Kerry Meier is being cross-trained at three positions

"He's doing some good stuff for us," Robiskie said. "He made a nice play for us in two-minute drill. He moved the chains for us."

Meier also has been astute in the meeting rooms.

"I think he's a good addition," Robiskie said. "He's fun to work with. He asks a lot of good questions."

The veterans are pitching in to help Robiskie get Meier and the rest of the young receivers ready.

"It's just good that as a coach when you are watching two guys and you turn your head on a play and you hear a veteran say, ‘turn that ball up the field, young man,' " Robiskie said. "You don't have to coach a guy all day, every day. You've got your eyes, but you've got the veterans watching them, too."

Robiskie has heard Roddy White instruct one of the younger receivers not to jog on his route.

"It's just good to hear that kind of communication from the veterans," Robiskie said.

Also, Robiskie believes that Harry Douglas, who is coming off knee surgery, is ready for more action.

"He made a nice play down the middle for us today on a nice seam route," Robiskie said.

Robinson may miss first exhibition

Coach Mike Smith hopes to get cornerback Dunta Robinson, who suffered a hamstring injury Sunday, back to practice next week.

He also acknowledged that it was "possible" that Robinson would not play in the exhibition opener against the Kansas City Chiefs on Aug. 13 at the Georgia Dome.

Smith is not concerned about Robinson's long-term status. He has been running on the side under the supervision of the training staff.

"I think any time you're dealing with soft tissue, the precursor to pulling a muscle is that there is usually tightness in there," Smith said. "We just want to make sure that he's ready to go. We'll bring him along just like we've managed the three guys that are post [operation] ... He's our starting corner. I don't know if he's our left corner, right corner or our match corner, but he is our starting corner. We just need to make sure that he's ready to go."

Smith also considers backup running back Jerious Norwood to be in the same situation. He suffered a hip-flexor injury and has been running on the side with the trainers.

"We know what Jerious is capable of doing," Smith said.

Two-minute drill

Backup quarterback John Parker Wilson finished Thursday's practice running the team's two-minute offense.

"I thought that he did a nice job," Smith said. "We really want to get the younger guys some action because in the preseason at the end of the games, John Parker is going to be the quarterback that is running the offense."

It was the third time the offense has run the two-minute drill in training camp, but the first time with Wilson and the backups.

Where's the beef

Defensive-line coach Ray Hamilton likes the girth on his defensive tackles.

"[Thomas Johnson] is about 310, 315," Hamilton said. "He's a big, old, strong guy. He's a tough guy in the middle."

He noted that Johnson, Corey Peters (310) and Trey Lewis (316) weigh over 300 pounds.

"We've got three big guys in the middle, and they can move, too," Hamilton said. "That helps."

The untouchables

Quarterbacks Matt Ryan, Chris Redman and Wilson will be untouchable in the scrimmage at 7:30 p.m. today at North Gwinnett High.

They will wear blue jerseys to stand out.

The gates open at 6 p.m., and the Falcons are encouraging fans to arrive early.

Visiting coaches

Brad Jackson, who played six years in the NFL, is helping coach the linebackers as part of the league's minority coaching program.

Jackson played for Baltimore and Carolina from 1998 to 2003.

Also, coaches from Bethune-Cookman, Samford and Texas have visited training camp.