MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — A new level of competition was introduced to the Falcons on Tuesday as joint practices with the Miami Dolphins began under the hot Florida sun.
For 1-on-1 and 11-on-11 work, the teams split up by unit. Atlanta's starting offense and Miami's starting defense were on one field, while the Falcons' defensive starters and the Dolphins' top offensive group were on the other. So, the starters faced the starters while the reserve players for each team also faced equivalent talent. Falcons head coach Raheem Morris described these periods as requiring "mamba-type mentalities" in reference to the late Kobe Bryant's philosophy of consistently attacking the moment in search of improvement.
Because there was so much to take in, coverage of the practice required its own kind of split. Terrin Waack stuck close by the Falcons' offense to watch Kirk Cousins and Co. take on the Dolphins' starting defense. Tori McElhaney, meanwhile, held down the fort with Atlanta's defense to see how they handled the high-octane Miami offense. Below are both of their observations.
But first, per usual, attendance.
ROLL CALL
The entire 90-man roster made the trip to Florida. Outside linebacker Bralen Trice, however, missed the first practice due to an illness. Any prolonged absence will continue to be monitored.
OFFENSE
1-on-1 Drills: The opening drill between the Falcons' wide receivers and the Dolphins' defensive backs included a fair bit of competition, as quarterbacks Kirk Cousins and Michael Penix Jr. rotated throwing. I took notes by writing the numbers of each wide receiver-defensive back pairing and circling which player won on a given play. For simplicity's sake, an incomplete pass was marked as a win for the defense, even if the ball was out of reach of the receiver.
All of the Falcons' wide receivers ran routes, so the rep count for each isn't all that high. Drake London caught both of the passes thrown his way against cornerback Kendall Fuller. Darnell Mooney caught two of his three against cornerback Kader Kohou. Rondale Moore did not haul in either of the balls sent his way against cornerback Siran Neal. Ray-Ray McCloud split his reps against cornerbacks Ethan Bonner and Storm Duck, winning one of his two opportunities during the drill.
Overall, the Dolphins won two more reps than the Falcons (by Waack's count), a 13-11 advantage.
Team: This was full first-team action and full second-team action. None of the mixing and matching that we've seen in solely Falcons practices. That essentially made it a fair game and increased the level of competition.
Notable moments included:
– Cousins had a tough first series. He botched a snap and threw three incompletions. The first was off target, intended for tight end Kyle Pitts. Dolphins cornerback Jalen Ramsey then covered Mooney well and also got a hand on a ball intended for McCloud.
That wasn't the theme for all of Cousins' full-team work, though. During the third period, he completed all four of his passes, sharing the love among London, Mooney and running back Bijan Robinson (twice).
– Penix threw back-to-back touchdowns during a red zone period in which the offense began at the 15-yard line. Running back Carlos Washington Jr. and tight end Ross Dwelley each caught one.
– Overall, Cousins completed 18 of his 27 passes. Penix went 10 for 16.
I'll admit, it was very difficult to see the hurry-up period since the offense headed toward the end zone opposite from where the media stood. If the final tally didn't include those numbers, especially since Penix didn't also participate, Cousins completed 12 of his 19 passes.
Nonetheless, Cousins has normally been more on target throughout training camp than he was Tuesday.
Skirmishes: There were three, let's say, disagreements between starters on the Falcons' offense and the Dolphins' defense.
The first: After Falcons running back Tyler Allgeier had a carry during the second team period, right guard Chris Lindstrom appeared to get into Dolphins linebacker David Long Jr.'s face. No harm, no foul, though. That ended there, and the two went their separate ways.
The second: Immediately after Lindstrom's moment, left guard Matthew Bergeron drew attention after a carry by Robinson. Yelling could be heard, but it was not clear who it came from. There were two Dolphins players facing Bergeron, though. However, things carried on without an actual fight once again.
The third: During the next series for the first team, London had a strong catch over the middle. He was then whistled down after getting hit by multiple defenders. Play didn't stop there, though. London was hit at least one more time – hard. He popped up, angry. Chaos ensued. Both sidelines swarmed. Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel even made his way quickly over from the other field to break things up. Ultimately, no one was kicked out and play resumed shortly thereafter. Wide receiver KhaDarel Hodge had a completion to get the action started once again.
Familiar face: Defensive lineman Calais Campbell, who reached career sack No. 100 with the Falcons last season, is now with the Dolphins, so he was present for joint practices. He could be heard yelling at one point, trying to hype up his Dolphins teammates. He still wears the same No. 93 jersey.
DEFENSE
Sticky coverage: Clark Phillips III is usually at his best when pressure mounts, and he didn't disappoint in 1-on-1 drills against Miami's receivers. He had an interception in the end zone while in coverage against Willie Snead IV. With Snead running down the sideline, Phillips had him step for step. When Snead made a move to go up for the long ball, Phillips turned and launched his slight frame into the air to intercept the pass. On his next rep, he was all over Anthony Schwartz, never overstepping the line between sticky coverage and a penalty, though. He batted down the pass.
In the same period, Anthony Johnson had a couple notable reps. Like Phillips, he, too, intercepted a pass, jumping the route before coming up with a nice pass breakup in his next rep.
One for Hill and one for Hughes: The loudest moment of the practice came early in one of the first 11-on-11 periods. On an island with Tyreek Hill, Mike Hughes got a bad jump and fell behind in coverage as the Dolphins' speedster streaked toward the end zone. Though Hughes made up ground, it wasn't enough to stop Hill, who Tua Tagovailoa hit in stride for a 40-yard touchdown grab.
When the teams switched directions for the next series, though, Hughes would have his redemption. Either Tagovailoa misread the route concept or his tight end ran the wrong route, but there was a miscue as the ball left the quarterback's hand. Instead of the pass going out of in front of the intended receiver, it fell behind him. Hughes changed directions and made the semi-back-shoulder grab for the interception.
Trice's absence felt: Bralen Trice did not practice with the team Tuesday. Though he made the trip to Miami, the team confirmed he was sick. With Trice out, we saw a lot more of Arnold Ebiketie rotating in with the first-team defense at times behind Lorenzo Carter and James Smith-Williams. There was also an extended role for Bradlee Anae as well as Demone Harris. One should consider these joint practices important for everyone, but particularly for players like Anae and Harris, who could be fighting for a roster spot come 53-man cutdowns. In fact, the more time elapses this training camp, the more opportunities it seems these two are getting. They will be two to watch come kickoff Friday.
Speed, thump and length: Lineups for kickoff coverage and return units are going to continue to evolve as more information comes to light about the best strategies to use when attacking the new kickoff rules. But the Falcons seem to be following the foundation of these three words when coming up with their kickoff lineup. Working in three waves, the first group involved players like Troy Andersen, Nate Landman, JD Bertrand and a load of speedy defensive backs. So, there's your speed. The next group brought a bit more thump with players like Tyler Allgeier and thicker linebackers and safeties in the mix. Then, there was the length evident in the final group, with the likes of Smith-Williams and John FitzPatrick taking the reps. Again, this lineup could change 50 times over as more strategies are deployed, but it was worth noting today.
Role clarity: DeAngelo Malone is someone who's build and skill set doesn't particularly fit one specific role. And the way he's been used since joining the Falcons team in 2022 has been ever-evolving as defensive coordinators try to find that clarity. It would seem that pursuit continues with Jimmy Lake. What was interesting about Malone's usage is that he got some reps with the second-team rotation based on the personnel deployed. There were a couple occasions in 11-on-11 when Malone came in as a Jack linebacker with either Nate Landman or JD Bertrand at Mike. This isn't an uncommon role for Malone, seeing as Ryan Nielsen had him working in this role from time to time last training camp. It's something to take note of because it was the first time Malone has been used in this way so far this camp, and it occurred a few times throughout practice.
