WESTFIELD, Ind. — It’s hard to be certain given the impossibility of keeping track of everything that’s happening on both fields, and it was close, but I think Atlanta won the day today.
Kevin Stefanski spoke before practice, which was once again fast-paced and high energy. Like Wednesday, both teams started off working through their warmups and stretching routine before going into one-on-ones vs. the other team. They spent some doing doing special teams drills and some 7-on-7s, which Michael Penix Jr. participated in once again.
They also spent time in 11s again, and the last period of practice was a two-minute drill with the following parameters: The offense was trailing by 1 point, and there was 1:05 left on the clock. After practice, we heard from Michael Penix Jr. and got somewhat of an update on his status, we heard from Bijan Robinson, and we heard from Kyle Pitts.
My observations from Day 2:
- In return drills, Zachariah Branch’s instincts were really on display. He has such good anticipation in motion, and the kid has some moves. He about broke a Colt’s defender’s ankles today early in practice.
- During red zone drills, I chose to watch the Falcons defense because the majority of the rest of the beat stuck with the offense. Look, Jonathan Taylor is great, and when tackling to the ground isn’t allowed, he’s gonna make some plays. But generally, the run defense still looked pretty solid — they did bend a bit, but there wasn’t much breaking — and the pass rush looked much better than Wednesday. Let me put it this way: There was no 15-of-15 for Daniel Jones today.
- Natrone Brooks was determined to have himself a day, and he brought it all practice long. Running with Atlanta’s second team in red-zone drills, he may have arrived a bit early on a tackle, but he wasn’t flagged and he did break up a pass from Anthony Richardson to a Colts receiver whose number I could not see. That was just one of his reps, but he was going all-out all day long.
- It seemed to me that players on both teams are extremely ready to put some hits on opponents. One reason I feel this way: Christian Harris pushed Colts running back and ball carrier Anderson Castle (who’s built like a fullback) out of bounds and to the ground during red zone drills, and I could see him pull back a bit after the push because nothing is supposed to be full contact. I think this is also a byproduct of the high energy of these practices.
- Not that this matters to the Falcons, but the Colts need to hope Tanor Bortolini stays healthy. There were multiple bad snaps to Anthony Richardson during two-minute drills. The second-team Colts offense ended up settling for a field goal on that series.
- Cooper Rush had some moments, but overall, not an inspiring performance. I’m eager to see Rush and Strand play this weekend. Rush did have one really nice, on-target throw to (I think) Vinny Anthony (again, it’s about impossible for me to see over the Colts players on the sideline), and the Colts defender who broke it up should have been called for DPI, in my opinion.
- There were two, let’s call them kerfluffles, between the Falcons defense and the Colts offense on Thursday, but neither blossomed into a full-blown fight. I said early in the week that I was hoping for no fights, and there were none!
Kevin Stefanski:
The Falcons head coach spoke to the media today, and while he isn’t the most forthcoming guy, he did have some interesting things to share.
- Cooper Rush and Jack Strand will each play for one half in Saturday’s preseason matchup with the Colts.
- Stefanski noted that the pass protection needs to improve, and noted that the quarterback’s timing impacts that.
- Stefanski didn’t want to share whether or not he’s happy with where the Falcons are at this point of the preseason. “No progress reports from me,” he said. The focus is on getting better every day.
- On Penix’s status and whether he’s close to being medically cleared, Stefanski leaves that to the doctors. When asked how he planned to get Penix up to speed once he’s cleared, given that MPJ hasn’t taken any contact this preseason, Stefanski said the team will “cross that bridge when we get there.”
Michael Penix Jr.:
- On the reason he’s not yet medically cleared for full contact: “If I had a rush coming at me and everything, I could get away, but it’s just right now, if I don’t get away, that’s what we think about.
- On whether he’s pushing his doctor to clear him: “I mean, I would never argue with a doctor,” Penix said, laughing. “They know more than me as far as the body mechanics and stuff like that. So I’m just going to trust what they say. I’m gonna trust God and just continue to, like I always say, run my own race.”
Bijan Robinson:
- Robinson said the joint practices “felt good.” “I love joint practices too, because I feel like it’s the time when you really get better as a team … I always love competing against other guys, and get to see my guys getting better.”
- Robinson also said he thought Wednesday’s practices went well for Atlanta. “I know we had some mess-ups here and there, but we don’t need to overreact,” he said. One thing I do think it’s helpful to keep in mind is that full contact/tackling to the ground was not allowed, and that does impact everything.
Kyle Pitts Sr.:
- On joint practices: “It was great, a great opportunity for us to come out here and compete with another team.”
- On whether he’s happy with how the offense has progressed to this point: “Yeah, definitely, we’ve been taking the right steps in the right direction,” he said. “Continuity, playing together, fighting for the man next to you.”
- Pitts also noted that Austin Hooper is the “granddad of the group now.” “He’s in Year 11, so he’s the patriarch.” Pitts said he’s the nephew.
- Pitts wouldn’t answer whether or not they’re spending more time working on the screen game this year than they did last year. “That’s a schematics question man. I can’t do that.”
I’ll have a bit more in tomorrow’s Opening Drive, but those are the key points! How do you feel about the Falcons after joint practices? Let us know in the comments!