Falcons notes: Falcons to face Titans in training camp
FLOWERY BRANCH — With offseason dress rehearsal over, Falcons coach Mike Smith is looking forward to the first day of training camp July 26, where the evaluation to improve along the offensive and defensive lines will start.
The Falcons’ training-camp schedule will include 33 sessions, including one against the Tennessee Titans at Coahulla Creek High School in Dalton on Aug. 6.
“Dalton is about halfway,” said Smith, after the team concluded minicamp on Thursday.
The Falcons practiced against the Jaguars in Jacksonville last season. In 2010, the practiced against the Jaguars and the New England Patriots in Flowery Branch.
They had plans to practice with the Titans last season, but they were scratched as the lockout dragged on. Smith hopes that the Falcons can continue their relationship with the Titans.
“It’s something that maybe we’ll like to do on a regular basis,” Smith said. “We’ll do it this year and then maybe next year we’ll do it on the other side of the state line and it will be a home game for the Titans.”
The Falcons will hold their “Friday Night Lights” practice at Peachtree Ridge High School on Aug. 3.
Minicamp wrap-up
The new collective bargaining agreement basically banned offseason contact, and that hindered the Falcons’ evaluations of the offensive and defensive lines.
“The two areas where I think we’re going to have the most competition and the biggest battles is going to be on the offensive and defensive lines,” Smith said. “We haven’t been able to evaluate like we’d like because these were not padded practices. We’ll get a better evaluation when training camp starts.”
Special-teams help
Replacing Eric Weems, the former Pro Bowl special-teams player who signed with Chicago during free agency, will be a priority in training camp.
“Harry Douglas has done a nice job for us,” special-teams coordinator Keith Armstrong said. “You guys remember the touchdown he had for us versus Carolina a few years ago. He’s obviously a threat to score, and he has a pretty good chance to be our punt returner.”
Dominique Franks and James Rodgers will be in the hunt for the punt-return job. Running back Antone Smith has a shot at the kickoff-return spot.
“Dominique Franks has the ability to become a punt returner,” Armstrong said. “He did a nice job in college at Oklahoma. James Rodgers, Jacquizz’s brother, has been pretty solid out here at minicamp. He catches the ball clean and has some experience as a punt returner.”
Etc.
Cornerback Dunta Robinson recently was inducted into the Athens Athletic Hall of Fame. Robinson played at Clarke Central High. ... Running back Michael Turner disputed a claim made by a sports radio host that he was overweight. “Same as I’ve always been,” said Turner, who’s listed at 247 pounds. “Nothing’s different.” ... General manager Thomas Dimitroff, who has been consistently available to local and national media during the process of helping to lead the franchise into the playoffs three times in four seasons, was selected as the 2012 Jack Horrigan award winner by the Professional Football Writers of America (PFWA).
About the Author
Honored by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his "long and distinguished reporting in the field of pro football," D. Orlando Ledbetter, Esq. has covered the NFL 28 seasons. A graduate of Howard University, he's a winner of Georgia Sportswriter of the Year and three Associated Press Sports Editor awards.
