Falcons strong safety William Moore was giddy about the arrival of the Cincinnati Bengals.
After almost two weeks of going against the same players, he’s ready to see some different opposition Monday and Tuesday before the two teams play their exhibition season opener at 8 p.m. Thursday at the Georgia Dome.
The fact that the Bengals will be without wide receiver A.J. Green didn’t diminish Moore’s enthusiasm. Green, the former Georgia standout, suffered a knee injury on July 26.
“They’ve got great offensive players,” Moore said. “We are looking forward to getting better against a heck of an offense.”
While Green did not make the trip, the Bengals have offensive threats in quarterback Andy Dalton, running back BenJarvus Green- Ellis, tight end Jermaine Gresham and rookie tight end Tyler Eifert and running back Giovani Bernard.
There won’t be any tackling to the ground. They’ll save that for the game. But Moore, who’s been chastised by Falcons coach Mike Smith for hitting too hard, is ready to see some new blood.
“It’s about that time,” Moore said. “We’ve been practicing against each other for over a week now. It’s great to get different looks after going against our offense.”
The Bengals went 10-6 last season and lost to the Houston Texans in the wild-card round of the AFC playoffs.
Green would have provided the Falcons rookie cornerbacks Desmond Trufant and Robert Alford with a good matchup. Both struggled early in training camp, but have made adjustments and major strides.
They’ve regularly faced Roddy White and Julio Jones and would have seen another Pro Bowler in Green.
Both figure to receive extensive action in the practices and the exhibition game.
“They are doing really well,” Falcons free safety Thomas DeCoud said. “They are absorbing everything and learning really fast.”
It’s clear that both rookies are making progress.
“There are a lot of one-timers out there that if they mess up on something that will be the first and last time that they’ll mess up,” DeCoud said. “The young corners are picking up the scheme really well. We’re developing a chemistry with those guys. The sky is the limit for our two young corners.”
Last season, the Falcons held a joint practice with the Tennessee Titans in Dalton.
The Falcons last hosted a combined training camp practice in 2010, when the Falcons and Jaguars practiced at Flowery Branch. In 2010, the Falcons also hosted practices with the New England Patriots.
The Falcons also traveled to Jacksonville in 2011 for combined practices with the Jaguars.
The Falcons believe the camp practices against other teams have helped them prepare in previous seasons.
“The past practices were good,” Moore said. “It’s good when you go against Pro Bowlers and a top offense like Cincinnati that is coming in here. They have some weapons on their offense. I think that’s going to help get us prepared for the season.”
While Green did not make the trip, the Bengals have several other players with local ties including Geno Atkins (Georgia), Michael Johnson (Georgia Tech), Adam Jones (Westlake High), Clint Boling (Georgia), Orson Charles (Georgia), Robert Geathers (Georgia) and Chris Lewis-Harris (Campbell High).
“It will give us an opportunity to do evaluations in a practice setting against different players,” Smith said. We’ve been going since May, working against each other. I think we kind of know the nuances of the guys we’re lining up against.”
The teams will practice in full pads on Monday. The teams will wear light pads for Tuesday practice.
“The guys are going to naturally be anxious because they are going against someone new,” Smith said. “But, I’m sure they’ll be very competitive and fun practices. They are great evaluation (tools) for the coaching staff and scouting staff. Not only to look at our players, but to look at other players and compare them to other guys in the league.”
Smith and Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis, who worked together for four years with the Baltimore Ravens, have gone over guidelines for the practices.
“The only thing we talked about was not getting into fights,” wide receiver Roddy White said.
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