AJC > Sports > Falcons > Training Camp Blog > Archives > 2007 > July > 30
Monday, July 30, 2007
Arena league standout joins the team
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Ben Nelson just signed with the Falcons today after playing in the ArenaBowl on Sunday. He’s tall, but pretty skinny - the official release says he’s 6-foot-3, 188 pounds. he was the AFL’s rookie of the year in 2006 and had 25 touchdowns this past season for San Jose. His only NFL experience is with the Vikings where he played three games, primarily on special teams.
He’s the all-time leader in touchdown receptions at St. Cloud State, but so far today, he hasn’t seen too much action on the field.
This last session was mostly special teams. Laurent Robinson was returning some kicks as the rookie wide out continues to get lots of looks in training camp. Allen Rossum was absolutely flying during kickoff returns. He’s got some serious wheels.
Alge Crumpler left the field about midway through practice, which has been typical for him as he continues his recovery from knee surgery. Offensive lineman Toniu Fonoti wasn’t padded up, but did some footwork drills in shorts and a jersey. Linebacker Demorrio Williams was also out there, but it looks like the team is keeping him away from contact.
Scouting the secondary
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
An early update: Kept an eye on the secondary during early drills. First — Omare Lowe didn’t show any signs of favoring his knee. He missed Saturday’s drills with a knee injury but looked fine out there early in drills.
The secondary went over its pass coverage responsibilities during the first portion of practice. The backups ran pass routes while the starters intercepted lofted passes from coaches. During these drills, Lewis Sanders worked with the first team at RCB and Chris Crocker at free safety. Lawyer Milloy and DeAngelo Hall were in their normal spots. Sanders showed off some nice hands, picking off a pass during the drill on a bullet over his shoulder.
When the secondary joined the rest of the defense for some reps against a live offense, the secondary stayed the same.
The biggest crowd reaction during early going came when Roddy White made a nice catch in traffic from D.J. Shockley running a route over the middle. He snagged it out of mid-air to drawing some shouts from the Falcons fans watching on the hill nearby. Shockley also connected with Joe Horn on a deep post on safety Daren Stone.
Updates from steamy Flowery Branch
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s a hot one out here in Flowery Branch. Somebody just walked into the media room from outside and said it was 100 degrees in the shade of their work tent. But believe me, I’m not complaining because I’m not in shoulder pads and a helmet.
Today’s practice is open to the public and starts at 3:20 p.m. which means I’ll be able to keep you guys updated more often than the closed practices allow. Hopefully, I’ll get back to my laptop every half hour or so to update the blog. That number might be higher if I’m looking for an excuse to get back into the air conditioning.
So, what are we watching for today? As usual, I’ll try and keep on eye out for any player who looks like he’s having a great camp. But specifically, I’ll be watching the defense — keeping an eye on positional battles at weakside linebacker, in the secondary as well as observing the progress of first-rounder Jamaal Anderson.
If there’s an individual player you want updates on, please comment here. At the request of one of our commenters, I’ll hopefully try and work a Daniel Fells update today.
