DEC 6, 2009; Jacksonvile, FL, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars guard Vince Manuwai (67) reacts between plays during the game against the Houston Texans at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Fernando Medina-US PRESSWIRE

The Atlanta Falcons haven’t been afraid to cut players they signed this offseason, as they cut Lofa Tatupu before the weekend started, and then cut Vince Manuwai on Saturday.

This has got to be good news for Falcons fans. It means that the Falcons front office feel good enough about the young guys they have on the roster competing for the right guard spot to cut Manuwai. I’ll be honest, we never really wanted Vince to start during the regular season. He was brought in to be a veteran presence to push the young guys in competition. Maybe they would be able to learn something from him too. Obviously they can’t learn from him anymore.

So who is competing for the guard spot opposite Justin Blalock? We can narrow it down to Garrett Reynolds, Peter Konz, Mike Johnson, and Joe Hawley. Reynolds was the starter initially in 2011, but he was miserable. Maybe he has improved over last season. I sure hope so, but we don’t put all of our hopes on him. Rookie Peter Konz is still in his first few days of training camp, but there is still time for him to potentially rise up the depth charts. He could also have potential at center. Mike Johnson has been injured the last couple seasons, but was great at Alabama, and could contend for the guard spot. I think a healthy Johnson could be a good option, or a solid backup, and he is also cross-training at the tackle position. Finally we have Joe Hawley, who will compete at guard, but if Todd McClure proves that age has finally caught up with him, he would move to center and probably be out of the running for the guard job. I love McClure more than most fans, but I would personally rather see a younger player with higher upside (Hawley) playing the center position.

Obviously we have a multitude of viable options in contention for the open guard position. However, I really hope that the person who starts the season at right guard doesn’t get it by default; they need to win it and look tremendous while doing so. It will be interesting to see who gets the job out of camp.

May 12, 2012; Flowery Branch, GA, USA; Atlanta Falcons guard Peter Konz (66) during Falcons rookie camp at the Atlanta Falcons Training Facility. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-US PRESSWIRE

The Atlanta Falcons will open their final minicamp before they break until training camp, which will begin at the end of July. The AJC’s D. Orlando Ledbetter has a list of 5 things for Falcons fans to keep an eye on during the minicamp today through Thursday:

1. Attendance. The Minicamp is mandatory for all Falcons players, so if you are up at Flowery Branch this week, keep your eyes peeled for all players to be present.

2. Offensive Line Groupings. This is something that I covered a couple weeks ago when I talked about the offensive line depth chart through OTAs. In that piece, Hawley was the first string Center, Garrett Reynolds who was miserable in 2011 was working with the 1st team, and Peter Konz was buried on the depth chart still. I would expect things to start opening up for Konz, Vince Manuwai or others competing for starting jobs on the offensive line. What we see Thursday, at the end of the Minicamp, will be close to what we see in training camp and in the regular season.

3. John Abraham’s movement on the field. Abraham is no spring chicken, yet is still a productive and valuable member of this team. He was allowed to workout on his own, away from the team during OTAs, which is something that he has cleared with the coaches. I would expect to see the same John Abraham from last season, but he is a player we should still keep an eye on.

4. Tony Gonzalez’ play. The biggest vegetarian I’ve ever seen who is not named Prince Fielder. Gonzalez might be the best player to ever play for the Falcons, even if he played his final seasons here. He is extremely veteran, and will probably not have any problem being ready right away. Watching Gonzalez play isn’t making sure that he is healthy; it is watching a 36 year old guy do things that 26 year olds can’t.

5. Peter Konz. Ledbetter notes that the Falcons have taken a very slow approach with starting rookie o-lineman as evidenced by the careers of Garrett Reynolds, Mike Johnson, and Andrew Jackson. They may not have been ready, but they also definitely didn’t play as rookies. The case may be the same with Konz. As I noted above in point 2 as well as in the link included in that point, Konz was the 2nd string Center and 3rd team Right Guard in OTAs. Everyone, including me, is demanding Konz start at RG his entire rookie season. I hope that happens, but I think that it is only realistic and prudent to realize that there is a distinct possibility that Konz doesn’t start in 2012. He may not even play. We will just see how it plays out.

These are the things that fans who are attending the team’s minicamp should be looking for, and fans following on Blogging Dirty as well as other Falcons resources should be keeping an eye out for.

For those who want to know the Falcons remaining minicamp sessions that are open to the public are June 20 from 3:30-5:20 and June 21 from 10:30-12:20. I will be attending Thursday’s minicamp. Come find me, and lets talk about the Falcons!

Dec, 11, 2011; Charlotte, NC, USA; Atlanta Falcons running back Jacquizz Rodgers (22) celebrates with guard Joe Hawley (61) after scoring a touchdown in the third quarter at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-US PRESSWIRE

A couple days ago, the AJC’s D. Orlando Ledbetter got Falcons fans updated on recent things to keep an eye on in OTAs. The most interesting thing to me about what he reported was which players were lining up with the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd string rotations.

The first team alignment was composed of Sam Baker, Justin Blalock, Joe Hawley, Garrett Reynolds, and Tyson Clabo. Two things struck me as interesting here. First, I was fairly shocked that Reynolds was taking 1st team snaps at Right Guard, despite the debacle that was his performance at RG during the 2011 season. I suppose the Falcons are only looking for Vince Manuwai and Peter Konz to beat him out for the starting job, and I sincerely hope that happens. Perhaps we will see something different soon from the Falcons depth chart, but that was shocking. The second interesting thing was that Joe Hawley was slotted as the 1st team starting Center. After the Falcons re-signed Todd McClure this offseason, I was sure that he would start at C for the 2012 season. Apparently, the Falcons are looking for Hawley to step up and start this season. I can’t blame them one bit for that. One thing that was again very surprising was that McClure saw no on-field practice with the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd string O-line teams. I suppose the Falcons are looking for him to be a teacher/instructor for the o-line. Nobody has more or better experience than McClure, and we all know he can start if the Falcons need him to.

The final thing that was of note, but not altogether surprising, was Peter Konz’ alignment with then 2nd and 3rd team offenses. Konz played Center with the 2nd team, and Right Guard with the 3rd team. I suppose the Falcons want him to beat out any veterans on the team before taking a starting job, and rightfully so. I do, however, feel that he is a little buried on the depth chart at the RG position. Perhaps he isn’t the savior at the position that we expect him to be. Perhaps I’m reading into the OTAs depth chart too much. I would go with the latter of the two. Regardless, I would expect Konz to move up at RG significantly.