FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- After an evening at Seckinger High School in front of thousands of fans, the Falcons rounded out their first week of camp back at their home facility Sunday. The first four-day block of camp ended about like it began, with the Falcons working through 11-on-11 scripted plays until the practice ended.
A pretty strong rainstorm came through Flowery Branch about halfway through practice, with players, coaches and trainers sprinting to the indoor facility as the rain and wind picked up. Practice picked up right where it left off, with the team resuming their 11-on-11 work, only this time in a drier location.
Let's take a look back at practice as an off-day slowly arrives.
Notes and observations
The sleeper of camp: James Smith-Williams is probably not a name many Falcons fans know well, but you should get to know the "plus-size outside linebacker" the Falcons picked up in free agency. Over the course of the first four-block day, Smith-Williams has taken the vast majority of the first-team reps coming off the edge. He, along with Lorenzo Carter, Grady Jarrett, David Onyemata and Ta'Quon Graham, have made up the first core group of the defensive line. It would seem Smith-Williams' role in this defense is more significant than what many thought it would be when he first signed.
Speaking of signing, Smith-Williams called the free agency period "stressful" for himself. However, a nice dinner with Raheem Morris and defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake really solidified his desire to take his talents to Atlanta.
"They showed me the vision," Smith-Williams said of his first meeting with the coaches. "The energy that (Morris) has is infectious. He's an awesome coach to be around. It was a no-brainer."
Smith-Williams said in the end, the clear and concise plan Morris and Lake laid out for him manifested into what we're seeing on the field in training camp.
Depth in the trenches building: Way back in February I had a conversation with offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford that has stuck with me since. In it, we were discussing his expectations for his group. He caught me off guard with his answer. I thought he was going to talk about the fact that the Falcons returned their entire starting line. He did make mention to that, but something he added was that even in that point, there is something to be said about building depth around the group. That was a goal of his in February. Now, as July comes to a close, we can see that depth in action.
Both Storm Norton, at right tackle, and Ryan Neuzil, at left guard, were taking reps with the would-be starting offensive line. Now, before you start clamoring about Kaleb McGary and Matthew Bergeron, take a breath. I do not think Norton and Neuzil's inclusion in the first-team lineups for a few walk-through periods equates to a position battle. What it does equate to – in my mind – relates to what Ledford spoke about in February. There is always a chance that the five starting linemen you start a season with are not the five you end it with. Unfortunately, injuries happen. But good teams have depth where the original starter's presence isn't missed as strongly. That's the point the Falcons are hoping to get to, and having two key depth pieces slotting in from time to time is only helpful in that pursuit.
Who has the green dot?: This is a question I've had since the start of camp. As we've spoken about ad nauseam, the Falcons have a good problem on their hands finding the right role for their trio of linebackers. A part of that role involves just who is calling the defense. At times it seems it's Elliss, other times Landman. So, what's the low-down?
Here's what Landman said: "We've got a good rotation going. When Kaden is in there with Troy, Kaden is calling the defense. When I am in there with either of them, then I am calling the defense as the Mike. It pretty much just who's set up as Mike and whatever defense we're running. But a good problem to have, and hopefully there is a way to get all of us on the field."
A note from the front office: Before practice began, Kyle Smith was made available to the media. The assistant general manager spoke about re-tooling the wide receiver room around Drake London, how the new kickoff rules may evolve what type of players the front office looks into and a lot more. You can catch the entire conversation below.
Quote(s) of the day: For the first time this camp, we heard from two individuals we've actually written a lot about: Ray-Ray McCloud and Darnell Mooney. Both have made their presence known so far in camp, with Kirk Cousins connecting with them both time and time again. It was their conviction and belief in their quarterback that rattled around in my brain long after the practice day ended.
Mooney: "Kirk is Kirk. He's had all of these guys who are great receivers. He had (Stefon) Diggs, Adam Thielen, (Justin) Jeff(erson), DeSean Jackson, Pierre (Garçon), but out of all those guys, Kirk has been the main guy. Kirk is the guy. He's the reason why everything and everybody is flowing. ... Kirk is the guy, for sure, that is making everything happen."
There was also their conviction in where the team is right now in the install that makes me feel things are right on track, if not ahead of schedule.
McCloud: "For however many years I've been playing ... coming into a camp, this is probably the most on the plate, but it feels easy. I feel like we did so much in OTAs, we worked so hard to get ahead, I feel like it puts us in position to come into training camp and hit the group running."
Mooney agreed: "I give the coaching staff all the credit, because when we got back? We just hit it to see where we were at, and we did really good. Usually you start with Install 1, and we definitely are not in Install 1 at all. We're right back where we left off. We're running some of the deeper installs that we put in late in OTAs. It feels good to do it that way than just starting over on the basic plays."
