Falcons training camp 2016: Observations on the offense

Sunday August 14th was the first training camp practice for the Falcons since Thursday’s preseason opener against Washington. It was another padded practice, and it was also military appreciation day. The practice session opened with an incredible display of paratroopers parachuting onto the practice field.

Given some of the concerns fans had after the game on Thursday, I paid attention to the offense for this practice session. Here are some observations from the day:

• Overall, the first team offense was much sharper. In particular, Matt Ryan and Julio Jones seemed to be on-point, connecting repeatedly throughout the session
• Aldrick Robinson followed up his strong preseason game with a down-practice. He had several drops and his timing with Ryan seemed off. It’s only one practice, so I wouldn’t sound the alarms just yet.
• Tevin Coleman was on the field early, but apparently was pulled as a precaution due to his sickle-cell trait and the extreme heat:

• While Coleman was out, Brandon Wilds took several snaps with the first team and continued to show that he could push for that third running back spot on the roster.
• Don’t rule out David Glidden and Nick Williams just yet - both had good practices today.
• I saw some very interesting formations, including one that had Tamme lined up wide, Julio in motion to the slot, and Hardy inside close to the line - all on the right side. It will be interesting to see if these formations are utilized more in the regular season.
• The offensive line seems to be coming together very nicely. Ryan had a rather clean pocket to pass out of today and the unit seems to be more cohesive overall.
• Levine Toilolo continues to have a relatively poor camp, and has been relegated to strictly second and third team snaps. Other tight ends like Tialavea and Jenkins appear to have passed him in the pecking order.

The starting offense needed to have a nice bounce-back practice, and that was definitely the case today. Ryan looked far more comfortable and confident, and the overall rhythm for the offense seemed to be good. We’ll have to see how it translates to the field against the Browns on Thursday, but we’re hopeful that the offense is finally turning the corner.