Falcons Minicamp news and notes: Lamar Holmes slims down, cross-training begins

It's a gloomy day in Flowery Branch, but Dan Quinn's enthusiasm won't be dampened. Today's minicamp practice, or at least the portion of it that's open to the media, was just as high energy as yesterday's.

There were many, many questions about Lamar Holmes slimming down yesterday, and I said yesterday that based on what I saw, he'd lost a few pounds at most. Because readers were so interested, I paid closer attention today, and I should have deferred to D. Led's assessment yesterday. The roster has Homes listed at 333. If I had to put a number on him right now, I'd guess he's right around 300. That's substantial, and he's moving around really well, too. Holmes has sort of a prototypical NFL tackle build, has worked hard on improving the fundamental aspects of his game, and is pretty athletic for a guy his size, and slimming down should accentuate that.

Dan Quinn has talked a lot about connecting with players being a fundamental part of his approach, and you see that engagement not just between Quinn and the players, but between Quinn and the rest of the staff as well.

When the players are on the field, the coaching staff is really drilling the minutiae of technique, technique, technique. There's constant communication of expectations, correction is being given constantly, and there's ample praise when a player does something correctly. Quinn had emphasized that his staff was comprised of good teachers, and you see that in action on the field, and the team is definitely looking at cross-training its players.

Quinn says team is playing with cross-training. Safeties at nickel. LBs at defensive end. They’ll keep evaluating those possibilities.

— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) April 29, 2015

It is really different to see referees at practice. When Quinn spoke to the media yesterday, he said that the purpose of having refs there is to help the players understand how to play the fast and physical style of football Quinn's so fond of without drawing penalties.

There's not much to report as far as specific players' performance or anything like that. Most of what we saw on the field today was stretching. Attendance was still just as good, and nobody's slacking. I can give you that much.