FLOWERY BRANCH — Watching the Atlanta Falcons practice these days would make Ricky Bobby feel right at home.
“We want to play fast,” first-year Falcons head coach Dan Quinn said. “Our No. 1 goal right now is to see how fast we can play and to see how clean and fast the guys can execute their calls on the field.”
Quinn and his new coaching staff have instituted a much quicker pace to everything from learning the playbook in meetings to drills to running the two-minute offense. It’s helped along by hard-driving music during the entirety of practice.
“Now that we’re playing faster we should know the assignment and then be able to make the call come to life on the field,” Quinn said.
Quinn, who came over from the Seattle Seahawks, understands that speed is even more crucial in the modern-day NFL and the Falcons have brought in younger and noticeably speedier skilled position players across the entire roster to try and match Quinn’s up-tempo style.
Tuesday was the first of a three-day mandatory minicamp, which is open to the public. The Falcons will get back at it on Wednesday beginning at 1:10 p.m. and then conclude the minicamp on Thursday beginning at 10:55 a.m.
OFFENSIVE LINE: The first good sign for the offensive line was seeing Jake Matthews, Joe Hawley, and Peter Konz all working with the rest of the group after returning from injuries. Depth on the line, or lack there of, was a key element in the Falcons troubles last season. All three were moving well during drills though Matthews did not participate in team practice.
“It was great having all those guys back,” Quinn said. “They worked hard in their rehab to get back out there. We’ll bring them along a little slower but we expect them to be up to speed by training camp.”
Quarterback Matt Ryan, who spent as much time on his backside last season as he did upright, said he was glad to see them back as well.
“Those guys will be important and having everyone on the line healthy and able to practice is big for us,” Ryan said. “I think all the (linemen) have been working hard and look good right now.”
Matthews said he for one was glad to finally get back on the field. But he already understands it’s all about speed on the field.
“It’s all about effort and how fast you get off the ball and beat a guy off the snap,” Matthews said. “It’s been a lot of fun and I like it a lot. I think I can can do well in this system.”
Matthews may get back into the starting unit by the time the regular season rolls around but Tyler Polumbus, Mike Person, James Stone, Chris Chester, and Ryan Schraeder worked almost exclusively with the first team up front on Tuesday.
Quinn said they are still looking for the right pieces across the front.
“We’ve been mixing and matching the personnel, really on both lines,” he said. “We’re still looking to find that right combination. But all of them have been working hard and are speeding up. Having the confidence that you can make quick decisions is important.”
RECEIVERS AND TIGHT ENDS: You won’t find any group speedier than the likes of Julio Jones, Roddy White, Devin Hester, free agent pick up Leonard Hankerson from the Redskins, and East Carolina rookie Justin Hardy. Add in free agent signee Jacob Tamme (TE) and Ryan will perhaps have his most versatile, and explosive, receiving corp since coming into the league.
Hester was excused from practice on Tuesday for personal reasons and White was held out for a day off. But Jones put on a show for the public who showed up on the hill.
Jones made a tremendous over-the-shoulder catch while matched up against Robert Alford in 7-on-7 drills and later looked in mid-season form with a pair of acrobatic catches during a two-minute drill.
Tamme also made two nice catches and would have scored on one if it had been a contact practice.
Ryan had praise for the group as a whole and singled out one in particular.
“Justin (Hardy) has done a great job,” Ryan said. “He’s really picked up things and you can see that with every practice he gets a little more comfortable. His production for us this season is going to be important. I also like what I have seen from Hankerson. He looks fast out there to me.”
RUNNING BACKS: Speed is a key factor here as well with second-year player Devonta Freeman and rookie Tevin Coleman both looking explosive on the ground and running pass routes. Antoine Smith was back for the first time since breaking his leg last season and also looks close to his mid-season form from last season.
“Those guys are doing an awesome job coming out of the backfield,” Ryan said. “When the system changes and the pass protection changes that’s big for the running backs. They’ve picked things up quick. Devonta and Tevin showcased the kind of speed they have and Antonie is back healthy and we all know what kind of speed he has.”
It should be a wide-open battle for the No. 1 spot but Ryan said that has been a theme throughout since Quinn came to the Falcons Complex.
“Competition has been a prevalent theme for us at all positions and I think that’s great,” Ryan said. “Everyone has a chance and everyone has come in working hard.”
QUARTERBACKS: Ryan, of course is expected to be the opening day starter with T.J. Yates and Sean Renfree behind him. Ryan looked sharp during practice but Yates had a rough stretch during the two-minute drill. He was nearly picked off by Charles Godfrey, then a bad snap on the next play would have resulted in a fumble, and then he was sacked on the following play. He spiked the ball into the ground in a show of frustration.
However, all three showed good work during 7-on-7 with Ryan of course taking the bulk of the snaps. Yates did lead one drive to a field goal later in practice.
Ryan has been impressed with how the offense as a whole has responded to a new system and new coaches.
“I think our guys have done a great job,” he said. “We've gotten better as we’ve gone along . The mistakes and mental errors have cut down. The young guys have come along.
“They wanted to makes us a faster team and they’ve brought in a lot of fast guys. I think we’ll be more explosive. I’m excited.”
Quinn certainly had more to say and here are some excerpts from Tuesday’s thoughts:
On the release of T Sam Baker on Monday...
“Sam did a great job for the team and worked hard in his rehab but it just came down to a football decision.”
Teaching the rookies about NFL overtime...
“At the end of the practice we set up for overtime and had them try to score knowing that a touchdown would win it. They didn’t get the touchdown so the other unit got a chance to go down and try to win it. It was important to do that to teach the (rookies) how overtime works in the NFL since it is very different than college.”
With Matt Ryan being a veteran, is there a chance you can open the entire offensive playbook from the beginning?
“Generally the more you can give and they can handle it give them a little more and if not you back off. The info on that can move from day-to-day. It’s like the equivalent of being ready for English 102 and you’re still in 101. Matt loves a challenge and is always trying to find a better way, a new way. It will all come down to how well as a group they can all execute. I think that will be the difference in having enough plays where we can attack and then a mixture of scheme to accomplish what we want to do.”
When asked (owner) Arthur Blank pointed your way about the expectations of making the playoffs but seemed optimistic. Do you think talk of the playoffs is premature?
“I do because there is still so much to be done. Really the way we’re going to approach is that every game is a championship opportunity and I think that what happens is that we’re not going to call on you to do extra stuff now that we’re in the playoffs. We want to attack teams all the time so that if we make the playoffs we're playing the same style we’ve been playing all the time. We want them to put the work in now and every week no matter what time of year it is.”
AccessWDUN’s Jeff Hart will be on-hand Wednesday and Thursday for the final two days of minicamp and will take a look at the defense on Wednesday and Thursday’s debrief will look at the progress made as a whole as the Falcons get ready for training camp later in the summer.
