Blister will sideline Vick for a day

By The Associated Press

Posted 10:35AM on Sunday, August 1, 2004

Michael Vick practiced twice Sunday, but following a two-hour workout at night, Atlanta Falcons coach Jim Mora said the quarterback needs to give a blister on his left thumb time to heal.Vick, a left-hander, won't practice Monday when the Falcons hit the field Monday afternoon. Trainers held him out for the last drill as rookie quarterback Matt Schaub ran the two-minute offense."We'll probably hold him out tomorrow so he's ready when we go to Tennessee," Mora said. "It's not a big deal."Atlanta travels Wednesday to Nashville, where the Falcons will spend three days scrimmaging the Titans.Vick appeared to have no trouble as he completed 20-yard touchdown passes to receivers Brian Finneran, Peerless Price and Kendrick Moseley Sunday night.The 24-year-old Vick, a first-team Pro Bowl selection in 2002, missed 12 starts with a broken leg last year. Without him, the Falcons went 2-10. They were 3-1 when he returned.___INJURY BUG:@ The defensive line had another setback when nose tackle Ed Jasper and right end Brady Smith left the night workout. Both were kicked in the leg.One of Smith's backups, Will Overstreet, will have an MRI either Monday or Tuesday after appearing to reinjure his chronic left shoulder in the morning. Demetrin Veal, second-string behind "under" tackle Rod Coleman, left the morning practice with a strained hamstring and didn't return.Rookie receiver Michael Jenkins, a first-round pick from Ohio State, left the night practice with a split toenail.___HARD KNOCKS:@ Mora liked what he saw and heard from the offense as the team held its first goal-line action of training camp in a 2 1/2-hour morning workout.T.J. Duckett, Justin Griffith and Matt Schaub each ran for 1-yard touchdowns Sunday at Furman University. Wanting to avoid potential injuries to defensive starters, the Falcons' offensive linemen worked against reserves."The reason we did that is because our offense cuts on the goal line, and they're going to go down," Mora said of the line's cut-blocking strategy. "They need to work that technique because that's what they do. It was a live drill, so we took our defensive starters out for safety purposes."___BULKING UP:@ Receiver Terrence Edwards missed both practices with injuries to his back, knee and shoulder, but the former Georgia standout is having a good camp for the second straight year after signing as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2003.Edwards, who caught a pass over the middle Saturday before colliding with middle linebacker Chris Draft and bumping knees, added 16 pounds of muscle during the offseason."I'm bigger, faster and stronger," Edwards said. "Last year's camp was harder on me because I was so thin."Now weighing 187 pounds, Edwards continues to work behind starter Dez White and Jenkins at wide receiver.___GETTING NOTICED:@ Michael Moore is getting most of the snaps at left guard with starter Eric Beverly nursing a sore hamstring.Moore, a former rookie free agent from Troy State who originally signed with the Washington Redskins in 2001, has passed former Georgia starter Steve Herndon and third-year Falcon Martin Bibla on the depth chart behind Beverly.When Travis Claridge hurt his knee last year, Atlanta signed Moore for the second time, and he has been on the roster since. Familiarity with new line coach Alex Gibbs appears to help Moore, who was signed and waived three times by the Denver Broncos in 2002. Asked if Moore has a chance to win the job, Mora said yes.Mora indicated that Beverly will split time with Moore when he returns. Beverly, who has been sidelined since pulling a hamstring before the first practice Wednesday, likely won't be back until Tuesday.___CONTRACT TALK:@ The agent for rookie cornerback DeAngelo Hall arrived from Miami to continue contract talks with general manager Rich McKay.With the Nos. 7 and 9 draft picks signing contracts recently, agent Joel Segal hoped Hall, the eighth overall selection, would join the team Monday.