After the Falcons looked to have decisively won yesterday\u2019s practice<\/a>, today was a lot more even as the Titans bounced back both on offense and on defense.<\/p>\nThere were no one on ones. The teams did their walkthroughs, had their routes against air and then immediately went right into 7-on-7 mode, with plenty of scrimmage taking place today and plenty of emotion coming out.<\/p>\n
Here are my notes and observations from the second day of the joint practice.<\/p>\n
After the Falcons got the better of them on Day 1, it felt like the Titans made a concerted effort to come out as the much more aggressive and physical team on Wednesday morning. There were an uncharacteristically plentiful amount of flags thrown against Tennessee players in the early 7-on-7 red zone portion as they were making early contact and being very handsy.<\/p>\n
On the second play of the 11-on-11 portion, frustration and trash talk escalated into an all out brawl. Michael Penix Jr. hit Ray Ray McCloud on a home run touchdown pass down the field and a few seconds later bodies were hitting the floor as the Falcons offense and the Titans defense went after one another.<\/p>\n
Penix was the main guy involved for the Falcons, as he ended up at the bottom of the pile. In the post practice press conference, Penix said some words were said to him as he was celebrating the touchdown pass and called it a matter of respect. The rest of the Falcons offense was very quick to back their quarterback up. Drake London had to be pulled away at the end of it all.<\/p>\n
Just a couple of plays later, the offense and defense came together for a second scuffle, one where Kaleb McGary was directly involved and lost his helmet. Not too much time passed before Henry Black took exception to a push from behind in punt coverage drills and got into a shoving match with a Titans player, as both special teams units converged.<\/p>\n
This was the second push from behind in a row, after DeMarcco Hellams suffered one before limping off the field (he came back shortly afterward). For the rest of practice it looked like players from both teams would give a little bit of a late shove at the end of many plays.<\/p>\n
Michael Penix takes a step back compared to the first day<\/p>\n
As for the on the field portion of the day, Michael Penix struggled with his accuracy in 11-on-11 after that early touchdown to McCloud. I tracked him going an overall 8-15 with plenty of miscues, and it\u2019s fair to question if the fight and the added Titans aggression had something to do with it.<\/p>\n
Two out the next seven completions would have gone for 10+ yards in the 11-on-11, with the rest being short connections, as Penix had some misfires over the heads of his receivers as well as a couple of short armed throws to London.<\/p>\n
The quarterback clearly had his best part of the day before the scuffle, as he started by going 3-4 with three scores in the 7-on-7 portion inside the 10-yard line, with touchdowns to Drake London (2x) and Kyle Pitts (who secured it one handed).<\/p>\n
During the same red zone portion in 11-on-11s (which are far more indicative of performance given that there\u2019s a real pass rush), Penix went 1-4 with no scores.<\/p>\n
Drake London keeps getting fed<\/p>\n
Even with Kyle Pitts playing more 11-on-11 than I\u2019ve seen all camp, it was clear that the Falcons\u2019 aerial attack this season will revolve around Drake London being the alpha.<\/p>\n
Out of 19 total Penix throws (not counting flags), London was the target for eight of them for a 42% target share, one day after being thrown to eight out of 21 times for a 38% target share.<\/p>\n
London was targeted from inside the 10 four times in eight Penix attempts at that part of the field, in both 7-on-7 and 11-on-11, securing two of the three completed touchdowns. The USC alum had four total catches but all of the short variety as the usual long connection with Penix was off.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s no question that Penix will look London\u2019s way often this season, as he is by far the most trusted receiving option.<\/p>\n
Cam Ward bounces back but throws late interception<\/p>\n
After the Falcons\u2019 first team defense got to Cam Ward all day yesterday, forcing mistakes and mental errors, the No. 1 pick looked much sharper and got some revenge in today\u2019s practice.<\/p>\n
The play of the day for the Titans came when Calvin Ridley burned AJ Terrell in one-on-one coverage and was hit on a perfect pass from Ward, following a quick four-step drop. Terrell could do nothing but express his frustration as Ridley pointed at him with the football on his way into the end zone. This came two plays after Tony Pollard had a long touchdown run of his own.<\/p>\n
Overall, Ward looked a lot more composed and poised in the pocket, delivering plenty of short completions, although the Falcons secondary remained stout on the deeper passes outside of that Ridley one.<\/p>\n
Atlanta\u2019s defense got a decisive win on the final \u201c1-minute drill\u201d from Ward. Following a short completion, Terrell defended a long pass over the middle intended for Ridley before defensive pressure and tight coverage forced a throwaway which wasn\u2019t thrown far enough and gave Dee Alford a chance to snag an interception along the sideline which he took while tapping the toes in bounds.<\/p>\n
Kirk Cousins looks incredible sharp<\/p>\n
The best quarterback performance of the day came from No. 18 on Atlanta\u2019s side, as Kirk Cousins quietly picked his spots and connected on the vast majority of his attempts.<\/p>\n
Cousins went an overall 10-12 in the the 11-on-11 sequences, including 1-2 in the red zone portion with a touchdown to Jashaun Corbin out of the backfield. One of the incompletions was on a well-covered setup screen that the veteran QB got rid of, and the other was on his last pass of the day taking a home run shot to Chris Blair who got a step on Marcus Harris but a slightly under-thrown ball allowed the DB to recover.<\/p>\n
The majority of Cousins\u2019 completions were also of the short variety, but he dialed up some deep shots when the defense got lulled by the consistent short action. One such pass was when David Sills got behind everyone and Kirk threw it to him while on the run, moving to his right, for a long gain near the sideline.<\/p>\n
In the 7-on-7 inside the 10 portion, Cousins went 2-3 with two touchdowns and one interception that looks worse on paper than in actuality, as the pass hit Charlie Woerner in the hands in the end zone but ricocheted into a waiting defenders arms.<\/p>\n
Casey Washington is not only the clear favorite to win a roster spot, but right now he\u2019s probably the Week 1 starter opposite Drake London if Darnell Mooney can\u2019t suit up. Washington ran exclusively with the first team in walkthroughs and scrimmage today.Dee Alford had a strong day, which included the aforementioned lone interception of the morning, as well as a pass breakup in the red zone. He remained working with the starters and is the heavy favorite for the starting nickel CB job.Xavier Watts and Jordan Fuller both got some rotation playing next to Jessie Bates with the first team. The starting safety job remains up for grabs.Brandon Dorlus got real run with the first team in walkthroughs and could be a darkhorse candidate to start Week 1 along the interior of the 3-4. Even if he doesn\u2019t start, Dorlus will be a real factor for the defensive coaches this season.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s it from me when it comes to training camp coverage for this year. Thank you for following along! We have all of your coverage as we get into the season right here at The Falcoholic!<\/p>\n
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