Falcons coach Dan Quinn has the training camp divided into four-day blocks.
“We went install for this four-day block and things we wanted to work on,” Quinn said. “We’ll, as a staff, talk about what went well. What we need extra (work) on. Who needs more work. Who needs different things so we can re-emphasize the next (four-day) block, which will be Saturday, Sunday, Monday (and) Tuesday.”
After that second block, the Falcons face the Denver Broncos in the Pro Football Hall of Fame exhibition game at 8 p.m. Thursday in Canton, Ohio.
Here are five things we learned in the first block of training camp:
1. Lindstrom on the fast track: Rookie guard Chris Lindstrom, who was selected in the first round (14th overall) in the draft, is holding his own against the veterans.
Center Alex Mack has been helping him get up to NFL speed.
Kaleb McGary, who’s working mostly with the second team, is playing behind Ty Sambrailo at right tackle. McGary was taken with the 31st overall pick in the first round.
They both looked sturdy in the partially padded practices Wednesday and Thursday.
“I hoped it would look like it did where it felt normal, like in all the other functions that they’ve done,” Quinn said. “I thought Chris, all along has been really improving. I told him there would be some on the on the job training.”
McGary, who’s 6-foot-6 and 306 pounds, looks even bigger in pads.
“This is where it counts the most for them because their practices are (important),” Quinn said.
2. Left guard spot up in the air: James Carpenter opened the camp with the first-team, but was alternating with Jamon Brown by the end of the first block.
The Falcons plan to work on rotations to find the best combination.
Carpenter and Brown were both signed in free agency and are battling to replace Andy Levitre, who was the starter at left guard for the season opener over the past four seasons.
Carpenter had a tough time in one-on-one drills, but as a veteran, he may just be easing himself into training camp.
3. Ishmael headed back to safety: After the season-ending injury to J.J. Wilcox, linebacker Kemal Ishmael was moved back to strong safety. To replace Ishmael in the linebacker room, the Falcons signed Stephone Anthony on Friday.
“We knew he had the versatility,” Quinn said. “We’re still looking hard at Parker (Baldwin).”
Baldwin is promising undrafted rookie free agent from San Diego State, who started as a sophomore when Damontae Kazee was a senior back in college.
Ishmael, 28, was drafted in the seventh round of the 2013 draft, has played in 81 games and made 20 starts.
He started 10 games at strong safety in 2015.
In 2016, Ishmael, who’s 6-0 and 206 pounds, was moved to linebacker and has played mostly on special teams.
Last season, the former Central Florida star played in 16 games and recorded 10 tackles and a pass breakup over 64 defensive snaps. He played 329 special-teams snaps and had 11 tackles, the second most on the team behind Justin Bethel.
In 2017, he played 114 defensive snaps and 336 special-teams plays.
4. Hooper like's up-tempo attack: The Falcons are working on their no-huddle attack that they featured earlier in Matt Ryan's career under offensive coordinators Mike Mularkey and Dirk Koetter.
Gone are the Kyle Shanahan days of taking just a couple of plays to the line of scrimmage and the inability to fully audible.
“There’s a lot of cool, up-tempo styled plays that have a high-percentage chance for me to find success and find the football,” Hooper said. “From a tight-end room perspective, I can speak for our whole group and say that we really enjoy the new offensive style.”
Hooper appears ready to follow-up his breakthrough season that ended with him playing the Pro Bowl after being named an alternate.
“I just try to keep the same mentality that I’ve always had,” Hooper said, “Just try to continue to improve.”
5. Bryant not missed: The Falcons moved on from kicker Matt Bryant over the offseason and don't expect to miss a beat with Giorgio Tavecchio.
“Well, I think you had to put him in the moments to find out (about him),” Quinn said. “The reason we wanted to bring him back... we had brought him back in the training camp at the end of the (exhibition) season. It was like a one-week tryout to see if this would be the right fit.”
The door opened for Tavecchio when Bryant injured his hamstring.
“We just felt like having Giorgio here was worth it,” Quinn said. “At that time to have two kickers, which is unusual.”
The Falcons were hoping that Tavecchio would pick up some tips from Bryant.
“We felt like in that space it was right with what he potentially could bring to the team,” Quinn said. “Matt Bryant, his mental toughness is as good as it gets. Having Giorgio spend time with him to see that approach, I think there are things to be gained from that as well.”
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