The Falcons kicked off the first day of full-contact, pads-on training camp practices today with something we haven't seen much of: The Oklahoma drill.
For those unfamiliar, the Oklahoma drill typically pits two players against one another a few yards apart, and when the whistle's blown, the two fly at one another and try to knock the other guy down. It's a rough, physical drill widely used by football teams across the country to get players to embrace contact, but to my knowledge this is the first time the Falcons have trotted it out in training camp under Mike Smith.
It also led to some fun moments. To the Twitter machine!
At full speed, no one has stopped Patrick DiMarco. No one. #aftc14
— Jay Adams (@FalconsJAdams) July 28, 2014
Toilolo just blocked Tyler Starr out of a play, to the elation of TE coach Chris Scelfo #aftc14
— Jay Adams (@FalconsJAdams) July 28, 2014
Roby and Lowery just had a nice battle.
— vaughn mcclure (@vxmcclure23) July 28, 2014
Obviously, this doesn't guarantee a tougher football team, but it's noteworthy that this is being done this year with the focus on getting bigger up front, tackling better and being a generally nastier squad to play against. Anything that helps is okay by me.
Your thoughts?