Falcons quarterback coach Glenn Thomas was not too alarmed by the performance of second-teamer Dominique Davis against Cincinnati.
“It was the first live action for him this year,” Thomas said after practice Monday. “It was a valuable experience for him.”
Davis completed 8 of 19 passes for 78 yards, one touchdown and one interception in the 34-10 loss to the Bengals.
He will get more action when the Falcons face the Baltimore Ravens at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at M&T Bank Stadium.
Over the offseason, the Falcons elected to bypass the veteran quarterback market and did not make an effort to re-sign veteran Luke McCown, who signed with the New Orleans Saints.
Davis was signed as an undrafted rookie free agent last season. He served as the team’s No. 3 quarterback in 2012. He’s trying to make the jump to No. 2.
When asked whether Davis was ready to be a No. 2 quarterback, Thomas said: “At this point, we are just trying to get better. We’re just trying to improve. The live rush is for real. He’ll get better and better as the weeks progress.”
Quarterback Matt Ryan hasn’t missed a start since 2009 and has missed just two games over his five seasons with the Falcons.
First stringers: Falcons wide receiver Roddy White declared a first-team victory over the Bengals although the team's loss.
“When the ‘ones’ left the game, we were winning,” White said. “That’s all that we care about. When we left the game, we were winning. It was a positive thing for me.”
Cornerback update: White has also noticed the improvement of rookie cornerbacks Desmond Trufant and Robert Alford.
“The young guys are doing a heck of a job,” White said. “They come out here every day and they compete. I love those guys. They get better every day.”
White said the moves that the receivers were using to beat the rookies early in camp don’t work anymore.
“They continue to get better day in and day out,” White said.
Fullback corner: With Bradie Ewing out with an undisclosed injury for more than a week, undrafted rookies Patrick DiMarco and Devonte Campbell are seeing a lot of action.
DiMarco made the start against the Bengals.
“DiMarco has more experience,” running backs coach Gerald Brown said. “For Campbell, it’s kind of a new position for him as far as coming out of college. At times, he’s shown signs of physical play. He’s a good receiver. He has to be more consistent in his play, but he’s making some strides as well.”
Handicapping Holmes: Right tackle Lamar Holmes was elevated to the first unit on the team's depth chart for the Baltimore game.
He will have to master all the line calls and pass protections to win the job.
“He’s athletic, and that’s why we drafted him in the third round,” offensive line coach Paul Dunn said. “Everybody’s system in college is different. Lamar has had a year and a camp underneath his belt right now, he should be progressing in that area.”
He’s competing with Ryan Schraeder, an undrafted rookie from Valdosta State.
“Schraeder is kind of untapped right now,” Dunn said. “The more we go along, the more we learn about him. He’s certainly had good training down there at Valdosta because he’s pretty well versed in the techniques and fundamentals of the game.”
Etc.: After getting beat by defensive tackle Neal Huynh in a one-on-one drill and landing on his back, center-guard Joe Hawley slammed his helmet to the turf. …Falcons tight ends coach Chris Scelfo has been talking nightly to tight end Tony Gonzalez. "We've been in communications with him quite a lot with the technology that we have today, it's state-of-the-art," Scelfo said. "We'll get him up to speed. We are using the iPad and we speak just about every night. … Linebacker Sean Weatherspoon returned to practice after missing a week. He was limited with a dislocated finger on his left hand. … Running back Antone Smith (undisclosed injury) returned to practice.
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