AJC > Sports > Falcons > Training Camp Blog > Archives > 2006 > August
August 2006
High notes
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Their starting quarterback missed practice for a third straight day with a “tweaked” hamstring. They remain unsettled at the wideout position in terms of who’ll serve as the third target to throw to. Still, the Falcons managed to end practice on a positive note leading into tomorrow “Midtown Touchdown” event.
Patrick Kerney was an absolute beast during pass rush drills, punishing every offensive lineman who took him on. The rookie receiver from Fresno State, Adam Jennings, made great strides toward mounting a solid challenge for a starting position. And star cornerback DeAngelo Hall didn’t have to go through the rigors of participating in both defensive and offensive drills.
Part of the reason much of the team seemed so upbeat may have to do with the fact that veteran players are getting a one-night release out of the confines of the Flowery Branch complex. Rookies must remain on campus.
The kicker? The kickers.
Practice ended with a distance-kicking contest between the new acquisition Carlos Martinez and puntin specialist Michael Koenen. Martinez has apparently ingratiated himself with the team already because several players made Mexican hat dance moves to try to distract him.
Both kickers were on target from 50 and 55 yards out amid hoots, hollers and towels being waved around them. Koenen won out with a 60-yarder from the center of the field.
Spiraling upward
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Quick fluid break for the players, so here’s an update on practice so far.
Rookie cornerback Jimmy Williams apparently takes offense at ticky-tack blocking by receivers. Wideout Roddy White was on the receiving end of a prodigious left hook to the helmet from Williams as payback for holding him under the shoulder pads.
Rookie tailback Jerious Norwood has sideline observers whistling in delight at his flashes of speed and elusiveness. Norwood’s problem though is picking a hole and commiting to diving through it. Starting tailback Warrick Dunn is putting on a clinic in that regard. And T.J. Duckett isn’t making anyone miss, but he is making would-be tacklers pay with his downhill running style.
If you were to ask me whose passes looked more apt to be intercepted, I’d say Matt Schaub’s. Today so far they’re all floaters; accurate, but taking too long to reach the targeted receivers. Second-year QB Bryan Randall on the other hand is throwing darts while working with the second team. D.J. Shockley’s only looking okay today in his sporadic work with reserves.
And here’s a mild, amusing example of that rookie hazing they talk about: star cornerback DeAngelo Had had a little fun at rookie corner Brent Grimes’ expense. Grimes was politely offering a bottled sports beverage to Hall, who looked down at it in mock disgust. Grimes skulked away to retrieve a BLUE bottle of the beverage instead of the orange. Again, Hall looked at him dismissively. Grimes had forgotten to remove the cap.
Mike Vick — shrouded in a towel — appeared on field nearly 90 minutes after practice started, held out of workouts for a third straight day.
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Heat strokes
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
While waiting for today’s practice to get going in earnest, I wanted to offer a few pointers for those thinking of attending training sessions out here before they close to the public at an undetermined date. (It’s at coach Jim Mora’s discretion when that will be.)
If you can’t stand the heat, stay away from Flowery Branch. The Heat index is at 99 degrees currently according to Weather.com. It’s so withering that even the air horns coaches blow between drills sound flatulent. Special teams coach Joe DeCamillis had some salty things to say regarding the climate, and how it’s hot in Carolina (where the Falcons launch their season) too.
If you come, realize there’s not much refuge from the sun; and it’s furthest away from the action. Canopied grandstands are situated atop a hill overlooking the practice fields. And today they’re filled to capacity. Everyone else is braving the sun on the grassy hillside beneath.
No official count is being taken, but this looks to be the second largest crowd of the week in spite of the heat. Several radio stations have remote broadcasts going on, and local sportscasters have been trickling in or out all week. The AJC is the only media outlet with multiple representatives here daily.
There’s another canopied grandstand closer to the field, but it’s reserved for the hottie wives and girlfriends of the players and select VIPs. Families are out here in droves and parking across the street from the training complex fills up early.
There’s a slew of mock football activities for the kids, and of course a sizeable merchandise kiosk where sales of Mick Vick jerseys only appear to be rivaled by hand-over-fist sales of frozen lemonade. You’re allowed to bring your own refreshments.
Gotta do the 100 yard dash back onto the field now to see if there’s any action worth noting. Mike Vick has yet to grace the field. P.S. Be sure to read Saturday’s AJC for complete preview coverage of the “Midtown Touchdown” at Piedmont Park.
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Clocking out
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Final notations as today’s morning practice session draws to a close:
Rookie cornerback Jimmy Williams must have an oil tanker’s worth of confidence in his natural ability. Where’s his intensity during scrimmages? He’s prone to lull around in the defensive backfield, fondling his hand towel, until the instant the ball is snapped. Nothing wrong with being low-key. And without doubt he’s flashed considerable talent. But something about him hints of distraction. He’s the anti-D. Hall; a team firebrand who was quick to question referees’ calls on receptions in his vicinity, and who drew a chorus of sideline heckling when Jamin Elliott appeared to beat him deep for a TD. The refs ruled that Elliott had landed out of bounds.
The Falcons shouldn’t call off their search for a reliable placekicker just yet. While Mike Koenen and new acquisition Carlos Martinez both proved today that they’ve got the leg to kick 50 yard field goals, neither was able to do it consistently.
If he proves to be durable, rookie running back Jerious Norwood could be one of the shrewder draft picks. As he grows more familiar with the offense, Norwood gets speedier by the day.
D.J. Shockley needs to bounce back after a less-than-stellar showing this morning. Only Matt Schaub and Bryan Randall took snaps during the final rounds of clock drills. And Randall missed only one of his six “hurry up” passes.
Reversal of fortunes
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Speedy defensive back DeAngelo Hall is spreading the wealth of his talents this morning. No sooner had this blogger posted the first entry of the day and returned to the practice field then Hall had switched into his normal defensive team jersey and begun locking down receivers in drills.
Another cornerback, Jason Webster, is far from as visible. Webster’s returned after missing several days of work with a strained foot. Apparently coaches won’t be rushing him back into the starting rotation: the highly drafted rookie, Jimmy Williams, is running with the first team and the quarterbacks aren’t often throwing in his direction.
Coaches are taking long hard looks at who’ll be the main backup to “the” backup at QB. While Matt Schaub _ the designated starter until Mike Vick returns from his hamstring injury _ was lobbing passes to the running backs on one side of the field, D.J. Shockley and Bryan Randall were working the longer routes with receivers.
Things looked good for Shockley until he had to start throwing against defenders. Randall got to run the second team offense. Shockley, working with the third string, went 1 for 4 passing with one throw batted down at the line and another intercepted by Brunswick native Bill Alford.
Man of mystery
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Exactly how much star cornerback DeAngelo Hall will figure into the Falcons’ offense remains to be seen. But an indicative sign came this morning, when Hall emerged from the locker room wearing one of the offense’s designated jerseys and doing no work at all with the defense so far.
Throughout ongoing catching drills, Hall looks extremely sure-handed and at ease with the transition. It’ll be interesting to see how he looks running through plays.
For the first time during training camp, NFL referees are present to officiate over scrimmages. Before practice even started, special teams coach Joe DeCamillis had corraled the refs for a lengthy, body-language debate over what constituted a clipping penalty during kick returns.
Michael Vick, to this point, is not on the field.
Not much movement
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The offense has just finished the serious business of running plays with Matt Schaub under center in place of the injured (hamstring) starting QB Michael Vick. Vick looked calm and healthy while sauntering onto the field, flashing a peace sign, to observe.
This is this blogger’s first time seeing tight end Alge Crumpler fully involved in team drills. He is running and cutting well, and catching everything thrown his way.
DeAngelo Hall, after receiving a congratulatory low-five from head coach Jim Mora, returned to working with the starting defense. And once the starting offense and defense started tangling against each other, the D definitely had the upper hand. Aside from some downfield passes Schaub was able to squeeze between double coverage Michael Jenkins and Roddy White, the chains weren’t moving much.
Flashes from Shockley
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Not-so-distant flickers of lightning have caused the rest of practice to be moved indoors. Patchy blue skies above, but perhaps the team’s erring on the side of being overly cautious.
With everyone inside, very few saw Brian Finneran exiting the administrative building gingerly on crutches with a massive brace on his injured knee. He smiled and waved meekly to the security staff and seemed fairly upbeat considering his season-ending circumstances.
Matt Schaub is not have the greatest of days as Michael Vick’s fill-in. Perhaps it’s a timing issue, but he’s not getting the ball to receivers in stride consistently. So they’re often having to make acrobatic catches, if they can get to the ball at all.
D.J. Shockley is getting quite a few snaps and is capitalizing on the opportunities with accurate passes and quick decisions on when to pull it down and run.
During one-on-one drills, rookie cornerback Jimmy Williams seems to be having little difficulty locking down Roddy White, who’s showing signs of frustration with how few receptions he’s making today.
There’s no telling whether he’s heard the rumors — strictly rumors — that surfaced today about his possibly being traded to Denver, but T.J. Duckett is taking quite a few handoffs today and applying some head-down brute force to a starting defensive line that’s acting like the season opener is this weekend, not six weeks away.
Something’s brewing
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Within the last few minutes, storm clouds have formed over the Flowery Branch practice field and thunder’s begun rumbling in the distance. But that’s not the most potentially electrifying news at today’s practice.
When the Falcons finished their stretching (more on that later) and broke into position drills, star cornerback DeAngelo Hall ran in the opposite direction of his fellow defensive backs. Instead, Hall ran (in his flashiest shoes to date) to take reps with the receivers. The AJC’s Falcons beat writer will be filing a full report on what’s up with that. At first glance, Hall (wearing white shoes with red floral accents on the sides, heels and soles) looked to be running patterns and snagging passes effortlessly.
Hall returned to defensive drills later in the practice.
Elsewhere on the field: Jerious Norwood, the speedy rookie back from Miss. State, and reserve back DeAndra Cobb both look to be battling for playing time as kick returners if nothing else. Both went full throttle upfield, showing impressive speed and escapability. Still, the incumbent kick returner Allen Rossum displayed some serious zip of his own.
Newly acquired kicker, Carlos Martinez, is consistently left-footing balls inside the five-yard line.
One last blast
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Today’s morning practice session ended 10 minutes ago and coach Jim Mora has only now released the team from an extended huddle speech at midfield.
No doubt he’s telling them to be prepared for a racheted up contact practice this evening.
As it turns out, two of the team’s most rugged defenders (Keith Brooking and Lawyer Milloy) didn’t participate in drills this morning either. Both looked well-rested.
But practice ended on a sour note: a busted play in which Mike Vick had to pull a botched shotgun snap out of the dirt and hurl a 50-yard Hail Mary in the vicinity of rookie wideout Adam Jennings as the final buzzer sounded.
An “Oh No!” moment
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
That giant sucking sound you may have heard all the way from Flowery Branch was the chorus of gasps that followed the sight of Michael Vick being chopped at the knees by a fallen teammate.
The starting offense was working “hurry up” plays against the reserve defense at the time of the mishap. Reserve tight end Dwayne Blakley had fallen off his block and down to all fours as Vick was going through his progression of receivers. In an ugly instant, Vick rolled over Blakley and lay motionless on the ground for a five-count before rising gingerly to his feet.
The shake of Vick’s head smacked of momentary dejection. Drills have resumed with Matt Schaub taking the snaps.
Slap and tickle
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
At last, a sign of competitive juices flowing now that the morning haze has burned away guys are starting to work up a serious lather.
A brief, on-field bout broke out between second-year center Toby Cecil and second-year linebacker Martin Patterson after at least one of them apparently forgot that this is a padless practice session. Teammates pulled the two facemask-pullers apart.
With Dunn not practicing, the big backs (T.J. Duckett and Justin Griffith) are carrying the bulk of the load. Duckett’s shooting through interior line holes fairly fast; it’s on the quick pitches to the outside that the traffic catches up to him. Some trick plays unveiled today worked with Griffith involved and they’d probably be even more successful with Dunn toting the rock.
One note on the tailback drafted out of Miss. St., Jerious Norwood: the kid looks downright skinny when he’s not wearing past. You have to wonder how someone with such a slender lower body will hold up to the punishment of the NFL.
Mild, mannered
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This Tuesday morning practice got off to a low-key start: shorts and jerseys and helmets. No pads.
Alge Crumpler, Warrick Dunn and Allen Rossum are among the notables idle; riding stationary bikes or milling around.
Coach Jim Mora’s spent the first phase of practice hovering over the DBs and offensive lineman. Receivers are being put through the most intensive workouts so far, and coach George Stewart is riding Roddy White to run crisper routes. White’s also had slight difficulty snagging any ball that’s not right in his breadbasket.
Shoe show update: DeAngelo Hall’s modeling white high-tops with pearl gray streaks courtesy of his Reebok endorsement deal. He looked faster in Monday’s red-and-black version.
Still, theres a healthy contingent of fans lolling in the grassy knolls around the field. Nothing yet to really perk their interest.
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