Recapping Saturday’s 2018 Falcons training camp practice: Matt Schaub leads his team to victory

Yesterday was Military Appreciation Day at Flowery Branch, which meant it was time for a scrimmage between Team Red and Team White for the second time this summer, representing the second half of the original scrimmage. Somewhat surprisingly, Matt Schaub’s team rode to victory.

That doesn’t mean much—Schaub had Julio!—but it’s still worth recapping yesterday’s action. Onward, to the list!

Training camp takeaways

• Matt Schaub’s team won. Is it time for him to take over the starting job, he asked, in complete seriousness? Discuss.
• The tight end position has multiple breakout candidates, and so far, they’re doing everything they need to do to build hype. Eric Saubert hauled in yet another touchdown, and Austin Hooper is getting praise from Matt Ryan for his preparation and effort this offseason, which should translate to more production for his opportunities (though, given the number of weapons on offense, probably not more opportunities). The dream is still to have two capable pass catching tight ends on the roster at once, and it appears within reach.

• File away David Marvin’s name after he hit a 47 yarder in this scrimmage. The Falcons may well stash a kicker in case the ageless Matt Bryant gets hurt, and Marvin can make a solid case for that practice squad spot if he keeps hitting kicks.
• Duke Riley is obviously having a better summer than he had a 2017 season, and yesterday he made a great play against Devonta Freeman. If he takes a major step forward, one of the bigger questions about this defense will be erased.

• Early impressions of Kurt Benkert: Positive. I’m looking forward to seeing more of him in preseason, where he’ll be able to show whether he’s further along than we hoped or exactly the kind of sloppy yet promising prospect the Falcons might stash on the practice squad.

• We keep seeing the same familiar characters for punt returns, but that’s mostly because they’re sound choices. Kickoff returns have been mostly the same, but it’s worth noting that Ito Smith was back for a kickoff this time around. Given his speed and shiftiness, he’s an intriguing choice to be one of the team’s returners, so I hope this isn’t the last time we see the Falcons trying him out there.

• Takk is working his way back, as he ran some drills on the side today and hopefully will be back to full contact in time to play a handful of snaps against the Jets.

There’s no practice today, so you can rest up in preparation for this Friday’s game. If you were at practice Saturday, let us know what you saw!