MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Despite having cornerback Clark Phillips III carted off the field with a lower left leg injury, Falcons coach Arthur Smith was pleased with the joint practice held with the Dolphins on Tuesday.
“Our guys were rolling,” Smith said. “It was good to get out here in the heat. It was good work. I’m excited to go in there and see the film. Obviously, you’re on one field. I have got to watch the tape. I thought overall we got some really good work.”
To close out the practice, the Falcons drove down for two field goals attempts in the two-minute drive situations.
“We worked some situational stuff,” Smith said. “Going down there to kick a field goal, working that situation at the end. Got the ball down there. Went 1 for 2 on the kick, but there was some time left. We still had to go out there and play defense. But it was good to work those situations, end-of-game.”
Another offensive highlight, included backup quarterback Taylor Heinicke tossing a bomb to wide receiver Josh Ali.
“Taylor is a good player to work with,” Smith said. “He’s had a lot of success in this league. He’s considered kind of a gun-slinger. He gets back there, give him some time to operate and he can pick you apart. He’s a good addition to that room. I think all three of those guys have good chemistry. I think it’s important in the quarterback room.”
Ridder continued to get the ball out to wide receiver Drake London and he hit tight end Kyle Pitts coming around the middle. He had several errant throws, too.
Smith pointed to Ridder’s command of the offense.
“We put a lot of stuff on our quarterbacks,” Smith said. “There’s a lot of stuff that we ask them to do pre-snap that I think he handles pretty well. His number one job is to move the team down the field. I think he’s done a decent job with that.
“(He’ll) keep working on all of the little things, but his command has been really good.”
