The Falcons were one of a few teams to have live NFL coverage during their training camp practice. Takkarist McKinley, Ito Smith, Ty Sambrailo, listed as day-to-day and didn’t participate. Brandon Fusco started with the first team offense at right guard and Matt “Money” Bryant was 5-5, because he is money. Here is the rundown of everything else you need to know.
Thomas Dimitroff
Through Quinn’s communication with Julio they believed he would be at training camp. Julio benefited from having Roddy White, and now Calvin Ridley will benefit from having Julio. Ridley will have an important impact on the receiving core. He will open up situations for Julio and Mohamed Sanu. “Let’s stay healthy, let’s continue to grow. I have a lot of faith in this offense and defense.” Dimitroff said. He also talked about how important Vic Beasley and Takkarist McKinley are to the defense and how Grady and Rico are up next for a pay day.
Arthur Blank
Arthur talked about how he was proud of the team and addressed the National Anthem. “Players really want to make it clear to ownership, the league, and fans they are 1,000 percent supportive of our flag and the military. This is about bringing awareness to social issues.” Blank stated.
Dan Quinn
When asked why the Falcons have the Navy Seal training each offseason Quinn explained that it helps players to learn how to be resilient, and promotes leadership. “Two minute drill, take Alex Mack out, how are you going to respond?” Quinn asked. The Falcons proved to be resilient the season after their Super Bowl collapse. There were many ups and downs, but they were the only team from the NFC to get back to the playoffs for the 2nd consecutive season. Red zone work was the focal point of the Falcons practice. To end the day Matt Ryan evaded pressure to find Sanu in the corner of the end zone for the no-look score. Surely we will see more of that this upcoming season.
Getting Julio back is key as chemistry between the quarterback and wide receiver is important. Timing is very significant and it showed last year that it was lacking in crucial moments. This was the first offseason Julio has been fully healthy in a while and he put the work in to get better. “The respect from a teammate inside the lock room is undeniable. When you put it on tape, the way you work, the way you practice. That’s where the respect comes from.” Quinn said in regards to Julio.
Quinn expressed excitement towards their 6th round linebacker Foye Oluokun, stating he has the speed, size, and toughness Atlanta loves. Oluokun split first team reps with linebacker Duke Riley. Quinn talked about how Oluokun is very versatile, as well as how the fullback battle would be something to keep an eye on. Special teams is key when it comes to the fullback competition due to the new kick return rules. This allows teams to have more speed on special teams as teams aren’t allowed to wedge block or have a running start down the field
“Anytime a team and a city has a connection, I think that is a pretty special thing.” Quinn said. The Falcons reported they had a record-breaking training camp crowd of 60,000 people.
