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Friday, July 27, 2007
Robinson impressive in morning practice
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Just wrapped up the morning practice and interviews. I observed practice today with a few goals in mind. 1. Watch the rookies. 2. See if anyone jumped out with their play. 3. Look for injuries.
On the injury front, Grady Jackson and Alge Crumpler joined practice late as the team continues to monitor their injury situations closely. But it looked like it was a relatively clean practice other than that.
The player who jumped out was rookie wide receiver Laurent Robinson. The third round pick from Illinois State was impressive. The guy caught everything thrown in his direction. On one pass, he caught a hitch from Chris Redman then juked fellow rookie David Irons and sprinted down the sideline untouched.
If I’m Roddy White, I’m getting nervous. As for White, he caught a long touchdown pass from Redman, but later let out a yell of frustration after dropping a perfect pass down the right sideline from Joey Harrington.
Most of Robinson’s catches were under 20 yards, and the one time he stretched things out downfield, Harrington overthrew him. But he’s definitely worth watching as training camp unfolds.
During a post-practice chat, he said all the right things. He’s just working hard, and hoping to make the most of his opportunities.
Bobby Petrino said he was pleased with the pace of the morning practice. Obviously there were less distractions, although he said when you’re on the field, you don’t notice any of the things going on around you. Day two was a better one for the quarterbacks, who Petrino said looked a little more comfortable in his offense. Harrington continued to make the right passes, while D.J. Shockley was a little inconsistent, especially with his accuracy. Redman looked fine, although it’s really early to evaluate the battle to back up Harrington. The best time for all that will be when the exhibition season starts.
Justin Blalock, the last of the draft picks to sign, was out there for the first time, and he said it was good to get the first practice behind him. He said there was a lot of anxiety, especially considering he missed yesterday’s practice. He worked with the first team and Petrino said there are high hopes for him this season on the offensive line now that he’s signed.
Much quieter in Flowery Branch
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s just a slightly different scene here in Flowery Branch on day two of training camp. The mobs of protesters have disappeared. The number of TV trucks has dropped considerably. Right now there are three of us in the media room. Four if you count Brian Finneran walking in and out. Yesterday, I couldn’t move.
The 9 a.m. practice this morning is closed to the public which means the rules for me are a little different. I can’t update the blog during practice and won’t be revealing any top-secret Bobby Petrino plays. But I’ll let you know who is looking good, and try and get an update on the early progress of some of these draft picks once practice is wrapped up. You have to give the team credit for getting all those draft picks signed this early in camp.
Yesterday the team and coaches said it was important to put the Michael Vick situation behind them and focus on football. We’ll find out today if that’s possible.
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