By Tony Moss, NFL Editor -- (Sports Network) - Though most of the fans in attendance will be more interested in the exploits of the Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday night, it is the visiting Atlanta Falcons who will garner a lion's share of the national attention at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium.

The Falcons, who will be facing the Jags in the preseason opener for both teams, will be opening a new chapter in their history with the contest.

First, Saturday will mark the debut of head coach Mike Smith, a man more than familiar with the terrain in the greater Jacksonville area. Smith came to the Falcons after five years spent as defensive coordinator with the Jags, and has been entrusted with the task of rebuilding an organization that bottomed out with a 4-12 finish a year ago.

The '07 season, which began with the dogfighting saga surrounding quarterback Michael Vick, reached new lows when head coach Bobby Petrino abruptly quit with three games remaining in the campaign.

After the hiring of Smith and new general manager Thomas Dimitroff, the new- look Falcons truly began to take shape, with former staples like Warrick Dunn, Alge Crumpler, and DeAngelo Hall leaving either by choice or by trade, and a youth movement subsequently ushered in.

The man at the center of that movement is quarterback Matt Ryan, the No. 3 overall pick in the Draft.

Ryan, who starred at Boston College, will make his debut in at Atlanta uniform on Saturday night. The 6-5, 218-pound signal-caller is expected to begin his career as a backup to Chris Redman, who played reasonably well after taking over at quarterback late last season.

Redman should hand the ball off to running back and free agent pickup Michael Turner (ex-Chargers) on Saturday night, though both players will likely see only limited time.

Against the backdrop of all of that drama, things should be relatively quiet for the homestanding Jaguars on Saturday.

Fresh off an 11-5 finish and a playoff win against the Steelers last January, expectations remain high for Jack Del Rio's squad, which suffered little roster turnover in the offseason.

The biggest changes for the Jags came on defense, where ex-Redskins guru Gregg Williams was brought in to tutor the unit that Smith left behind, while pass- rushing rookies Derrick Harvey (1st Round, Florida) and Quentin Groves (2nd Round, Auburn) were brought in to get to the quarterback.

Harvey, the only unsigned rookie in the 2008 first-round draft class, is not expected to be in attendance on Saturday.

Atlanta has a 3-2 lead in the all-time preseason series with Jacksonville, but was a 20-17 home loser in the last such meeting, prior to the 2006 campaign.

Jacksonville was a 13-7 home winner when the clubs met in a meaningful contest last Sept. 16th.