Other NFL Teams Training Camp News & Notes

[PhillyPhreak54]

Figured I'd crank up a thread for news, notes, injuries and other stuff from around the NFL camps...

I found this nice little tidbit on the Falcons MB via the Atlanta Journal Constitution:

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The final horn sounded shortly after 5 p.m. The only thing consistent seemed to be the heat, with T.J. Duckett and Chad Lavalais among the more obvious sufferers. Lavalais sat out a good while after going down with what appeared to be heat-related cramps. Duckett was driven off (sitting up) on a trainer's cart, but went to the training room under his own power. Not sure the immediate status of either. Some quick observations, which have to be quick because it's hard to focus on specific individuals very long with 100 bodies running all over the place:

*OK, so Vick didn't look sharp. He had some good passes, but lots of overthrows, underthrows and sideway throws. One didn't have to watch the passes as much as listen to Vick's verbal reaction to them. Quite a few, um, negative soundbites. His first interception came courtesy of DeAngelo Hall on one-on-one passing drills. On a six-on-seven drill, Price (!) bailed him out with a couple of nice digs out of the ground. On 11-on-11, he overthrew a wide-open Alge Crumpler on a rollout. The next play, Vick rolled out again. This time, he kept the ball himself and ripped off 30 yards. I'm just sayin.

*Matt Schaub had his woes, too. So let's not start with the Schaub-should-play nonsense.

*Ty Detmer is still a Falcon. Who knew?

*Scary sight of the day: Vick and Dunn tripping over each other on a handoff exchange. The collision of fibulas was loud, and brought about a collective "ooh" from players and fans alike.

Atta boy, Ronnie Mex. Keep up the shoddy QB play this year. Maybe one of these days the announcers attached to your sack will see that you're a below average QB with good speed.

[rjs246]

a below average QB with good speed.

Also known as a wide receiver.

[MadMarchHare]

Hines ward > Michael Vick.

Mike can just run.  Hines can run AND catch.

[PhillyGirl]

lmfao at this thread so far

[T_Section224]

*Ty Detmer is still a Falcon. Who knew?

[Sgt PSN]

*Ty Detmer is still in the NFL. Who knew?

Fixed. 

[T_Section224]

just as true

[PhillyPhreak54]

I wonder if the Detmer brothers argue about which one backs up the better QB? Or do they laugh about the fact that they get paid to chill and crack jokes?

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

Or do they laugh about the fact that they get paid to chill and crack jokes?

*ding*

[PhillyGirl]

More on Vick from Fat Len:

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Here are five observations on the Atlanta Falcons, based on the July 25 afternoon practice:

1. The good news is that quarterback Michael Vick plays with such passion that every foible, as head coach Jim Mora pointed out, is frustrating to the NFL's most electrifying performer. That means the game means something to him personally. The bad news on Monday afternoon? That Vick, at least in the passing game, had so many legitimate sources of frustration.

"He's a perfectionist," Mora said. "He wants everything he does to be perfect." In the first on-field session of camp, Vick didn't even approach mediocre, let alone perfection. Yeah, it was the first practice, the first workout in months in pads, and the transition from throwing a ball in shorts and a T-shirt to being totally padded up is always a dramatic step. It takes time, just from a practical standpoint, to reach a comfort zone in pads. So it's a bit unfair to judge Vick's progress at the outset of Year 2 in the Falcons' bastichization of the West Coast offense, on one 2½-hour session on a sweltering afternoon.

But the point of making training camp observations is to allow readers to see practice through ESPN.com's eyes. And these eyes saw a lot of poor throws. Vick was, in a word, brutal at times. And that might not even accurately describe his afternoon.   He was too high. He was too low. He was long and he was short. Vick looked anything but ready to ratchet up his completion percentage to the levels that typically accompany a West Coast-style passing design. His body language belied his frustration. At one point, tight end and favorite target Alge Crumpler, following one particularly scattershot effort, returned to the huddle and placed his arm around Vick's shoulders.

But even more disappointing than his performance in throwing the ball was Vick's slipshod footwork on too many occasions. Hard to imagine, we agree, for a player so agile and nifty, but the guy looked like he had two left feet at times. Vick still tries, or at least he did Monday, to do too much just with his arm. You generate velocity and even accuracy, from the feet up. But Vick rarely squared up, didn't get his feet set, had too many skewed release points. There is also a kind of "jump" in Vick's drop-and-plant, one that, mechanically, forces him to divert his eyes.

Here's hoping that, as Vick strives to move forward as a passer, Monday's first impressions are not lasting ones.

[MadMarchHare]

Counterpoint from Petey King

5. I think one of the great things about watching this team practice is the beauty of the ball that Mike Vick throws. Gorgeous pass after gorgeous pass.

  That's one for, and everyone else against.

[mikey418]

However, King didn't say they were accurate...just that they were "gorgeous".  I've seem some gorgeous looking passes that well, are way off the mark. 

[Wingspan]

maybe vick is throwing pinjk footballs with bonnets on them?

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

However, King didn't say they were accurate...just that they were "gorgeous".  I've seem some gorgeous looking passes that well, are way off the mark. 

Yep.  Vick has a very strong arm and throws a tight spiral.  Unfortunately for the Falcons and their fans, it's quite misguided at times.

[rjs246]

I can't wait for the inevitable 'dear god did you see that hit, I think I just barfed and got wood at the same time' hit that is going to end Vick's career. It'll be better than Joe T's broken leg.