Falcons to welcome Jaguars, hope to avoid fights
Jacksonville running Maurice Jones-Drew is set to practice against the Falcons on Monday and Tuesday. (D. Orlando Ledbetter/dledbetter@ajc.com
FLOWERY BRANCH – For the next two days, the Falcons will host the Jacksonville Jaguars for four practices.
The practices should help the Falcons fine tune some things before the exhibition season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at the Georgia Dome.
“It is good for us mentally, and it is good for the players to practice against some other guys,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said. “I think it is good for the evaluation process. That is the biggest thing.”
Counting OTAs, the Falcons have had more than 30 practices against each other. They are ready to see some different colored uniforms.
“They are going to get an opportunity to have to defend different receivers,” Smith said. “They will have to disengage against different blockers, so I think it is really going to be good. I am looking forward to it.”
Smith and Jacksonville coach Jack Del Rio talked at length Saturday morning to finalize the plans.
“I think that we are on the same page of trying to make sure that it is a normal practice,” said Smith, who is not calling the practices a scrimmage. “There is not going to be any tackling, and you aren’t really going to see anything different
Jacksonville Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio probably will not wear his suit for practice in Flowery Branch.
in terms of the tempo. We are getting the opportunity to work against other opponents.”
All four practices are open to the public. Monday’s practice times are 8:30-10:40 a.m. and from 3:45 to 4:40 p.m.
On Tuesday, they will practice from 8:30 to 10:40 a.m. and 3:45 to 5:50 p.m.
Smith served as Del Rio’s defensive coordinator for five seasons before becoming the Falcons head coach.
Veterans Todd McClure and Brian Finneran were around the last time the Falcons had a training camp practice/scrimmage. They headed over to Nashville to scrimmage the Titans in 2004.
The intensity of practice will pick up.
“It gets pretty feisty,” Finneran said. “When you go twice a day against a team you probably don’t like very much your competitive juices start flowing.”
There was one thing McClure remembers from the Nashville scrimmages.
“Fights,” McClure said. “That’s all it was. We had to stop practice during the nine on seven drills because of fights. Tempers flare. If you can control that some kind of way, you can get some really good work.”
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160 comments Add your comment
SeenThisB4
August 9th, 2010
1:18 pm
Did somebody say “lunch break”? Time for boogers…..
Michael
August 9th, 2010
1:19 pm
DOL, they can avoid fights, but you know a couple or so are gonna break out. I just hate to see it get out of control. In any event, It does put alittle fire in the belly, and that is a good thing.
Hamp
August 9th, 2010
1:20 pm
Seenthisb4
I didn’t know trailers had pools.
rekingball
August 9th, 2010
1:23 pm
What is wrong with a little fighting, as long as no one is seriously injured?
rekingball
August 9th, 2010
1:24 pm
Hamp@1:20pm………Most people call them mud puddles.
Fists of Fury
August 9th, 2010
1:38 pm
Football is fighting, so fight those Jacksonville Jackwagons. I say fight ‘em all, even the coaches. On the field, in the hallways after practice, and all the way out to their stinking cars! Grrrrrrrrr!
Then invite them back tomorrow, give them some coffee, and then kick them right in their rotting teeth!
Oops, late lunch. Back to the post office…
SeenThisB4
August 9th, 2010
1:42 pm
OBAMA! He loves the Saints too. I also think the North is better. I just live down here so I can be the smartest person in 9 states.
JohnKennesaw
August 9th, 2010
1:45 pm
SeenB4 – are you getting tired? Either you’ve dropped off responding and someone is impersonating or your blood sugar must be low. Now you’re just rambling – can’t even seem to keep straight to whom you are responding. Less funny. Less entertaining. What a shame.
ray nagin
August 9th, 2010
1:46 pm
SeenThisB4 too bad Katrina didn’t wipe your city off the map. Maybe next time.
Fists of Fury
August 9th, 2010
1:49 pm
You are too funny, STB4. Are you in prison?
SeenThisB4
August 9th, 2010
2:18 pm
JohnKennesaw: I was out having a bite to eat. Glad to see that my impersonators are still hard at work trying to impress! Good job girls! I’ve got most of the falcant fans crying like a newborn – freshly slapped on its rear by the delivery mid-wife! LOL! Trailers? Mud puddles? Come on, you Georgians can do better than that! Geez, I thought you all had evolved more since the days of Boss Hogg. Guess not.
And to the rest of my fans out there: I certainly hope you all have pre-ordered your Madden NFL 2011, or at least will be camping out tonight at Best Buy to purchase your very own copy! I know that most of you haven’t mastered thumb dexerity, but purchase a copy anyway, be the first in your kennel to own it! (Oops! Not to soon to say the word “kennel” in ATL, is it?)
GEAUX SAINTS! OUR TIME!!
Adam
August 9th, 2010
2:23 pm
I simply provide these two quotes from SeenThisB4. I think they speak volumes for this individual…..
“Ahhh, ignorance is truely bliss…..”
“I think Obama is doing an outstanding job. Maybe the best president ever.”
That, to me, says it all…
Michael
August 9th, 2010
2:28 pm
I’m guessing that B4 is “Matt Choke Ryan”. He changes identity every year. He really lives on the south side of ATL in his moms basement, and use to spank over his MV7 poster.
SeenThisB4
August 9th, 2010
2:29 pm
Adam: I’ll take credit for your first quote there. The second one was an impersonator. There are few, very few, Saints fans that think Mr. Obama is doing an outstanding job. Louisiana was an overwhelming Red state. The only parish that voted for Mr. Obama, I regretfully admit, was Orleans Parish. But, that was expected. Orleans Parish will always vote the Blue ticket, regardless of the candidates skin tone. (Unless of course, the candidate is asian, but that’s a whole other story.)
GEAUX SAINTS! OUR TIME!!
SeenThisB4's MILF
August 9th, 2010
2:52 pm
GEAUX FAULK YO SELF!!!
rekingball
August 9th, 2010
3:03 pm
Yeah, Obama certainly has not lived up to the high standards that Bush and Chaney set, while they were in the White House.
Obama hasn’t even invaded another country(Iran), and started his own war, yet.
ray nagin
August 9th, 2010
3:25 pm
rekingball have you forgot why we went to war?
Adam
August 9th, 2010
3:42 pm
no rekingball, he’s only done more to chip away at our freedoms than any President in history. He hasn’t stopped them either. Nor has he de-escalated, but he has sent additional troops. Also, he has proven inept at handling crises (Nashville floods, BP, etc…) and this is with him having the benefit of lessons supposedly learned from Katrina. Economically, how about the following if you care to read….
President Barack Obama has repeatedly claimed that his budget would cut the deficit by half by the end of his term. But given that Obama has already helped quadruple the deficit with his stimulus package, pledging to halve it by 2013 is hardly ambitious.
What’s driving Obama’s unprecedented massive deficits? Spending.
• President Bush expanded the federal budget by a historic $700 billion through 2008. President Obama would add another $1 trillion.
• President Bush began a string of expensive financial bailouts. President Obama is accelerating that course.
• President Bush created a Medicare drug entitlement that will cost an estimated $800 billion in its first decade. President Obama has proposed a $634 billion down payment on a new government health care fund.
• President Bush increased federal education spending 58 percent faster than inflation. President Obama would double it.
• President Bush became the first President to spend 3 percent of GDP on federal antipoverty programs. President Obama has already increased this spending by 20 percent.
• President Bush tilted the income tax burden more toward upper-income taxpayers. President Obama would continue that trend.
• President Bush presided over a $2.5 trillion increase in the public debt through 2008. Setting aside 2009 (for which Presidents Bush and Obama share responsibility for an additional $2.6 trillion in public debt), President Obama’s budget would add $4.9 trillion in public debt from the beginning of 2010 through 2016.
Many Obama defenders in the comments are claiming that the numbers above do not include spending on Iraq and Afghanistan during the Bush years. They most certainly do. While Bush did fund the wars through emergency supplementals (not the regular budget process), that spending did not simply vanish. It is included in the numbers above. These numbers are from the Washington Post. President Bush took office in January 2001, and therefore played a lead role in crafting the FY 2002-2008 budgets. Presidents Bush and Obama share responsibility for the FY 2009 budget deficit that overlaps their administrations, before President Obama assumes full budgetary responsibility beginning in FY 2010. Overall, President Obama’s budget would add twice as much debt as President Bush over the same number of years.
alanfalcon
August 9th, 2010
3:48 pm
Can’t you people ever understand that to give an idiot the pleasure of coming back to you is just what they want,THATS WHY THEY ARE CONSIDERED IDIOTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
hiramsaint
August 9th, 2010
3:54 pm
and we’re gonna roll all over the falcants and use their rubber handed secondary to bounce right back on top with out missing a beat. sorry for the absence- i was out of town but i’m back to bring cheer once again to the desolate hopes of the ‘con nation
SeenThisB4
August 9th, 2010
4:01 pm
i hav eto confess deep down inside i really love both the falcons and the saints. I actually pull for both but it just so happened the saints won the superbowl first. And since our new orleans paper isnt near as good as the ajc i just needed to let you guys know where i really stand. There i feel so much better now that i have gotten that off my chest. I love you guys it’s ok to be a falcon fan and a sants fan just not when they play each other.
hiramsaint
August 9th, 2010
4:05 pm
and we’re gonna roll all over the Falcants on the way and use noodle arm as a spring board to go back up on top
hiramsaint
August 9th, 2010
4:07 pm
rekingball- is that the best imitation you can do. your team , too , will try to imitate the saints but like you they will also fail miserably…. lol lol
clanmack
August 9th, 2010
4:11 pm
It is spelled apropos. If you are going to venture into 3 or more syllables, at lease use the spell check.
hiramsaint
August 9th, 2010
4:21 pm
at lease??????????????? it’s not your forte clanmack.. or a spelling test
robert
August 9th, 2010
4:35 pm
Stopping feeding the fool. Now, back to the Falcons. They are going to e fine this year and I want to see the new WRs get in on Jenkins action. We have depth at every position and we should be heavy weight contendors this year.
Joey
August 9th, 2010
4:40 pm
hiramsaint, maybe you should check your own sentences critiquing basic english. Caps are required after periods, and question marks after questions.
Good luck . . .
Tallcrarl
August 9th, 2010
4:41 pm
Hey ain´t fan the best thing about your pool is when you get finished whith it you can let the air out and stow it on the front porch behind your best sofa.
hiramsaint
August 9th, 2010
5:13 pm
joey- again for those slower people[you]. it’s not an enlish or spellin’ course. when your team is in the condition it’s in, i suppose all you can do is argue other points
JuneBaby
August 9th, 2010
5:13 pm
SeenThisB4… is taking names and wearing out the entire blog. HAHAHAH! LOL! He’s like Matt”Choke”Ryan, dippin’ dodgin’, and rope-a-dopin’ all you guys! One guy got so frustrated, all he could think of was Michael Vick, for many others, all they have are Hurricane Katrina putdowns! lol, so so creative! He’s turning all you guys into Gumbo, and laughing about it! Hahahahaha! how many more Vick and Obama putdowns do you guys have! hahahahaha. you guys kill me!!!!
hiramsaint
August 9th, 2010
5:14 pm
tallcrarl- i don’t do it – your old lady does it for me
Sick & Tired Of Being Sick & Tired
August 9th, 2010
6:09 pm
This has developed into a really stupid deal. First the Saints fans rantings and now someone spouting quotes from Fox News……PEOPLE GET A LIFE!!!!
Please….can we keep the subjects/comments somewhat relevant to the topics started by D-Led????
GO FALCONS!!!!
NuclearJim
August 9th, 2010
6:18 pm
B4, as a Saints fan I have to say you are being a little rough on the BirdFans. I don’t see it as a matter of class or even manners. I have to wonder why you would bother? Anyway, I guess we’ll see in January. I see the Bird’s as wild card and The Boy’s as finishing first. It’s going to be nice with both teams competative. Personally after all these years I’m happy for both teams and hope the NFC South is beginning a run to pure dominance in the NFL. THAT will be sweet! It’s Monday – go get some red beans and rice and leave the trash talk until after 5 pm on Sept 26th.
papamrj
August 9th, 2010
8:06 pm
Not to worry they’ll (the aints….I won’t even bother to capitalize it)will be wearing bags over their heads again before too long. So just let him talk smack while eating his greasy nutria(swamp rat) sandwich.
JuneBaby
August 9th, 2010
8:08 pm
Back in the day…, these dual practices used to be an annual occurence in Falcon camps, always with a lot of fisticuffs, but productive nonthelesss. I wonder why they went away from these scrimmages as they appear to be a no-lose situations for both teams, as well as moneysaving for the visiting team. It would also appear to be helpful as the players should be more attentive when practicing against someone other than themselves. Maybe some of you other guys remember when the birds used to have these dual team practices?
SeenThisB4
August 9th, 2010
9:01 pm
papamrj: You were born with the Z chromosome, weren’t you?!
drmondo
August 9th, 2010
9:51 pm
DOL, here’s a little word of advice. Having people talk a little smack on your blog is probably a good way to spark interest. When it takes over the blog EVERY DAY and 30% of the posts come from one or two trolls it’s time to ban them. There are many of your readers who have checked out your blog only to be turned off by the constant Saints BS. Over the last couple weeks how many people have stopped reading your articles because of this garbage? The number of posts hasn’t dropped dramatically unless you subtract all the ones from the trolls (31 from one person on this blog alone).
For everyone else, just ignore them. They’ll quit if you don’t respond. “Choke” got the treatment and stopped for a while (Then was banned from a couple blogs). I’m sure you’d rather talk Falcons than get in a blog pissing contest with some kid who’s on summer vacation (who else has the time on a weekday to spend 14 hrs checking a blog)?
SeenThisB4
August 9th, 2010
10:10 pm
OK, I’ll admit I do like to wear Falcon panties and I’m in love with P. Jerry.
GEAUX SAINTS! OUR TIME!!
local celeb
August 9th, 2010
10:25 pm
jamal the dirty bird anderson is gay as a $2 bill
Willie Martinez
August 9th, 2010
10:30 pm
Kind of reminds me of my old practice drills… no tackling allowed. This really worked out well for my defense last year.
Wilbur
August 9th, 2010
11:35 pm
STB4….what have you seen B4? Your pecker in your hand? lol!!!
The joke is in your hand you slimy, nothing else to to piece of Katrina’s jetsam and flotsam! You are sewer garbage, who likes to dress in drag and think you something! You have no respect for anyone. You are a pea picking trollup of a troll, going to other blogs and making you feel better about your sorry pathetic ass. You spend ALL day long trying to pick a wit with anyone who will listen to you. Sorry thing is you don’t even realize what a joke you are….we don’t give a flip what you say. We see you for the sorry, no good, low down, good for nothing desperate soul you really are. ha ha! Ha ha ha ha, ha ha ha ha ha ha, you are so witty and so funny and so terribly blase!!!!!!
Such a piece of sewer spewing, feces guzzling poop! Lol!!!!!!!!!!
Wilbur
August 9th, 2010
11:39 pm
But it’s really fun to berate you…since you think you are so witty and such a student of the human language….go sleaze off with yourself…maybe while your doing it, you will once again realize that is all you will ever make. ROTFLMBAO!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wilbur
August 9th, 2010
11:42 pm
You guys ever seen or heard of someone posting 24 hours a day? Can you imagine what an empty, desperate, lonely, trapped and faded existance you would have to have? That is STB4
Wilbur
August 9th, 2010
11:53 pm
Sorry DrMondo….I just had to indulge myself in a little STB4 abuse. It felt great to rip his lowlife self esteem to shreds….I have no doubt any criticism, even in the slightest, grates on him beyond what you or I could believe. Some might even say it’s a little cruel, but when the pariah makes himself so well known, even the most disciplined of us likes to off him fuel for his physcosis.
As much time as he spends here, we can all observe the nature of his dementia and debilitation. Poor soul…I pity him, and pray for him.
Wilbur
August 10th, 2010
12:02 am
I invite everyone to enjoy themselves with a little STB4 abuse every chance they get. A cacaphony of ribbing and cajoling is all we need to have ourselves a very good time with this intruder.
The more the better…STB4 is a desperate sould who needs the spate of riled up responses he gets in order to persist. Instead let’s give him something he can’t handle…a constant battery of noise to go along with that voice inside his head! Hahahahahahahaha! What fun!!!!
Wilbur
August 10th, 2010
12:03 am
Soul..whatever, lol!
Wilbur
August 10th, 2010
12:11 am
In closing, let me say how enjoyable it was to reveal what I have discovered about STB4. That his constant blather is really just a cover for his deeply rooted low self esteem issues.
Never one to demean someone in the past, with STB4 I don’t care, because I he is apparently someone who truly deserves, knows it, and needs to hear it until he just can’t take it anymore. Thank you STB4!!!!!
Wilbur
August 10th, 2010
12:11 am
SEC Rules!!!!!
bsg
August 10th, 2010
12:47 am
last time i checked i thought this was a falcons blog… the topic at hand was completely ignored thanks to one stupid fan.
breesfan
August 10th, 2010
1:20 am
As a lifelong NFL fan and a saint fan too, I am terribly embarassed by all of this garbage coming from STB4 and other saint fans. These opinions or whatever you’d like to call all of this crap does not at all reflect the feelings of the vast majority of saint fans. I have been to many Saint-Falcon games over the years, and have usually always had a good time partying with fans of both teams. During the game, obviously battle lines are drawn. But once it’s over, it’s over until the next time they meet. This trash ,over and over and back and forth, clearly is for folks with little or no life at all. Even though these teams were rarely ever really good(falcons better than saints until last yr), this has always been a really good NFL rivalry. I can’t understand all of this hatred because after digesting all of this reading, much of this stuff clearly is not in good fun at all. STB4 isn’t the only one, but this guy probably has never played team sports in his life, so his way to create some form of competition is to instigate on a blog. I’d be curious what he really knows about the game of football or most any other sport for that matter. Guys, I would not respond to this angry, bitter, and just pathetic human being anymore. On another note,both the Saints and Falcons have the potential to be good and/or very good this year! The rivalry has intensified and the stakes are high for both teams from ownership to front office to coaches to players to fans. We’re only a month away from a very highly anticipated season. I think the saints and falcons will split their 2 meetings and both have an excellent chance to make the playoffs in my opinion this season. In conclusion, STB4 and a few others in no way are the voice(s) of the majority of lifelong saint fans from the gulf south region. Most of us have always respected and enjoyed the rivalry with the Falcons. Once again ,I(and trust me when I say many others)apologize for these few bad apples who we’d like to throw out of our fan base. STB4, you are an absolute disgrace pal, and may I suggest some type of counseling whether that’s anger management or something else. If you think you don’t need it, you are in big time denial!