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May 2008
Musing on OTAs, Grimes, Robinson and Petrino
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Falcons got back to organized team activity (OTA) practices Wednesday and coach Mike Smith flipped the script a little bit.
Instead of workouts being like mini-camp, full team practices, they will be more like the old-school passing camps over the next few weeks.
The entire team will be on the field for most of the 2-hour sessions, but the interior guys will cut out early to concentrate on weight lifting and conditioning. The skill players will stay on the field and go through passing game/pass coverage work.
Smith said the skill-position players need to focus more on the nuances of the new schemes, while the big fellas need to use this time to build up their strength.
In terms of the skill players, the two guys who keep looking better and better are second-year wide receiver Laurent Robinson and third-year cornerback Brent Grimes.
Grimes, who came out of small Shippensburg State, has a real opportunity to emerge as DeAngelo Hall’s replacement at left cornerback. Assistant head coach Emmitt Thomas told me last season that Grimes was probably the best athlete on the team and that the only thing holding him back is experience.
Grimes (5-10, 180) also is small and could have problems against bigger receivers but if he stays focused and holds up to the rigors of training camp and preseason, don’t be shocked to see this guy in the starting lineup or at least in the top-end of the rotation.
As for Robinson, he could really become a special player. He is a lot like fellow WR Roddy White in terms of size and speed. Robinson has a stride that can negate a defensive back’s cushion in the blink of an eye. As a rookie, Robinson showed poise and toughness and his arrival to the big time could come earlier than others expected.
In other developments, veteran players stayed away from talking about the remarks made in today’s AJC by former coach Bobby Petrino. Petrino, who resigned with three games left in 2007 to take the job at Arkansas, said the timing of his departure was tough but that his departure was imminent.
Petrino said the college game is just a better fit for him but declined to admit he made a mistake in taking the Falcons’ job. Petrino said he liked college kids because they are trying to achieve goals while some pro players feel they’ve already reached them.
I have to agree with Profootballtalk.com (a good and very entertaining NFL website), which said that Petrino’s experience as an NFL assistant coach in Jacksonville should have provided him with enough perspective to know that NFL players are different than college kids. Pro guys aren’t going to feel nearly as threatened by their coaches as college kids and after awhile, they will retaliate in some way if they’re continually dogged.
From what I saw, players, although they strongly disliked Petrino, did what he and his staff asked him them all season, which is why they were so upset when he left.
Though most of the veteran players I spoke with today said they didn’t want to say anything about Petrino, one did say he was amused by Petrino saying coaching the Falcons was like the movie “Misery.”
“He’s the one that made it that way,” the player said.
League labor issues could slow team’s maturation
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
NFL owners today voted to opt out of the collective bargaining agreement they entered into with the players’ union in 2006 (click here for story). The decision was not unexpected, as owners have said over the past few months that the labor pact was not financially viable for the long-term success of the NFL.
What this means: The NFL will operate as it has for the next two seasons. In 2010, there will be no salary cap, which could result in a baseball-like hierarchy with some teams spending with no regard and others spending just enough to field a team and paint the numbers on the field for eight home games.
In 2011, the labor pact would expire and play could cease. For Falcons’ fans, this could be somewhat unnerving because 2011 could be when this currently young roster, including quarterback Matt Ryan, starts to hit his stride.
While these scenarios don’t paint the ideal picture the timetable to begin talks on a new labor pact has been accelerated by the owners deciding to opt out of the labor agreement today. There is plenty of time for a new collective bargaining agreement to be reached and the NFL and their players have enjoyed tremendous success and wealth by figuring things out.
Unless something radical happens there is no reason to believe either side would slaughter the cash cow.
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Is Thurman worth a gamble?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Falcons started OTA’s today and for those of you don’t know what OTAs are, they are technically Offseason Training Activities or more scaled down mini-camp type practices. These are additional sessions to help with on-field work. The big difference between these workouts and mini camps is there aren’t meetings and film session required.
Players can put in the extra work if they want, but it’s voluntary.
There was a development that took place today that got me thinking about how much I’d love to get your thoughts.
The Bengals released former UGA middle linebacker Odell Thurman. According to them, Thurman had not taken the proper steps to convince the image-tarnished franchise that he was worth any more investment. Thurman recently was re-instated after being suspended the past two seasons by the NFL. Thurman was barred for repeated violations of the league’s substance-abuse policy.
Thurman has not failed any drug of alcohol tests and he has been diligent with alcohol counseling for months, which is why NFL commissioner Roger Goodell reinstated him last month, according to his representative, Safarrah Lawson. Cincinnati let him go because Thurman missed a whole week of voluntary OTAs last week after his grandmother, Betty Thurman, died, Lawson said. If that is true, Thurman could have grounds for a grievance because OTAs are voluntary.
What I’d like to hear from you is this: Should the Falcons take a flyer on Thurman? Yes, they are trying to clean up their image and Thurman has had character issues dating back to his UGA days. However, he had shown enough character improvement/development for Goodell to reinstate him, so maybe he has gotten some things in order
Atlanta could get him for relatively cheap and always get rid of him if there is even a sign of a problem. Granted, the Falcons just drafted Curtis Lofton from Oklahoma, who is pegged to be the middle linebacker of the future. And Thurman has been out of football for two years. Yet, in 2005, Thurman drew strong consideration for the NFL’s defensive rookie of the year and he is a prototype middle linebacker.
Thurman also could be reunited with his college position coach Brian VanGorder, with whom he held a strong relationship with at one point.
I’m not advocating a move by Atlanta either way. I’d just like to get your thoughts.
On a different note, NFL officials will hold a one-day meeting Tuesday in Atlanta. The 2012 Super Bowl will be awarded and there will be discussion of whether owners will opt out of the current labor pact, which could interrupt playing beginning in 2011.
Falcons mini-camp ends with Ryan hot and Horn wanting out
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Flowery Branch - The Falcons wrapped up mini-camp today with first-round pick Matt Ryan completing five-of-five passes for a touchdown in a two-minute drill.
After the workout, Smith was asked if there was any chance Ryan could start in the season-opener against Detroit.
“We are not going to rule out anything in terms of who is going to start,” Smith said. “We are not going to put a ceiling on any of our players whether if it’s the quarterback, offensive tackle, linebacker. We are going to let them go out and compete.
“I will say this, the quarterback position is probably one of the more difficult positions to make the transition. But if any body can do it, Matt is a guy that can.”
Take that for what you will.
It’s hard to say if Ryan did or didn’t have a good camp. He was going against fairly vanilla defensive looks against players in jerseys and shorts. We’ll know a lot more about the Boston College product about 10 days into training camp.
He looks like he can make the throws he needs to make but the thing you notice most about him is that he’s quickly worked his way into the good graces of his teammates. Ryan has the swagger and the leadership we heard so much about - at least for now. Those attributes tend to hold little water if a guy doesn’t produce on the field, but Ryan seems to be off to a good start.
In other developments:
— Wide receiver Joe Horn said that he would like to be traded (for the full story, go to the Sports page on AJC.com).
“I want to win a Super Bowl and I want to win a Super Bowl here in Atlanta but I don’t think I can help this team win a Super Bowl sitting on the bench, waiting for third down,” Horn said. “They’re going with the younger guys and I don’t have a problem with that if that’s the course they’ve chosen. I want to have an opportunity to play with a team that needs a veteran to play and contribute and who helps the young guys.”
GM Thomas Dimitroff said the team has plans for Horn. Whether those plans are to try and trade him remain to be seen. However, this is a team that is getting younger and looking at younger players and Horn isn’t part of the long-term plan.
Horn’s potential replacement is rookie Harry Douglas, who had a very strong training camp - again, in shorts and jerseys. Douglas caught just about everything thrown to him and he got open. He even stayed after workouts to do extra work with offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey.
— FS Jimmy Williams is said to have reported to offseason workouts weighing more than 230 pounds. Williams acknowledged being overweight and that the coaching staff is not happy.
Williams said he has been going through some unspecified off-field problems that caused him to go home to Hampton, Va. for two or three weeks and kept him away from workouts. He said that the coaching staff and other team staffers have been very supportive. He declined to provide any details.
Williams worked as the No. 3 free safety behind Erik Coleman and Antoine Harris.
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Ryan debuts, Brooking among many changes
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Flowery Branch - The Falcons just finished the first of five mini-camp practices and there were a ton of interesting developments.
First off, there were hundreds - if not thousands - of fans on hands for the two-hour sessions and they were into it.
The part of practice that drew the biggest uproar were the one-one-on passing drills, which were very heated. Backup left cornerback Brent Grimes continues to show arguably the best man coverage ball skills and it appears the coaches are devising ways to get him on the field.
As for people being on the field, everyone was accounted for, including safety Jimmy Williams, who missed two of the three voluntary workouts at an April mini camp. Williams, once again worked as the third team free safety behind Erik Coleman and Antoine Harris, respectively.
I’ve made you wait long enough. Quarterback Matt Ryan made his debut and he made it as the third-team quarterback. This veteran coaching staff is going to make him earn his stripes. So, for now, he worked behind Chris Redman and Joey Harrington and rotated with D.J. Shockley. Shockley, who spent all last season on injured reserve after tearing the ACL in his left knee, participated in all drills and looked active and fairly sharp.
He did not wear any type of support brace on his knee unlike Ryan, who wore a brace on his left knee. Ryan said he wears the brace as a precaution. At Boston College, the coaches required the quarterbacks to wear a brace on their plant leg so Ryan said wearing the brace was out of habit.
Other players who were back from injury: WR Brian Finneran, OLB Michael Boley and TB Michael Turner. OT Todd Weiner and NT Trey Lewis, both recovering from knee operations, have not been medically cleared.
Coach Mike Smith said there were more positions open than at any point of his nine years in the NFL and some of the competition was already being staged. Rookie LT Sam Baker worked with the second unit behind Quinn Ojinnaka. Justin Blalock returned from right tackle to his natural spot at LG. Tyson Clabo worked as the starting right tackle, the position he held down for most of last season after Weiner got injured.
On defense, rookie Curtis Lofton and second-year Georgia product Tony Taylor rotated at middle linebacker. Keith Brooking returned to his natural spot at weakside linebacker. Coach Mike Smith said that a lot of the positions changes are experimental, although Brooking feels far more comfortable at weakside linebacker than inside.
Mandatory mini-camp opens
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Apparently the idea to open Coach Mike Smith’s first mandatory mini-camp is going to be big hit.
An hour before the team took the field, about 100 fans were already lined up alongside the practice field. The makeshift Falcons store had a line of about 20 people waiting to buy merchandise.
All of the kid toys were being inflated in the parking lot.
The whole scene has a little training camp feel to it.
Here are couple of things to look for when the team hits the field:
Will defensive back Jimmy Williams show up? (He scooted out a couple of days early from the optional mini-camp).
Who’s going to be on the offensive line? Will rookie Sam Baker go to left tackle with the No. 1 unit?
How far along are the injured players, Todd Weiner, Trey Lewis, Brian Finneran et al.
How will Matt Ryan do in the 7-on-7 drills?
Check back later as things progress.
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