FLOWERY BRANCH — The Falcons are enjoying what coach Dan Quinn called a "recovery day" today.
They’ll return to practice at 10 a.m. Wednesday and Thursday before hosting their Friday Night Lights even at 7 p.m. Friday at Buford High. The practices and the event are open to the public.
So far, here’s what we’ve learned in the early stages of Camp Quinn.
1. A FASTER JULIO?: Julio Jones believes that he's gotten faster after a full offseason. CLICK HERE FOR STORY.
2. NEW FREE SAFETY: Ricardo Allen is legitimately making the switch from cornerback to free safety. Falcons coach Dan Quinn said that his "speed and tackling" ability were the things the coaches saw on film that suggested he could handle the move.
3. THE NEXT HARVEY DAHL: Mike Person has consistently worked with the first-team at left guard next to left tackle Jake Matthews. We have to do some more digging on this. He's slated to replace Justin Blalock and nobody knows much about the former St. Louis Ram. Could he be the new Harvey Dahl?
4. A PASS RUSHER HAS BEEN FOUND!: Vic Beasley, the Falcons first-round pick, looks awfully good through two padded practices. CLICK HERE FOR STORY.
5. EARLY ALL-FLOWERY BRANCH TEAM MEMBERS: O'Brien Schofield and rookie wide receiver Justin Hardy are two other players off to great starts. Schofield has been used at outside linebacker and defensive end. He snuffed out a toss sweep to Devonta Freeman on Monday, which was have been a 4-yard loss. Hardy is running smooth routes and is handling the installation well. He did have a big drop of a beautiful spiral from Sean Renfree on Monday. Leonard Hankerson is also shining. (Players who shine in practice make the All-Flowery Branch team. If they take it to the Georgia Dome, they turn into Pro-Bowlers. Former All-Flowery Branch members include wide receiver Laurent Robinson, Drew Davis and Bernard Reed and cornerback Brent Grimes. Robinson didn't fare well when the pads went on. Grimes turned into a Pro Bowler, albeit with Miami.)
6. TIGHT END BATTLE: Tight end Levine Toilolo made a nice grab running a seam route up the field in traffic on Monday. He made a few other catches. He's clearly not conceding his position to Jacob Tamme and appears to be taking Quinn's message about competition to heart.
7. BACKUP QB BATTLE: There's going to be a battle for the backup quarterback spot. Sean Renfree looks pretty good moving around in the new system and has been on target with most of his passes. He flashed a big arm on a bomb to Hardy on Monday. Yates, who may just be a slow starter, has been intercepted a few times and has missed on a few underneath passes. He started slow last exhibition season before coming on strong at the end.
