Training Camp, Day #1 Synopsis

The AJC and the Official Site are all over the first day of training camp, so let's break it down.

1. Mark Bradley strikes again, this time with a report on just how oblivious Bobby Petrino is to everything. I couldn't possibly be more thrilled with a coach who either pretends to ignore distractions or is completely incapable of noticing it. The Falcons need someone who's there just to focus on football, and while I'm sure he's going to explode on the media at some point during the season, he's starting out in glorious fashion. If he can get the team even half as oblivious as him, this team is going to wander into traffic while thinking about the playbook. So scratch that.

2. Joey "Joe Joe Junior Shabadoo" Harrington seems prepared for camp and ready to capture the imaginations of we fair Falcons fans. By that I mean everyone's praying he's going to do well for us this year. If he doesn't, D.J. Shockley might show the coaching staff enough to be considered for the starting job. I thought the description of him as "disappearing behind the line" as pretty amusing, but that might have more do with the gigantic linemen we're employing this year than how short he is. Then again, it might be both.

3. Justin Blalock has agreed to a five year deal which will hopefully see him anchoring the line at guard. I'm a huge Blalock fan, and I think he can be the kind of perennial Pro Bowl pick that fans select only because they know his name. The difference is, Blalock will deserve it. That means all of the Falcons' picks are in camp now, a big key for a coach trying to work in a new philosophy. In that same article, we see that the Falcons signed ex-AFL QB Lang Campbell to a contract. More than likely he's just there to be a practice quarterback, but it's possible the team sees something in him. Anyone with details?

4. Oh, and by the way...Mike Vick pleaded not guilty. Not exactly a surprise there. The trial's set for November 26th, which means there's quite a few weeks of the season before Vick has to worry himself. Now the league has to figure out what it wants to do with him, which might be tricky. I still do think he's likely to be suspended.