The Falcons welcomed all fans for the first time on Saturday for the fourth consecutive day of training camp. It was a mercifully cool, cloud-covered morning, and fans turned out starting early. The line was already growing when I arrived at the facility before 8:00 am. Practice wasn’t quite as exciting as I hoped, but we continue to learn more and more about the construction of this roster and who will be competing for the few open starting jobs.
Here are my notes from Day 4 of Falcons training camp.
- A relatively short practice, just over an hour. Both practices I’ve been to so far have been shorter than I’m used to. This was also not as high-energy as Friday.
- All four QBs participated to some extent. Tua was still very limited and didn’t participate in any team drills today. Michael Penix participated in everything except 11-on-11.
- Of the QBs, Cooper Rush had the strongest day. He looks more in control and is getting more comfortable. Michael Penix had a better day accuracy-wise but was let down by a number of drops. Jack Strand continued his up-and-down play, but still looks better than expected for a UDFA playing with starters.
- Overall, today was dominated by the defense. The coverage continued to be smothering and the pass rush notched multiple sacks.
- The Falcons continued to play a mix of fronts, including 3-4 and 4-2-5 packages. There was a lot of rotation up front with Brandon Dorlus, Da’Shawn Hand, Maason Smith, LaCale London, and Chris Williams all getting opportunities. At EDGE the initial grouping of Jalon Walker and Samson Ebukam continued, but we also saw Azeez Ojulari get involved with a sack. Bralen Trice and Cameron Thomas both came in for a base package look. James Pearce Jr. continues to work his way back, playing mostly with the depth groups.
- The linebacker situation was more fluid today. Christian Harris got the initial reps next to Divine Deablo, but the team rotated in Harold Perkins Jr. and Kendal Daniels at various times.
- Speaking of Rookie LB Kendal Daniels, he was back at practice after a schedule rest day on Friday. Daniels was impressive, with some nice coverage on Austin Hooper in teams.
- Veteran Darnay Holmes got the initial start in the slot today, but A.J. Woods and Sydney Brown also rotated in. Rookie Avieon Terrell had a mix of slot and outside snaps working mostly with the depth groups.
- Jahan Dotson’s role continues to grow, as he looked pretty clearly like the WR2 today. He got open quickly in team drills and caught several passes. Zachariah Branch nearly had a TD catch after getting open over the middle but didn’t quite get his head around in time. Of the rest of the receivers, Chris Blair has been the most consistently impressive.
- New punter Jake Bailey was crushing it today, with some really impressive punts. Atlanta is rotating in a lot of players at the gunner spots to try and find the best fit.
- There’s a lot of movement at multiple spots on offense and defense. The team is giving a lot of players opportunities to mix in. It sounds like the competition for the open starting spots will extend throughout the month.
Tech permitting (fingers crossed) we’ll try to have a live show for you all later today, so stay tuned for that. In the meantime, there’s no practice on Sunday as the team has their first off day. We’ll be back at practice bright and early on Monday for the first day in pads!
