Here are today's top things to keep an eye on:
- Today's first practice session is open to the public. Practice begins at 9:30 a.m. with gates opening at 8:30 a.m. In the event of inclement weather, practice will be closed and the team will head to their indoor practice facility. To find out the latest on the weather, follow us on Twitter @AtlantaFalcons, keep checking AtlantaFalcons.com, sign up for Verizon text alerts or call our camp hotline at 770.965.2752.
- The Falcons are coming off a 28-23 preseason game loss to the Miami Dolphins, and while the first-team offense and defense for the Falcons left the game with a 17-0 lead, the team goes back to work today to fix any issues that might have cropped up during the game. The Falcons have practices today, Monday and Tuesday in Flowery Branch before leaving Tuesday afternoon for Jacksonville for combined practices with the Jaguars.
- It's unclear whether guard Mike Johnson will be back in the mix this week after sitting out most of last week with a concussion, but if he is, expect the battle at the right guard position to heat up again. Garrett Reynolds played a significant amount of snaps during Friday night's game and looked very good against the Dolphins.
- The nickelback position battle looks much more interesting now (as if it needed anything to be more intense) with safety Rafael Bush in the mix. Bush had a solid game against Miami, as did Dominique Franks and Chris Owens. But now that three are vying for one slot, it makes every rep count even more.
- A couple of rookies had great performances against Miami, and they'll continue to make a push for a final roster spot as practices get going this week. Of course, Julio Jones made a fantastic debut, but outside of him, guard Andrew Jackson and defensive end Cliff Matthews both seemed to make the most of their playing time against the Dolphins. UDFA cornerback Darrin Walls had some nice coverage at times, and defensive lineman Tom McCarthy also had a couple of nice plays before coming off with an injury.
- With John Parker Wilson getting a lot of snaps Friday night before leaving the game with an injury, it stands to reason that he's strongly in the mix to unseat Chris Redman as the team's No. 2 quarterback.
