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Today’s a day off for the Falcons, but the weekend brought plenty of training camp action for fans to get excited about. Our own Adnan Ikic and Kevin Knight were at Flowery Branch observing, so as you’d expect—and as you probably noted based on the weekend’s coverage—there were plenty of highlights, lowlights and everything in between to discuss.
In case you missed any of it, I’ve rounded up the weekend’s coverage from our dynamic duo and additional news and notes below. Make sure you’re following Kevin and Adnan on Twitter (they’re linked above) or just check back here every few hours for updates once we get through the off day today.
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Camp in full swing
Kevin and Adnan observed the weekend’s practices and came away with a ton of worthwhile notes, which they rounded up for Day 3 and Day 4. In addition, you’ll want to check out the Falcoholic Live recaps of both Saturday and Sunday, with a guest appearance from yours truly on Sunday’s editions.
The big takeaways, which should be consumed with the caveat that these are not padded practices and they don’t tell any tangible stories about where these guys are going to end up on that depth chart, are that the defense has had a couple of impressive days and the depth competitions at wide receiver, along the offensive line, at defensive end and in the secondary are pretty wide open. Oh, and Tori McElhaney writes that A.J. Terrell is putting his best foot forward in the early going, which bodes well for this secondary.
The passing game hasn’t been super sharp in camp thus far, by the looks of it, with some drops, a lot of batted passes and a handful of off-target throws from Matt Ryan and a larger handful from A.J. McCarron and Feleipe Franks. That’s not something we should be hyper-concerned about just yet—there’s a new system in town and chemistry is going to take time to build—but obviously it’s not something you want to see continuing deep into preseason, either.
Stay tuned for Kevin’s reports from training camp tomorrow and Wednesday, as well! Also be sure you’re following
Skipper comes aboard
Atlanta added yet another outside linebacker to a fierce competition over the weekend, signing former Rice linebacker and Steelers undrafted free agent Tuzar Skipper to the roster. Skipper is a physical linebacker who plays close to 250 pounds and will add some power and experience to a young group of reserves competing for what is likely only 1-2 spots on the roster.
If you’d like to get to know Skipper better, our friend Justin Melo from The Draft Network had the opportunity to interview him recently. He sounds excited to come to Atlanta.
Moore makes one more
The Falcons also signed receiver J’Mon Moore, a former Packers 4th round selection, reportedly due to an injury to receiver Jeff Badet. Moore is a big receiver who was productive in college but has struggled to find playing time thus far in the NFL.
Like Skipper, he’ll try to push his way into a crowded competition, one that seems fairly wide open behind slam dunk starters Calvin Ridley and Russell Gage.
Marlon Davidson’s ready to make an impact
I wrote about what a difference a healthy, motivated Marlon Davidson could make for this Falcons defense. Marlon Davidson told AtlantaFalcons.com that he’s ready to put a quiet year behind him and is promising a better year in 2021.
Put those two together and you come to the conclusion that Davidson is going to have a big season and it’s going to make a big difference for Atlanta. Putting that one into the universe.
Remember some more Falcons greats
As Will McFadden’s extremely entertaining Atlanta sports jersey history series rolls on, we’ve entered the uniform numbers that are dominated by Falcons greats. This edition will make you remember some of the team’s true all-time greats, especially at linebacker, and some fun “I hadn’t thought about that guy in forever!” memories as well. Check back on Thursday for the next chapter as we barrel toward #99.
Matt Ryan, Deion Jones #10 at their positions in Madden
The latest edition of Madden is coming out, and while I know I’m going to mostly swear at the cornerback who lunges 10 yards sideways across the field to intercept a perfectly placed pass, the game’s ratings are of major interest to fans. Adnan Ikic shared the news that Matt Ryan and Deion Jones are ranked #10 in Madden 22 at their respective positions, making them the two most highly-ranked and rated players on the team. While Grady Jarrett is being majorly snubbed here, good for Ryan and Jones.