Saturday practice report: Finneran out with back injury

Falcons receiver Michael Jenkins after practice on Saturday. He was explaining to the media why the defense appears to be ahead of the offense. (D. Orlando Ledbetter/dledbetter@ajc.com)

FLOWERY BRANCH – The Falcons caught a break from the heat Saturday morning.

When the first practice started there were clouds in the sky and the temperature was in the 80s. Near the end of practice, the humidity picked up and it was a little hotter.

Here are some of the highlights from the morning session:

–Wide receiver Brian Finneran (back), safety Matt Giordano (back) and tight end Colin Peek (knee) did not practice.

The Falcons are not certain about the extent of Peek’s injury and are calling him day-to-day at this point.

–The defense continued to dominate the offense in the third practice of training camp. They are beating players to the spot and getting their hands on a lot of passes.

Second-year cornerback Christopher Owens broke up a deep pass intended for Michael Jenkins.

However, rookie cornerback Dominique Franks dropped an interception that hit him in the hands.

–Running back Michael Turner continues to look good. He appears to be running much faster and is taking the corner at a higher rate of speed on his outside runs.

“I think Michael is in very good shape,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said. “Michael is committed to bounce back from the season last year that was shortened by injuries.”

–Undrafted rookie free agent Brandyn Harvey made a couple of tough catches in traffic. He was one of the stars of the offseason and continues to impress here early in training camp.