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(Welcome all! With the NFL becoming more of a passing league, the “Cover 9@9” blog is here for you every Wednesday at 9 a.m. We'll get to everything about the Atlanta Falcons from Friday's win over Tennessee to who's going to make the final 53-man roster. We’re ready for 10 a.m. practice at training camp today and will look at how tight end Levine Toilolo is waging a battle to win his starting job back. – D. Orlando Ledbetter)
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
1. OFFENSIVE FIREWORKS ON THE WAY: Never heard a NFL player say they didn't like the new scheme and that the plans for the upcoming season were pure and utter nonsense.
But when Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones tells you that the public has just seen a glimpse of the new offense, you believe him.
He’s not one to blow a lot of hot smoke.
But the 10-play, 91-yard drive to open against Tennessee was a thing of exhibition-season beauty. There were no negative plays, only one third-down situation and most importantly, the Titans never got close enough to quarterback Matt Ryan to read the stickers on his helmet.
“Our offensive line did a great job of blocking,” Jones said. “Matt got the ball out of his hands on time. We just basically (played) pitch and catch and made plays.”
The drive has Jones, Ryan and offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan thinking of bigger and better things.
“Most definitely, we have to build on that and get our running game going,” Jones said.
The first-unit is likely to play a little longer against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on Friday. The Falcons want to build some momentum going into the all-important dress rehearsal game on Saturday, Aug. 29 at Miami.
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
“There is more to come,” Jones said. “In the (exhibition) season we just give a little bit. It’s the base of the offense. That’s what we are running now. We have to go out there and execute. Everybody is learning their positions."
The Falcons' running backs rushed for 69 yards on 30 carries against the Titans. Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman, who are battling for No. 1 running back slot, didn’t play. They are back at practice and should definitely be ready for the Miami game if the Falcons don't rush them back against the Jets.
Also, the offensive line appears set.
“We don’t know if the backs are going to play, I can speak on that, but they’ve been out at practice and doing well for us,” Jones said. “We have two backs and also our offensive line. Those guys are doing a great job for us as you could see Friday, no sacks, no penetration.
“Matt was able to get the ball out of his hands and we were able to make plays.”
That’s pretty big because sacks and penetration were a way of life for Ryan over the past two seasons.
According to the profootballfocus.com stats for the past two seasons, Ryan was under passing duress on 39 percent of his pass attempts. He was either sacked (75), hit (88) or hurried (359).
If the Falcons develop a rushing attack and Ryan has a clean pocket, the sky would be the ceiling for the offense.
2. JONES ADMITS TO GETTING BORED: Jones looks forward to the exhibition games.
“It’s a great feeling to go against someone else other than yourself,” Jones said. “It gets boring. It’s like, ‘I have to go out here and do this and that.’ But if you want to be great, you have to come out here and work to get better every day. (The games are) like a bonus. You go out and you compete against someone else and you see where you really are.”
3. MORGAN ON HAWLEY: Center Joe Hawley appears to have beaten back all the challengers to retain his starting job.
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
Hawley, who is coming off double ligament knee surgery, had to beat out James Stone, Peter Konz, Mike Person and Valerian Ume-Ezeoke for the top spot. He started the exhibition opener against Tennessee and is drawing rave reviews from offensive line coach Chris Morgan.
“He’s playing his (butt) off,” Morgan said. “He’s cool to see. It really is. He’s a grinder. He works hard. He gives you everything. The way that he communicates with those guys, it’s impressive. It’s cool to see.”
4. RUN GAME HAS TO CLICK: Morgan is not worried the run game. He figures that the more time the line gets to work together, the sooner things will start fitting together.
“It’s just a cool process for those guys," Morgan said. “The more they do it, obviously the better they are going to get at it.”
The unit of left tackle Jake Matthews, left guard James Stone, center Hawley, right guard Chris Chester and right tackle Ryan Schraeder are getting the bulk of the first-team snaps.
“We’re trying to develop our style of play with a tough mindset,” Morgan said. “That’s the No. 1 one thing. We are trying to do that as a team. That’s the message from the top.
“The second thing is the more times you get to fit your helmet and fit your combinations in different looks together at full speed, the better. The runners are a part of it. The tight ends, the tackles, all the way down the line. Our receivers are involved in our run game. The more times you get to do it, the more reps you get, the better you get at it.”
5. MORGAN ON SOME OF HIS PLAYERS: Here's Morgan on JAMES STONE: "James Stone is going to do whatever you ask, as hard as he can do it. He's going to do it the best he can do. He's been awesome to coach, fun to coach and he's getting better every day."
--ON MIKE PERSON: "He's grinds. He's tough and he's smart. He's versatile. It's cool to see Mike. It's cool to see him grow."
--ON JAKE MATTHEWS: "He's trying to develop his style of play with us. . . .he's taken steps every day. It's a cool process. He's getting better every day."
--ON JAKE RODGERS: "He's doing good. He's getting better every day. He got rolled up in that game a little bit and pushed through it and fought through it. That was really cool to see. He's making the jump. He definitely is."
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
6. QUINN ON THE FRONT SEVEN: A lot of resources have been invested in the re-vamping of the defensive front seven. Coach Dan Quinn believes things are heading in the right direction.
“We are getting there,” Quinn said. “We are still trying to mix and match some of the big guys and some of the rushers and get better in that way. We have a (small sample) of stuff that we saw. We have a long way to go. I’m looking forward to the guys continuing to develop the chemistry it takes to play top flight ball in the front seven.”
Along the defensive line, the Falcons started defensive end Vic Beasley, defensive tackle Ra’Shede Hageman, defensive tackle Paul Soliai and defensive end Tyson Jackson against the Titans.
The preferred second line of strongside linebacker Brooks Reed, middle linebacker Paul Worrilow and weakside linebacker Justin Durant practiced together on Tuesday for the first time since Aug. 3.
7. CAPTAINS TO BE ELECTED: Quinn said the team will elect three captains for the season and weekly captains will join them for the pre-game coin toss.
8. RYAN PRAISES JEROME SMITH: Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan believes the running game will come along.
“Obviously, we had some looks where we probably could’ve gotten more yards, and some looks where we probably could’ve been a little bit better,” Ryan said. “But across the board, I thought the effort was great from our offensive line, from our running backs, from our tight ends and from our wide receivers.”
He thought former Syracuse running back Jerome Smith had a strong game against the Titans.
“Jerome Smith came in and played, I thought, really well for us,” Ryan said. “He was physical in the run game, ran the ball really well, but his pass protection was really, really good.”
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
9. RYAN ON THE BACKUP QB BATTLE: Sean Renfree was getting more snaps with the second-team offense this week after his fine showing against the Titans.
“I thought both of them competed really well, made some good plays and made some nice throws,” Ryan said. “Both led some scoring drives and helped us win that game. You want to see your guys play winning football and I thought both of those guys made plays throughout the game that helped us win.”
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TRAINING CAMP 2015 -- CAMP QUINN
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Matt Ryan sees new offensive attack coming together
Devonta Freeman-Tevin Coleman competition heats up on second day of camp
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POSITION BY POSITION LOOK AT THE TEAM
Thursday – Fullbacks/Tight ends
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