FLOWERY BRANCH – Falcons coach Mike Smith took a long look at cornerback Dominique Franks against the Jaguars, but he was not ready to declare a winner in the nickel back runoff.
"In terms of the competition between he and Christopher Owens, all precincts have not reported," said Smith on Sunday. "It's still open."
Garrett Reynolds and Mike Johnson are competing for the starting right guard spot, with Reynolds getting most of the work with the first team. But all of the ballots are not in for that competition either.
“Right guard is still open as well,” Smith said.
In addition to Franks, Reynolds and Johnson, the Falcons took a long look at backup center Joe Hawley against Jacksonville. He bungled a couple of pass-protection calls early in the game, but settled down.
"It's happens," center Todd McClure said. "Everybody makes mistakes. He went out there and handled himself well."
McClure returned to practice on Sunday after receiving some rest time from Smith. He’s been watching the right guard competition, , too.
“They are battling,” McClure said. “Both of those guys are working really hard. They each are getting opportunities. Whichever guy shows that he’s the best for that position, that’s who will be the starter.”
That battle to replace Harvey Dahl, who signed with St. Louis as a free agent, is being heavily scrutinized.
“We’ve got a lot of guys in this organization watching every snap and it will be their decision,” McClure said.
Film review
Smith shared some of the highlights and lowlights of his film review session of the 15-13 loss to Jacksonville.
In addition to the play of wide receiver Harry Douglas and running back Jacquizz Rodgers, he was pleased with the first-team defense creating two turnovers and the play of offensive guard/tackle Andrew Jackson, a seventh-round pick from Fresno State.
He was not pleased with the defense's inability to get off the field on third down-and-long situations, and the offense’s inability to convert and third-and-short plays.
However, he pointed out the coaches experimented with different third-down defenses against Jaguars.
“We were looking at certain defenses that we wanted to run,” Smith said. “We ran those defenses in those situations. If we were game-planning, it would have been a different deal.”
The offense normally would just run the ball in most third-and-short situations, but they utilized three- and four-wide receivers sets in those situations against the Jaguars.
“I think we had five times where we were in third-and-4 or less and we did not convert,” Smith said. “Those are the two things that really stood out from the film evaluations.”
Rodgers learning
Rodgers, the rookie running back, is starting to pick up the offense. He’s playing much faster. He was zipping around the field and beating linebackers on his pass routes during the seven-on-seven passing session.
Edwards audition
Defensive end Ray Edwards will continue to get his practice time increased and the team will make a decision later in the week on if he will play against Pittsburgh on Saturday.
Etc.
Wide receiver Roddy White didn't practice in the morning, but participated in the evening walk-through. He took a helmet shot to his thigh against Jacksonville and suffered a minor bruise. ... Quarterback John Parker Wilson, who was out with a concussion, returned to practice. ... Defensive tackle Vance Walker, who was out with an ankle injury, returned to practice. ... Matt Hansen, a rookie free-agent safety from Rhode Island, had two interceptions. He picked off Wilson and later jumped a pass thrown by Adam Froman. ... Linebacker Youri Yenga, a rookie free-agent linebacker from Southern Methodist, had a rough day with his assignments and drew the ire of defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder; Yenga later was cramping and got some attention from the training staff. ... Cornerback Dunta Robinson (hamstring), linebackers Akeem Dent (knee) and Robert James (groin) were working out with the training staff in the morning; Dent shed his brace and took part in the evening walk-through.
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