Falcons Honor the Military:The Falcons held their annual Military Appreciation Day at XFINITY Training Camp to honor active, reserve and retired members of the armed forces. Having bonded with soldiers during the spring and experienced a USO tour with several players, Quinn was especially excited to host those who have sacrificed so much.
"Today, to have military day here with the special guests that came from Fort Benning … it's a very humbling experience to be part of that,"Quinn said. "We have a lot of gratitude for all the men and women who do a lot for us."
Ryan Looks Sharp: After two frustrating series against Washington, the first-team offense got back on track at Flowery Branch by putting together a solid practice Sunday. Matt Ryan was particularly sharp, Quinn said, adding that, while a number of false starts and drops needed to be cleaned up, he was pleased with the way Kyle Shanahan's group looked.
"I thought we had a good practice today," Ryan said. "It's kind of the same every year. I think you see a lot of improvement from the first time you go out there to the second time. Guys understand we need to get things corrected in practice. We know specific things we need to work on to be better, and I thought the focus and effort was really good today."
Tamme Seeing Improvements: Jacob Tamme had a strong practice Sunday, making some nice grabs over the middle and a gorgeous catch by the sideline during team drills. The veteran tight end has seen his team improve since the start of camp but knows there's more work to be done in the coming weeks.
"You're kind of at that point in camp when you've been in it for a little while now, we've got a preseason game under our belts, and this to me where good teams come out and still get better," Tamme said. "It's not about getting through camp; it's about having good practices. And I felt like we came out and battled today. … I feel like I got better and I felt like we got better as an offense."
O-Linemen Being Cross-Trained: The Falcons want to make sure their offensive linemen are capable of playing multiple positions, so it's no surprise to see Mike Person, Ben Garland and Wes Schweitzer moving around the three inside positions. On Sunday, Person saw time at left guard with the first-team offense.
Injury Update: S Kemal Ishmael (shoulder) sat out practice Sunday and will likely be held out all week, as will RB Terron Ward (ankle), according to Quinn. K Matt Bryant sat out practice with muscle tightness and is considered day-to-day; TE DJ Tialavea did rehab work on the side after getting banged up in last week's game. S Keanu Neal (trunk) and TE Levine Toilolo (hand) returned to practice and, per Quinn, will hopefully be ready to play on Thursday night in Cleveland.
"I felt great," Neal said. "Obviously I had to shake a little (rust) off, but at the end of the day, I was fine. I'm ready to play. But I'm just focusing on the day, getting ready for the meetings, focusing on that and taking it step by step."
