Atlanta Falcons: Devonta Freeman pulls away on day five

The Atlanta Falcons entered day five of training camp on Wednesday, and the third consecutive practice in pads. The Falcons had their sloppiest day yet, and saw injuries begin to pile up. But, with injures mean opportunities, and one man took full advantage of this.

Aug 1, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Falcons running back Devonta Freeman (24) runs with the ball after a catch on the field during training camp at the Flowery Branch Training Facility. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Many believe that rookie running back Tevin Coleman is set to win the starting job over second-year running back Devonta Freeman. Coleman has a size advantage over Freeman and has the ability to run for power as well. Freeman uses his quick, shifty cuts in order to make plays which may not work in the Falcons’ new zone-blocking scheme.

The new scheme calls for a bigger, tougher running back who can take hits and carry the ball 20-plus times a game. However, Freeman is showing  that he can succeed in this offense. Freeman has split first-team reps with Coleman in the first four days of practice, but received all of them on day five.

Coleman sat out Wednesday’s practice with a minor hamstring injury which allowed Freeman to show off what he can do with all of the snaps. The injury to Coleman also allowed undrafted rookie Terron Ward to see more offensive snaps. Ward made a name for himself on day four of practice on Monday and continued to impress on Wednesday.

This wasn’t the only thing going on today. Lets take a look a few other headlines that surfaced as the whistle blew to end day five.