Pats/Falcons AM Practice Report
This is a compilation of this morning's published reports for the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons first round of joint practice sessions.
It appears that wide receiver Randy Moss and quarterback Tom Brady are putting on quite a show today, connecting for two touchdowns this morning during their first joint practice session. One of Moss' grabs was reportedly a one-handed grab with Falcons defensive back Brian Williams in coverage, and most reports say that they've made it look easy.
That's quite a change from last week when it was the Saints that held the edge against New England during their practice sessions, but it appears the Patriots have it a little easier this time around.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Falcons coach Mike Smith was impressed from what he saw from the Patriots this morning.
“I thought it went well,” Smith told the newspaper. “The guys did what we asked them to do. They stayed on their feet when they were in shells like that. That’s the thing you want to have happen. I thought the guys worked extremely hard.”
Ian Rapoport was on hand at practice this morning and Tweeted throughout practice (the rules in Atlanta are different than in New England), and offered up some great details.
Some of the reports from his Tweets:
Derrick Burgess had an impressive morning, blowing by guard Quinn Ojinnaka on one play....defensive lineman Mike Wright put a big hit on Atlanta center Blake Schlueter....Rapoport reports that Ron Brace looks fast for a guy who failed his conditioning test.
Rapoport also reported that there was no sign of Gary Guyton or Jermaine Cunningham - which likely means neither of them made the trip.
Mike Rodak of ESPNBoston.com reports that there were 13 players not on hand for the session. Obviously Guyton and Cunningham were two, with the othes being linebackers Tully Banta-Cain, and Dane Fletcher; defensive backs Leigh Bodden, Terrence Johnson, Bret Lockett, and Josh Barrett; offensive linemen George Bussey and Nick Kaczur; wide receivers Darnell Jenkins and Matthew Slater; and defensive lineman Damione Lewis.
Rodak also reports that linebacker Thomas Williams was on the fields in a t-shirt and shorts and watched the session from the sidelines.
So far it's the largest crowd the Falcons have reportedly had this preseason, although no numbers have been released just yet.
We'll have more updates later this afternoon as they become available.
