FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- From the outside looking in, the Falcons' first training camp felt a little, well, boring. They had a script they followed. From play No. 1 to play No. 87, they went through their list of play designs, running through each at around 25% speed. There's nothing wrong with that. In fact, it was the plan all along, with head coach Raheem Morris saying before practice to expect a slow build on the first day.
A regimented practice pace, though, didn't bode well for the first installment of this new training camp series we're implementing over here at AtlantaFalcons.com. 'The Best Thing I Saw' is a series that breaks down exactly what the headline says. Fans are not able to be out at camp this year, so consider this story series your eyes and ears for all things camp happenings. Sometimes we'll break down a stellar moment, a gripping battle between a defensive back and receiver, or -- in today's case -- something that meant a little more than meets the eye.
Since, after all, the practice didn't have any contact or big plays. It was, as expected for the first practice, a glorified jog-through with helmets on.
However, that didn't mean hard work wasn't being done. The opposite in fact. For quarterback Kirk Cousins, the design of practice, itself, felt daunting when he was given the script the day before.
"Zac (Robinson) threw a lot at us," Cousins said of the Falcons' new offensive coordinator. "I was a little surprised last night as I saw what we were going to be doing in practice in terms of the number of motions, formations, concepts, the volume of offense."
Cousins said the team walked through the script earlier in the morning before putting the helmets on and hitting the practice field for their first camp practice. He was impressed to see the retention in knowledge about the plays in question amongst the offense. Cousins said he probably used seven or eight snaps counts and that the volume really added up as the practice went on.
"I think that does allow us to hit the ground running and to keep expanding on what we did all spring rather than needing to go back to the very beginning," Cousins said. "I think that's encouraging."
And during this practice, the best thing I saw was Cousins' overall command and understanding of the offense he is in charge of leading this season.
Morris said prior to the start of practice that Cousins cleared his medical evaluations after suffering a season-ending Achilles injury last year. Cousins said he could tell a difference in his strength even compared to OTAs and mandatory minicamp in June. He said he felt more athletic, experienced less pain. All he wanted to do was go. And the way he conducted his own reps in practice mimicked that all-out mindset he shared afterwards.
Working with the would-be starting rotation on one field during the majority of practice when the Falcons were running through the play script, Cousins didn't relinquish a single rep to Taylor Heinicke, who acted as his backup on that specific field. Michael Penix Jr. and John Paddock were stationed with other younger players on the other field, running through a similar script of plays.
This is par for the course for quarterbacks of Cousins' caliber. When Matt Ryan was in Atlanta, he was the only quarterback (according to TJ Yates) who would throw a pass to Julio Jones, regardless of the drill or the moment. If Jones was up, Ryan -- and only Ryan -- was throwing to him. It just feels notable on this day because the Falcons haven't followed a similar approach since Ryan and Jones, because of the nature of the quarterback position and how it changed over the last two seasons.
But now Cousins is in command in Atlanta, and the first practice is evidence.
