The Atlanta Falcons Training Camp Open Thread, Day Seven

by Dave Choate on Aug 5, 2010 8:01 AM EDT in Events

Last time we officially checked in on training camp, all was rainbows and 50 cent fountain drinks.

Such is the nature of training camp, where optimism runs high and most players look ready to start for the Falcons. That's not to say I'm not excited about how good everyone's looked, because there's clear reason for optimism. Take Daniel Cox's report about Dominique Franks, who generally looks much further along the curve than you'd expect from a rookie fifth-round cornerback. Stories like those are fantastic.

Of course, as we inexorably draw closer to the actual season, some of these guys will not make the team. It's the hard truth of training camp, and so you may want to tearfully temper your expectations for guys like Bear Woods and Ryan Wolfe. The more we see them practice, the more we'll see the divide grow, though there's always a few that catch you off-guard (William Middleton, anyone?)

So use this thread to discuss battles and who you think will emerge the victor. Also use it to just enjoy what is most assuredly a glorious time of year, when optimism runs higher than Roddy White's socks. It may not be pleasant to watch the axe twirl, but I'll be damned if we won't have a great team standing at the end of it.

And because we all like to know things as they happen, here's a short list of great Twitter resources for you guys to follow along with.

J ay Adams (@FalconsJAdams)

Daniel Cox (@FalconsDCox)

D. Orlando Ledbetter (@AJCFalcons)

And, as Jason has recommended in the past, #aftc2010

Enjoy!

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Last tallied on 08/04.

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What are the early reports on

Bear Woods and Ryan Wolf?

by mwalex on Aug 5, 2010 9:15 AM EDT reply actions

I was unimpressed

with both guys. I was at yesterday afternoon’s practice and I didn’t see anything special out of either one of these guys.

Of the 2, Bear Woods looks better. I say this because Wolfe looked bad at times and Woods didn’t look good or bad. I attribute part of that to the difference in the nature of the positions, but still I thought there was a huge drop off after Meier with the new WRs.

Take this for what it is though. I have only been to one day of camp and I couldn’t watch everything.

by JoshuaG on Aug 5, 2010 5:05 PM EDT up reply actions

Mike Smith looks pissed

by redfalcon2 on Aug 5, 2010 10:05 AM EDT via mobile reply actions

Hes pissed

Jenks is still on this team

by Erihury on Aug 5, 2010 11:12 AM EDT up reply actions

What’s the situation on Dunta? It seems like he’s been out for too long with the injury they said he had.

Also, how’s John Parker Wilson doing? Could he replace Redman?

by Mattyice318 on Aug 5, 2010 11:40 AM EDT reply actions

Look up at the top of the site in about 5 minutes

I have a Dunta update for you.

by Dave Choate on Aug 5, 2010 11:43 AM EDT up reply actions

Still believe Franks will prove excellent value. Peters and Franks were my picks for having most impact this season out of the 2010 rookies, so good news about Franks after so so play. Any more news on Kerry Meier? He was the most intriguing pick since the Comrade obviously saw something in his play to pick him over so many other solid picks. Guess football intelligence and sure hands will trump his lack of speed.

by JCush on Aug 5, 2010 12:48 PM EDT reply actions

I showed up a little late and my sister and my girlfriend were with me, so between explaining who the different players were and helping them to beat the ungodly heat I didn’t get to be as thorough in my viewing as I would have liked. I’m going to try and make it out at least once more to get a better idea of how they’re looking, but this is what stood out to me:

1. I assure you that Kerry Meier is awesome: Ryan hit him again and again, I didn’t see him drop a single pass, and he consistently stood out from the pack by virtue of his attitude and hustle. He’s not about to supplant Roddy White or anything, but if he doesn’t make an impact to our passing game very quickly then I’ll honestly be surprised. Wolfe and Harvey didn’t seem to do too much. Good ol’ Finneran was balling pretty hard.

2. Tony G.‘s still got it and I loved getting to see the legend in action. He didn’t look like he’d lost a bit of steam. Actually the TEs looked solid all around, even Keith Zinger had a nice catch!

3. Jenkins, you may be surprised to hear, had a pretty egregious drop in the endzone, though credit goes to some nice defense by…

4. Owens, who actually looked really good from what little I saw. He had a pretty athletic pick against Ryan and was generally solid in coverage. Other DBs didn’t really stand out to me, but I didn’t spend as much time watching the defense so I probably missed a lot of highlights.

5. Maybe it was just me but Snelling’s quickness looked like it might have improved, there were a couple of times when I looked up in the middle of a play and thought he was Michael Turner. I’d be comfortable with him taking on a bigger chunk of the RB rotation based on what I saw today. Turner did look good, but Norwood was getting stuffed a lot to my dismay.

by ArthurDank on Aug 5, 2010 1:48 PM EDT reply actions 3 recs

*"today" in #5 should be “yesterday”, I typed this up last night but didn’t post it

by ArthurDank on Aug 5, 2010 1:50 PM EDT up reply actions

Thanks for the update

Good news about Meier, Owens and Snelling; well good news all the way around except for Norwood. It might be time to use him for only catching passes out of the back field.

by mwalex on Aug 5, 2010 1:57 PM EDT up reply actions

I don't think that was Norwood you saw

I’m pretty sure Norwood is injured and was in shorts on the sidelines yesterday. There is another running back with long hair like Norwood’s, and you are right, he did not look nearly as good getting through the line as Turner and Snelling. In fact, I didn’t see any other RB look good at all other than Turner and Snelling. Let’s hope we stay healthy at that position.

by JoshuaG on Aug 5, 2010 3:09 PM EDT up reply actions

I thought about that after I posted

I knew I had mistaken that guy for Norwood at least once (Smith, I think?), then I remembered that Norwood was out.

Did you agree with the rest of my assessments? See anything I didn’t?

by ArthurDank on Aug 5, 2010 3:30 PM EDT up reply actions

I agree with all of it

There were a few things I noticed.

- Jenkins looked good blocking. This may be because he is much bigger than most of our CBs, but I was still impressed.

- I, too, am impressed with Meier. I am hoping to see a lot of him and HD in pre-season. Someone is going to have to step up as a receiving threat to help Mularkey and Ryan not be so predictable.

- I loved watching the O-Line vs. LBs. These are 2 impressive groups. A lot of ferocity on both sides.

- My best guess as far as starting CB opposite of Dunta is Owens. I think it is his job to lose. He looks very natural at that position.

It is pre-season, so it is hard not to be optimistic. I do have some concerns though. I like what I see from Meier and what I remember from HD in ’08, but this is just camp and we really need a legitimate receiving threat other than White and Gonzalez. Also, I want to see Ryan take some more chances this year. Give Ryan another sure-handed guy and/or a vertical threat and he likely will take more chances, but it is way too early to consider those concerns resolved.

by JoshuaG on Aug 5, 2010 4:30 PM EDT up reply actions

Nance I think.

Rule #1: Double tap.

by Ball Hawk on Aug 5, 2010 9:36 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

That pic of the Comrade reminds me of Scott Case, circa 1990.

Not sure if T.D. could knock out a crossing TE, but it would be fun to watch him try… We’ve got to have the most chiseled G.M. in the NFL.

by Mnemonic on Aug 5, 2010 1:51 PM EDT reply actions

Thanks to all

Thanks to all for the updates. Being a few thousand miles away, absolutely love the fan takes on our guys. Double thanks for braving that god awful heat! About 85 over here in socal and I’m having a hard time! No humidity either. You all are the man! Or men. What’s the proper…never mind. I’m hungry.

by aces666high on Aug 5, 2010 4:40 PM EDT reply actions