FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. – Today's Early Bird Report includes Vic Beasley's mindset heading into the 2019 season as well as notes from the start of camp.
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After back-to-back five-sack seasons, Vic Beasley will be one of the most important players for the Falcons' defense in 2019. There may not be another player on the unit whose play could swing Atlanta's fortunes more than Beasley, who could really energize the defense with a double-digit-sack campaign.
Entering his fifth season, Beasley is working to get the level of production he had in 2016, when he led the league with 15.5 sacks and was named an All-Pro and a Pro Bowler. But although that may be the goal, Beasley's focus is not in the past, it's very much in the present.
"Look man, I'm going to continue to work hard," Beasley told D. Orlando Ledbetter of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "Regardless of what I've done over the past few years, I feel like, the time is now. I can't get that time back. It is what it is. You know you have to build off that, learn from the past and continue to move forward."
Beasley has spent time this offseason working with Steelers linebacker Bud Dupree, who has 20 sacks in his four NFL seasons. Beasley spoke with Ledbetter in greater detail about his mindset for this season, which you can read here.
Here are some other articles for Falcons fans to check out today:
AJC: Julio Jones aims for 3,000 yards
At this point, it's difficult to imagine the things Julio Jones can't do. And if he messes around and gains 3,000 yards in 2019, as he told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's D. Orlando Ledbetter, it will surely confirm that Jones is, indeed, an actual alien.
"Well, I'm not a prediction-type guy, but I might mess around and go three (thousand), you know what I'm talking about," Jones told Ledbetter.
If Jones reaches 3,000 yards, he would not only break the single-season record of 1,954 yards set by Calvin Johnson in 2012, he would shatter it. The most receiving yards Jones has gained in a single season were 1,871 yards in 2015. Jones did lead the NFL in receiving yards last season, but he'd need to nearly double his 1,677 yards from 2018 to reach his new goal.
It's exceedingly unlikely that Jones can mess around and get three big ones, which would require 188 yards per game, but this at least seems a challenge worthy of the Falcons' All-Pro.
To read the rest of Ledbetter's interview with Jones, click here.
CBS Sports: Inside Falcons camp
CBS Sports senior writer Pete Prisco spent a couple of days at the Falcons' training camp. After watching and listening at the early practices, Prisco shared what he had learned about the Falcons' upcoming season. One major point was the importance of rebuilding the offensive line, which Atlanta believes it has done.
"Winning football is about running the football when they know you are going to run the football," Matt Ryan told Prisco. "There's a confidence, a swagger, a toughness that is associated with that. When we are at our best, that's what we are doing, we are running the football effectively. We have great play-action passing off it. We have confidence to go throw it and win games that way too."
To see the rest of Prisco's notes from Falcons camp, click here.
ESPN: Calvin Ridley aiming for greatness in Year 2
The Falcons already have arguably the best wide receiver in the NFL in Julio Jones, but Calvin Ridley emerged as one of the most promising young receivers during the 2018 season. In his first year, Ridley caught 64 passes for 821 yards and a franchise rookie record 10 touchdowns. Ridley was third on the team in receiving yards, just behind Mohamed Sanu, but he led the Falcons in touchdowns scored.
So, what can Ridley do for an encore? In a recent piece for ESPN, Vaughn McClure explained why Ridley may be poised for a breakout season and spoke with the receiver about his approach to 2019 and beyond. McClure also talked with quarterback Matt Ryan, who had nothing but praise for Ridley.
"Calvin's been unbelievable since he stepped foot in the building," Ryan told. "I think he's got an eagerness to learn. He has a real desire to be the very best player that he can be. And he's competitive. Every day he comes to work, he works really hard. And he puts in the effort. It's impressive to watch."
To read the rest of McClure's piece on Ridley in Year 2, click here.
NFL.com: Ranking 2019 bounce-back candidates
Deion Jones heads into AT&T Atlanta Falcons Training Camp with a new contract extension in hand and ready to bounce back from a season marred by a foot injury he suffered in Week 1. Jones also enters camp with a solid shot at the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year Award, according to NFL.com analyst Bucky Brooks.
"The ultra-athletic linebacker was beginning to enter the discussion as one of the top defenders at his position before a foot injury limited him to just six games last season," Brooks writes. "Jones could quickly remind the football world of his dynamism when he returns to action in September. His sideline-to-sideline range and playmaking ability previously made him the centerpiece of a Falcons defense built to stymie the pass-centric offenses in today's NFL, which is why Atlanta just handed him a four-year, $57 million extension. With Keanu Neal also returning from injury, Atlanta's D could take the league by storm in 2019, which obviously wouldn't hurt Jones' case for some year-end hardware."
Jones' importance to the Falcons' defense became apparent during the first half of last season. His sideline-to-sideline range and preternatural instincts in coverage are extremely valuable skills in the current version of the NFL.
To see more of Brooks' bounce-back candidates for 2019, click here.
NFL.com: Ranking the top 10 players in the 2016 class
Not only is Jones on Brooks' list of bounce-back candidates, he's also on NFL.com analyst David Carr's ranking of the 10 best players from the 2016 NFL Draft. Jones was originally taken in the second round with the 52nd-overall pick, but he clocks in at No. 9 on Carr's ranking, sandwiched between Carson Wentz (8) and Kevin Byard (10).
"Jones is a dynamic playmaker for the Falcons' defense," Carr writes. "This actually became even more apparent when he wasn't on the field for the majority of last season (missed 10 games with a foot injury), as the unit finished the year ranked 28th overall. The Falcons certainly appreciate his value, having just handed the 24-year-old a four-year, $57 million extension. With three pick-sixes in his three NFL seasons, Jones isn't a linebacker offenses can consistently beat in coverage because his sideline-to-sideline speed makes it extremely difficult for pass catchers to separate on shallow-crossing routes."
To read the rest of Carr's ranking, click here.
AJC: Falcons upbeat as they report to camp
Players began arriving Sunday for AT&T Atlanta Falcons Training Camp, and they were in good spirits as they start their journey for the 2019 season. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's D. Orlando Ledbetter was among the reporters on the arrival scene, and he spoke to many of the players about their mindsets' entering the year.
"One word, determined," Cornerback Isaiah Oliver told Ledbetter about the defense. "That's the one word that comes into my mind. We all felt that we left a lot on the table last year defensively as a unit. We didn't really rise to the expectations that we had for ourselves. A lot of guys are determined and excited to get started this year to play to what we really are and what we can be."
To see the rest of Ledbetter's report from player arrivals, click here.
ESPN: Ranking the most-, least-improved teams
During the 2019 NFL offseason, the Falcons chose to invest heavily in their offensive line, signing free agents James Carpenter and Jamon Brown (among others) and using their first two draft picks on guard Chris Lindstrom and tackle Kaleb McGary.
The moves were made with an emphasis on protecting Matt Ryan and striking more balance offensively, overall. A trio of ESPN writers are fans of the Falcons' approach this offseason. Dan Graziano, Kevin Seifert and Mike Clay believe Atlanta is the eight-most-improved team heading into the 2019 season, putting them in the top quarter of the league in that regard.
"The Falcons put an emphasis on improving quarterback Matt Ryan's protection, a year after he took the second-most sacks (42) in his career," Seifert writes. "It was a necessary step toward improvement. But did the Falcons do enough to restore a defense that allowed 26.4 points per game last season, eighth-most in the league?"
To see the rest of ESPN's rankings of the most and least improved teams, click here.
CBS Sports: Sneaky early season games we want to see
Two years ago, the Falcons and Vikings were entering the 2017 season as primary Super Bowl contenders in the NFC. They may not be at the forefront of that discussion right now, but both teams are certainly capable of making a strong postseason push. The Falcons and Vikings will get to test one another right out of the gate as they square off in Week 1 in Minnesota. That's a game CBS Sports' Will Brinson is ready to watch right now.
"You could make the case these two teams are too good as well, but I don't think this will qualify as a game that anyone is obsessed with watching," Brinson writers. "I am though! I want to see how the Vikings offense looks with Gary Kubiak's influence taking hold. How will the Falcons new, reworked and young offensive line hold up against a fierce Vikings pass rush? Both teams aren't on the top list of favorites around the NFL, but they're both thinking Super Bowl. I want to see how they jump out of the gate in Week 1."
To see the rest of Brinson's list of sneaky-good early season games for 2019, click here.
ESPN: How Dan Quinn began his coaching career
There are only 32 head coaches in the NFL, but each and every one of them started down near the bottom of the coaching ranks. Falcons coach Dan Quinn is no exception.
Quinn shared the story of how he broke into coaching with ESPN's Vaughn McClure, and it's quite the tale. As a volunteer football assistant for William & Mary, Quinn slept on a couch in the locker room, worked part-time jobs in addition to coaching and even cut the head coach's hair.
"I don't remember how we got him there or anything because I'm an old dude, but I know 'Quinny' was a hard worker," Russ Huesman an assistant at William & Mary when Quinn was there told McClure. "I don't think you sit in the head coach's seat, now, but Dan was tremendous. Sometimes when you're that young, you don't know what it takes to coach. But, man, he was conscientious. He was probably mature beyond his years."
Quinn's maturity and hard work led him to the role he currently occupies, looking to get the Falcons back into the postseason for the third time in four years.
To read the rest of McClure's interesting and enlightening piece on Quinn's coaching start, click here.
