1. The no-spin zone: Falcons assistant head coach/defense Jerry Gray is continuing to work with cornerback Jeff Okudah, who’s out with an ankle injury.
The Falcons were grooming Okudah, whom they acquired in an offseason trade with Detroit, for the starting right cornerback spot. He went down while covering Frank Darby on a deep pass and injured his left ankle. He was carted off the field Aug. 4, but is expected to return.
“To me, I think it was tough,” Gray said. “I talked to him right after, and I’ve been texting him every day.”
While rehabbing, the Falcons want Okudah to keep preparing for the season.
“Hey, what are you doing that’s going to get your mind in the game,” Gray said. “So, I’m always sending him stuff. I need you to look at Indianapolis. ‘Coach, why am I looking at Indy?’ Well, Carolina, is now Indy (with new coach Frank Reich, formerly of Indianapolis) and if you don’t get your mind right, you’re going to miss that.”
Gray knows where Okudah’s mind is from his playing days.
“I was injured playing in the pros,” Gray said. “Now what do you do? You don’t go brain dead, you still have to be prepared. So, once he’s prepared, and he’s ready to go, guess what, he will not miss a beat.”
Gray said some injured players wait until they get back to practice and then start preparing for opponents.
“You haven’t done any game-planning, and you’re trying to do two things,” Gray said. “You’re trying to overcome an injury, and you’re trying to study someone else. You’re going to be behind.”
So, the goal is to get Okudah back healthy and up to speed on the coming opponents.
The Falcons open the season Sept. 10 against Carolina.
2. Flowers on Okudah: Cornerback Tre Flowers and Okudah were roommates in training camp.
“You hate to see anybody go down, whether it’s my position or another teammate or even the other team,” Flowers said. “You hate to see it. My prayers go out to him. He knows my mindset. We talk a lot.”
They bonded as roommates.
“We were roommates just before he got hurt,” Flowers said. “It didn’t take long to see that our mindsets were alike. Just try to dominate. Be the best, and he wanted to be the best. Knowing that you could be better every day. Not accepting any type of failures.”
3. The secondary group: The Falcons have retooled their secondary, with Gray and secondary coach Steven Jackson overseeing the installations.
“Well, No. 1, they’re younger,” Gray said. “You know a lot younger than a group that I’ve ever been with. But now we are blending in Jessie, who came in from Cincinnati. We got Jeff (Okudah). We’ve got Mike Hughes, who came in from Detroit. So, we’re kind of like a blended group, and now we’re trying to make it. OK, let’s see how we’re going to be the Atlanta Falcons.
Gray likes the competition although Okudah (ankle) and Hughes (hamstring) have been injured.
“The big thing is that guys are going to compete,” Gray said. “Let me see if Tre (Flowers) can go out here with the first group. Let me see if my Mike Hughes can go with the first group. So, like now, we’re kind of like figuring out OK ... (do we have) seven, eight guys who can actually go out there and play.”
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter/The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
4. Alford belongs: Cornerback Dee Alford was one of the stars of the 19-3 win over the Dolphins and appears to have to lead in capturing the team’s nickel back position.
Well, you know, the big thing I see from him is that he loves to compete,” Gray said. “This is his first time we are putting him at nickel. So, he’s played some nickel. I’m looking at his background. I go back and Google, he grew up in a small town in Georgia, all of a sudden you go small D2 (Division II) school. He goes to Canada. So, I’m like, OK, well, who is he?
“He played corner. He was really good at that. …They won the Grey Cup and now he’s over here. I’m trying to get him to understand you belong here. You’re not lucky. You belong here.”
Gray understand the jump that Alford is making.
“It’s just that (you’re) going against other guys,” Gray said. “They’re a little bit better. And you know what, you raise your game up to a little bit better. And then when this becomes who you are, you’ll go back to being natural and making plays.”
“A lot of time guys tend to forget that. They think they’ve got to do something dramatic in order to be a good football player. You really don’t. All you have to do is raise up your level of practice. And then once you practice this way, you become that way. And that’s what really what we’re getting at with Dee.”
5. Running back value: Falcons rookie Bijan Robinson is a tough spot in the running back valuation situation. He’s yet to play a down in the NFL and he has the highest salary for the 2023 season for a running back, at $13.72 million.
“As much as I want to say, I don’t know what to say because I’m so focused on how to help this team and how I need to do what I have to do,” Robinson said. “For me, it’s just super early. In my draft process it was another big (topic). Where should you take running backs? How high?
“I just trying to stay out of it. There are so many opinions out there. Hopefully, it can be a change one day, but for me, I’m just trying to stay where my feet are and understand that maybe one day we could be the change in that. But for right now, (I’m) just trying to stay focused (with) what I’ve got to do.”
If things go according to the Falcons’ plan, I’m sure that Robinson and his agent Nicole Lynn will have plenty to say in a few years.
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter/AJC
6. Bates on Flowers: Safety Jessie Bates III played with Flowers in Cincinnati.
“I think Tre brings a lot of experience,” Bates said. “He’s someone that I came into (the league) together. He was a safety when we went to the combine together, and he (transitioned) over to Seattle’s corner.
“I thought he played really, really well in his years when he was a starting corner over there. Then we were able to connect with each other even more when he got to Cincinnati. He was in more of a third -down type of role, but he has a lot of knowledge and a lot of experience.
Flowers could open the season as a starter with the Falcons.
“He’s played on a lot of really good defenses to where he can ask those questions in the (meeting) room,” Bates said. “There is no surprise with him stepping up with Jeff’s injury. I feel really comfortable with what he can do.”
7. Ogundeji headed to injured reserve: Falcons outside linebacker Ade Ogundeji, who started 16 games last season, sustained an ankle/foot injury Monday that will require surgery. He was not at practice Tuesday and will be placed on injured reserve.
Ogundeji was drafted in the fifth round of the 2021 draft. He also started 11 games as a rookie.
8. Hennessy decision coming soon: The Falcons are going to have to make a decision on center Matt Hennessy soon. He had a chronic knee-cap issues that may require surgery and a lengthy recovery period.
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter/The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
9. Depth chart: Here’s a look at the Falcons’ depth chart.
OFFENSE
WR Mack Hollins, KhaDarel Hodge, J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, Keilahn Harris
TE Kyle Pitts, Parker Hesse, John FitzPatrick
LT Jake Matthews, Joshua Miles, Barry Wesley
LG Matt Hennessy, Matthew Bergeron, Jonotthan Harrison, Michal Menet
C Drew Dalman, Ryan Neuzil, Jovaughn Gwyn
RG Chris Lindstrom, Kyle Hinton, Justin Shaffer
RT Kaleb McGary, Jalen Mayfield, Tyler Vrabel
TE Jonnu Smith, MyCole Pruitt, Tucker Fisk
WR Drake London, Scotty Miller, Josh Ali, Penny Hart, Slade Bolden, Mathew Sexton, Zay Malone
FB Keith Smith, Clint Ratkovich
RB Cordarrelle Patterson, Tyler Allgeier, Bijan Robinson, Carlos Washington, Godwin Igwebuike
QB Desmond Ridder, Taylor Heinicke, Logan Woodside
DEFENSE
DL Grady Jarrett, Timmy Horne, Justin Ellis, LaCale London, Demone Harris
DL David Onyemata, Ta’Quon Graham, Carlos Davis, Albert Huggins
DL Calais Campbell, Joe Gaziano, Zach Harrison, Caeveon Patton
OLB Bud Dupree, Lorenzo Carter, Kemoko Turay
ILB Kaden Elliss, Tae Davis, Mike Jones, Frank Ginda
ILB Troy Andersen, Nate Landman, Andre Smith
OLB Arnold Ebiketie, DeAngelo Malone
CB A.J. Terrell, Cornell Armstrong, Breon Borders, Natrone Brooks
S Jessie Bates, Jaylinn Hawkins, DeMarrco Hellams
S Richie Grant, Micah Abernathy, Lukas Denis, Cliff Chattman
NB Dee Alford, Mike Hughes, Clark Phillips III
CB Jeff Okudah, Tre Flowers, Darren Hall, Bless Austin
SPECIAL TEAMS
K Younghoe Koo
P Bradley Pinion
LS Liam McCullough
H Bradley Pinion
PR Mike Hughes, Penny Hart, Scotty Miller
KOR Cordarrelle Patterson
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