next preseason game, ready to roll and know what’s coming and be able to play together as a unit.”

Taking up all of the second-half snaps and a good number of those in the second quarter, the rookies had a chance to maintain a lead and follow through with a win as the starters and backups left them with a 17-7 lead.

A few mistakes — turnovers in particular — began to mount and allowed the Ravens to get back into the game, eventually taking a 14-point lead, which was the difference in the final score.

Two fumbles and one interception gave the Ravens the opportunity to overtake the young Falcons and leave the Georgia Dome with the win.

“(The coaches) told us that we’re not going to be able to practice every situation that we’re going to be in in a game,” rookie wide receiver Marcus Jackson said. “We came out today and we had our backs against the wall and we just tried to go out and continue to make plays.

“We weren’t too successful tonight, but we’re going to go back to practice on Saturday and try to get those things corrected.”

Obviously disappointed by the loss, Robertson might as well have thrown a game-ending interception or fumbled at the goal line.

In reality, the Falcons’ seventh-round pick performed his job admirably, and almost for the long haul, too. Robertson saw his first action in the second quarter with the Falcons’ second-teamers and spent the rest of the game rotating in and out of the game in the middle.

“I’m disappointed we lost, but I got a lot of reps,” Robertson said. “I’ve got a lot of learning to do, a lot of stuff I need to work on that the coaches have been teaching me, but I felt good going into the game.”

Robertson’s stat line at the end of the night was about average for a cog in the middle — three tackles — but the stats don’t tell the whole tale of Robertson’s contributions to the defensive Thursday night.

The South Carolina product was consistently blowing up the middle of the Ravens defensive line, knocking the center and guards back on their heels. As the game wore on and he was recognized as more of a force, the Ravens began to pay more attention to him, even double-teaming him at times.

While Robertson said he didn’t feel the Ravens were making too many adjustments to account for him, he did say the early reps against the Ravens’ first-teamers gave him a good measure of where he is in his young career.

“It helped me a lot. I was glad that I got the chance to go against first team, just to see how I’d handle it and let the coaches see how I could handle the situation,” he said. “It helped me out a lot and I got the real pace of the game and felt good about it. Hopefully, I can just learn from it.”

Ryan played just more than a quarter and finished 9-of-13 for 155 yards and a touchdown with a quarterback rating of 100.3. His only blemish on the night was an interception deep in his own end, but the Ravens failed to turn it into points.

“That’s just poor play in the red zone. That’s something I have to be better at and can’t take points off the board,” Ryan said. “But I’m just happy to see guys being on the same page. We’ve worked hard this offseason to really work on route adjustments, offensive line calls and different protection calls. Tonight, we were pretty in sync so it’s a good start for us.”

It’s when both teams have their starters on the field the longest and you really get a sense of where each team stands during that time.

If that’s the case, the Falcons are sitting in very good position. After one quarter of play, the Falcons held the 7-0 lead over the Ravens and also dominated total yards, racking up 192 to Baltimore’s 9.

With just less than seven minutes left in the first quarter, Franks took a punt from Ravens punter Sam Koch and returned it 45 yards to the Baltimore 15-yard line.

The Falcons, however, couldn’t capitalize as Matt Ryan’s first-down pass was picked off on the next play.

Falcons C/G Peter Konz vs. Ravens DT Haloti Ngata
With so many eyes on the Falcons offensive line during the preseason, especially the interior positions, tonight’s matchup against Pro Bowl defensive tackle Haloti Ngata could go a long way toward setting the performance benchmark at center and right guard, particularly with rookie Peter Konz hoping to be in the mix. Konz comes from a pro-style offense at Wisconsin, but Ngata provides a huge 6-foot-4, 330-pound test for the first-year lineman.

Falcons RB Michael Turner vs. Ravens LB Ray Lewis
Although he’s getting long in the tooth, Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis is still considered one of the best in the game. Known for incredibly physical play and an ability to get downhill quickly, Lewis will certainly present a challenge for running back Michael Turner. But when it comes to these two, think of the unstoppable force vs. the immovable object. There’s just no telling who can come out on top should the two collide in their likely limited action in tonight’s game.

Falcons WRs vs. Ravens DBs
The matchup for Falcons wide receivers will be an important one throughout the preseason as head coach Mike Smith will have the unenviable task of choosing a fifth wide receiver. Kevin Cone and Drew Davis both spent time with the Falcons last year, but there are some strong candidates behind them who could sneak into that final WR spot, and the preseason is the biggest proving ground for players trying to make the roster.

Falcons DL vs. Ravens OL
With DT Corey Peters out for the foreseeable future with an injury and a crowded group at defensive end, the defensive line is one to keep an eye on during the preseason. Rookie DTs like Travian Robertson and Micanor Regis could get some extra reps, and the battle between rookie DE Jonathan Massaquoi and veteran DEs Cliff Matthews and Lawrence Sidbury will start to heat up in the first game of the preseason.

Try Tuesday.

At 7 p.m. on NFL Network and NFL.com, the dates and times for the 2012 will be released, and we’ll also have a full schedule here on AtlantaFalcons.com, including a printer-friendly PDF version.

The Falcons will play host to Dallas, New York Giants, Arizona, Denver, Oakland and NFC South opponents and will travel to Philadelphia, Washington, Detroit, Kansas City, San Diego and NFC South opponents. Click here for the Falcons’ future schedules.

Atlanta should be a good candidate for primetime games this season with several interesting matchups. The new NFL Network Thursday Night Football format also ensures all teams will play at least one primetime game in 2012.

Atlanta’s preseason schedule was released at the beginning of the month.