AJC > Sports > Falcons > Training Camp Blog > Archives > 2007 > August > 01 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USHorn leads spirited drills
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s been about 30 minutes since practice started and wanted to jump in here and give a quick training camp update. And it has nothing to do with the air conditioning. Really, it doesn’t.
From where they were letting us observe, I had the best view of the group of wide receivers. The first drill the wideouts worked on was catching passes thrown behind them. I’m sure it has nothing to do with the teams confidence in the quarterbacks in camp. The key phrase for this drill was ‘stop and pivot.’ The coaches were stressing that the pass they were working on was dropped more than any other. The only wideout to drop a catchable pass was Roddy White.
Later, the media and some gathered fans had a front-row view of the wide receivers working with the Jugs machine firing footballs at the players from a few feet away. In a camp that has been curiously quiet from the players perspective, this drill had a ton of spirit.
It was Joe Horn who led the shouting. His leadership is huge for guys like Michael Jenkins and Roddy White and you could tell it was rubbing off, especially on Jenkins. Guys were yelling each other on, it was good stuff. Nobody dropped a pass, which is pretty impressive because they moved closer and closer to balls being fired at them. Man, Roddy White is smooth. He made this drill look effortless. There was only one bobbled pass, which led one observer to remark: “If they would have caught the ball like this last season, they would have won the Super Bowl.”
The other focus of the early session of practice was special teams, although they were really just going through the motions. Billy Cundiff and Michael Koenen shared duties kicking off. Japanese import Noriaki Kinoshita showed some quickness the couple times he touched the ball. Alright, I’m headed back into the heat.
Comments
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By Rutuger
August 1, 2007 4:29 PM | Link to this
I’ll believe Roddy White can catch when I see it. He’s got a HELL of a lot of redeeming to do…
Granted with a throwing QB distributing the ball now, he stands a better chance.
By Johnny B
August 1, 2007 5:25 PM | Link to this
Thanks for the updates Craig and please keep them coming!
Do you think DJ will get a legit shot with the first team in preseason to see if he has what it takes? Or do you think Coach is set on Harrington and DJ is fighting for the #2 spot?
From the comments I’ve heard it sounds like it’s Harringtons job to lose…
Glad to here our big Fullback is looking good! A big bruiser down close is something we really missed last year.