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Speed thrills
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Expect to read and hear more about the Falcons’ third-round WR draft pick Laurent Robinson. This kid out of Illinois State has the goods in terms of athleticism, quicks, hands and desire.
On Friday, the first day of mini-camp, Robinson had been matched up against players of lesser coverage skills. And he thoroughly abused them.
On Saturday, before Pro Bowl cornerback DeAngelo Hall went down with a head injury and had to be helped off the field, Robinson squared off with him and handled himself well.
Coach Bobby Petrino has described Robinson as a legitimate deep threat. And here’s part of the reason why: Robinson’s flashing the skills to quickly get separation and go long but, more importlantly, he goes up and GETS THE BALL. Consistently.
And it’s not a flukey kind of acrobatics that the 6-foot-2, 195-pounder’s displaying.
“He’s very fast,” Petrino said Saturday. “The thing I like is his body’s always under control.”
Speaking of thrillers: Scribes assigned here for mini-camp are killing some time during the three-hour breaks between sessions by watching and commenting on the highlight reel footage of backup running back Jerious Norwood and rookie safety Daren Stone that someone’s posted on the Web.
Norwood’s packed on some serious upper body muscle since last season and it hasn’t diminished his quickness. The key to his elusiveness (about 6 yards per carry last season) may this: It looks as if his feet scarcely leave the ground as he darts and cuts. A slight cause for concern, from this vantage point at least, is that when he does come into contact with defenders, Norwood usually takes the hit up high.
Stone, a chiseled 220-pound specimen out of Maine, has been both on and off the practice field during this camp for some reason. But the Internet footage showing him running and leaping over parked cars speaks to his potential.





DEL.ICIO.US


Comments
Commenting is now closed for this entry.
By iloxygenil
May 12, 2007 3:41 PM | Link to this
Yeah, we know he can jump cars…but can he hit?
By Henry
May 12, 2007 11:46 PM | Link to this
Let us stop convicting Vick and leave the Authorities in Virginia to focus on that. It is a fact that Vick has been very careless over the years, but because of his history of poor decisions and personal hatred harbored by many who are calling the talk shows and writing in this column, we seem to be convicting him without knowing the facts. I would love to see Vick make better decisions, because as a fan I am tired of all the bad news surrounding him. Why are mentions still made of the water bottle on some local sports talk radio? Did the Miami Police not send that to their lab and no proof of drugs found, and so no charges were filed? Could it be that some folks are upset that Schaub did not replace Vick as the starting QB in the ATL.
By Henry
May 12, 2007 11:48 PM | Link to this
Let us stop convicting Vick and leave the Authorities in Virginia to focus on that. It is a fact that Vick has been very careless over the years, but because of his history of poor decisions and personal hatred harbored by many who are calling the talk shows and writing in this column, we seem to be convicting him without knowing the facts. I would love to see Vick make better decisions, because as a fan I am tired of all the bad news surrounding him. Why are mentions still made of the water bottle on some local sports talk radio? Did the Miami Police not send that to their lab and no proof of drugs found, and so no charges were filed? Could it be that some folks are upset that Schaub did not replace Vick as the starting QB in the ATL.