Atlanta Falcons: What we learned from day one of Training Camp
Day one of Atlanta Falcons Training Camp 2015 is officially in the books. The Falcons got underway just before 10:00 am on Friday morning and worked through drills until Dan Quinn called practice at noon. Everyone was in practice today, but the pads were left in the locker room.
Atlanta Falcons cornerback Robert Alford in running drills during day one of Training Camp
What did we learn from day one of camp? We learned that everyone is back that missed time in 2014 and everything seems to be ahead of schedule. Center Joe Hawley received a lot of reps in his first action since tearing his ACL just four games into last season and running back Antone Smith was a full participant in drills who also suffered a knee injury in 2014.
We also learned that Ricardo Allen is in line to get the starting free safety job at the moment, but that could change. Allen received first team reps throughout practice at the free safety position, but was never challenged over the middle of the field. We will wait and see how he does when the pads are on in the coming days but at the moment, he is the starter.
Rookie pass rusher Vic Beasley had a minor setback on day one, that got a few people a little worried, but luckily it was nothing. While running down a punt returner on special teams, Beasley slowed up right as he got up field and seemed to be favoring his hamstring. Beasley confirmed this and called it a cramp and returned to practice shortly after the mishap.
Julio Jones was a full participant in day one of camp and appeared to pick up right where he left off in 2014. Jones lined up on the outside and inside and had his way with the Falcons’ cornerbacks with the exception to Desmond Trufant. Towards the end of practice Jones appeared to have something wrong with his foot, but turned out to be nothing whatsoever. Jones had his left foot re-taped and was right back out to finish day one.
As far as the running backs were concerned, we didn’t learn a whole lot on day one. Devonta Freeman did however receive first team reps, but rookie Tevin Coleman did see a several carries throughout the day. Smith lined up at receiver more times than not and caught a ball nearly 20 yards down field. It’s safe to say that Smith looks as explosive as ever which is a great thing to see.
With Training Camp comes ups and downs. Day one saw a ton of ups with just a couple downs. Offensive tackle Ryan Schraeder suffered a leg strain early on in practice and sat out for the remainder while Tyler Polumbus saw first team reps from there on out at right tackle. Quinn stated that Schraeder suffered the injury but shouldn’t keep him off the field for very long.
The Branch was packed with Falcons fans on day one and the atmosphere was ‘poppin.’ Day two is scheduled to get underway at 10:00 am Saturday morning. Make sure you arrive early in order to beat the large crowd that is expected. Tune in tomorrow at Blogging Dirty to recap day two of Training Camp.