Training Camp Update
Volume 8, Issue 2 – 8/14/13

We say it all the time because it's true: Things change fast in the NFL. And they never change faster than they do in August. And nobody covers those changes and team situations more comprehensively than Footballguys.com. Our Training Camp Updates come out once a week in August and our staff covers everything you need to know about every NFL team. This is the deep stuff that gives you an edge. We're not going to rave that Peyton Manning and Ray Rice are great. You know that.

Read our weekly updates to get the inside scoop on how the Green Bay running backs are practicing and which player is the best bet for your draft. Or the Eagles WR corps. Or which Dallas receivers are shining in practice. It's the kind of information that will put you over the edge and on the way to dominating your draft.

Happy reading and let's have a great 2013 season,

Joe Bryant and David Dodds
Owners, Footballguys.com


Arizona Cardinals

QB: There hasn't been much of a spotlight on Carson Palmer since he arrived in Arizona. Having Patrick Peterson playing both sides of the ball and Tyrann Mathieu in camp makes him an afterthought. However, it's clear that he will be this team's starting quarterback and he emphasized that fact with an efficient display against the Packers in Week 1 of the preseason. Palmer highlighted his display with a perfect touchdown pass deep down the sideline to Andre Roberts, a throw that the team's quarterbacks from last season couldn't make. Both Drew Stanton and Ryan Lindley played well against the Packers' backups also. Stanton appears to be in the driving seat for the backup role.

RB: Rashard Mendenhall and Ryan Williams were still dealing with their respective injuries and missed the preseason game. That opened the door for Stepfan Taylor and Alfonso Smith to get in plenty of work. Bruce Arians spoke on the play of his backs after the game, "I can't say enough about Stepfan and Alfonso for stepping up and carrying the load when Rashard couldn't go. We're not going to push that knee." Taylor and Smith didn't exactly light up the stat sheet, but were both resilient runners. The longer that Andre Ellington, Mendenhall and Williams sit out with injuries, the more likely Taylor becomes a viable fantasy option.

WR: There wasn't really a discrepancy between the playing times of Michael Floyd, Andre Roberts and Larry Fitzgerald. Roberts played the fewest snaps, six, but finished with the most yards of the trio thanks to that long touchdown reception from Palmer. Roberts was left in single coverage against a lesser defensive back. It's the kind of situation the Cardinals will be desperate to get with their abundance of talent at the receiver position. Rookies Charles Hawkins and Jaron Brown led the team in receiving, but neither player played with the first team offense so those numbers must be taken with a grain of salt. While we can't too excited by those numbers, Hawkins and Brown have both been impressive throughout camp and could be upsets to make the roster. Ryan Swope has retired, LaRon Byrd has been dealing with concussions and Robert Gill has recurring hamstring issues. By staying healthy and performing well, one of if not both receivers could make the roster.

TE: Rob Housler played just eight snaps and wasn't targeted. Mickey Shuler was the only tight end to catch a pass on the day and he did so from the fullback position. Jim Dray started the game and played 50 snaps, but he was limited to being a blocker as he only saw one target when his quarterback was under pressure and throwing the ball away. On the other hand D.C. Jefferson had plenty of opportunities to impress, but dropped an out route that would have gone for more than 10 yards. He also couldn't catch up to a pass on an out route in the end zone and wasn't strong enough when trying to post up a defender over the middle of the field. With the way the Cardinals tight ends are going, it appears that Housler may be the only receiving option of the bunch.

Defense: Tyrann Mathieu has been the main obsession of most fans thus far in the preseason. His play in practice was starting to become stuff of legend before he finally took the field in Lambeau. Mathieu didn't start with the first team, but he played 39 snaps and looked very comfortable. Midway through the third quarter, he lined up as a nickel cornerback before blitzing off the edge for a sack. Before Mathieu had got to the quarterback however, veteran addition John Abraham announced his arrival with an excellent strip sack on Graham Harrell. As expected Patrick Peterson didn't play a single snap on offense during the preseason game, but that doesn't mean the Cardinals are abandoning their big plans for him.

Special Teams: The team is still considering lining up both Patrick Peterson and rookie defensive back Tyrann Mathieu deep on punt returns. Head coach Bruce Arians noted, "We have the potential to really have three back there if we want with Javier [Arenas] too…. the ability that we have with Patrick and Tyrann as special punt returners, yeah, it's hard to kick away from two of them." Mathieu averaged 13 yards on a pair of punt returns in the preseason opener. All three are also in the mix for kickoff returns.

OL: Paul Fanaika has done a very good job stepping in for the injured Daryn Colledge at right guard. A former tackle, Fanaika could win a job. Overall, the blocking was effective during the first preseason victory against Green Bay. Other than a false start from Levi Brown, this unit had a pretty good night.

Cardinals Depth Chart
QB: Carson Palmer, Drew Stanton, Ryan Lindley, Caleb TerBush
RB: Rashard Mendenhall (inj), Ryan Williams (inj), Stepfan Taylor, Andre Ellington, Alfonso Smith, Javarris James
WR: Larry Fitzgerald, Michael Floyd, Andre Roberts, Jaron Brown, Jarett Dillard, Robert Gill, Kerry Taylor, Nicholas Edwards, LaRon Byrd (IR)
TE: Rob Housler, Jeff King, Jim Dray, Kory Sperry, D.C. Jefferson, Mickey Schuler, Kyle Auffray
LT: Levi Brown, Nate Potter
LG: Jonathan Cooper, Chilo Rachal, Senio Kelemete
C: Lyle Sendlein, Scott Wedige
RG: Daryn Colledge, Paul Fanaika, Earl Watford, Mike Gibson
RT: Eric Winston, Bobby Massie
K: Jay Feely
NT: Dan Williams, David Carter (DT)
DE: Calais Campbell, Darnell Dockett (DT), , Frostee Rucker, Ronald Talley
ILB: Daryl Washington (susp), Karlos Dansby, Kevin Minter, Jasper Brinkley, Reggie Walker
OLB: Sam Acho, John Abraham, Lorenzo Alexander, Matt Shaughnessy, Alex Okafor, Zach Nash
CB: Patrick Peterson (PR), Jerraud Powers, Javier Arenas (PR/KR),Antoine Cason, Jamell Fleming, Bryan McCann
S: Yeremiah Bell (SS), Rashad Johnson (FS) (inj), Tyrann Mathieu (FS/CB), Justin Bethel (FS), Curtis Taylor (SS), Jonathan Amaya (SS), Tony Jefferson (FS)

Atlanta Falcons

QB: Matt Ryan led the offense to just one field goal during three possessions versus Cincinnati in the preseason opener on August 8. Ryan completed 6/9 for 89 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions before giving way to backup Dominique Davis (8/19 for 78 yards, one touchdown and one interception). Rookie Sean Renfree posted 2/4 for 20 yards passing, no TDs or interceptions at the tail end of the contest. Before the preseason opener, Ryan addressed the Falcons' primary goal during the preseason: "Everyone is kind of itching to play. But as a veteran you know the process. We really respect what 'Smitty' (head coach Mike Smith) does, he takes care of us and has the number one goal of getting everyone to the opener healthy. You want to play but that's part of the deal."

RB: Steven Jackson didn't excite the home crowd during the preseason opener, with five carries for eight yards rushing and one target receiving versus Cincinnati during a cameo appearance. He was stopped at the line of scrimmage by defensive tackle Geno Atkins on a third-and-two at Cincinnati's 16-yard line, forcing a Falcons' field goal on fourth down while the first team was on the field. Jacquizz Rodgers didn't fare much better, with four carries for 11 yards, though he did add one reception for 15 yards. Ronnie Wingo Jr. (four carries for 29 yards with one target for zero receptions) led the Falcons' backups in rushing, while Jason Snelling was his usual versatile self with five carries for 23 yards and three catches for 21 yards and score. However, Wingo was listed in last place on the first depth chart of the season, and appears to be a long shot to make the Falcons 53-man roster. Fullback Pat DiMarco has been working with the first team during training camp as Bradie Ewing (who missed 2012 due to a knee injury) continues to miss time due to an undisclosed injury, as does Antone Smith (undisclosed injury). DiMarco was listed behind Ewing on the depth chart. The Falcons are juggling their offensive line in the wake of right tackle Mike Johnson's season-ending ankle/leg injury, and their problems adapting showed in the poor rushing results for the first team during the exhibition game. Reports out of training camp earlier in the week indicated that Jackson had spent some time split out wide and was being put in a number of positions on the line of scrimmage - he may catch a significant number of passes this year. Ewing and Smith sat out of the post-game practice on Saturday, August 10.

WR: Julio Jones sat out of the first preseason game due to tight hamstrings. Jones did practice on Tuesday, however - the team held him out of the first exhibition game for precautionary reasons. Roddy White posted one catch for four yards on one target during a cameo appearance. Drew Davis (two catches for 53 yards on four targets) and Harry Douglas (three targets for one catch of 42 yards) were the top pass-catchers during the exhibition, followed by Darius Johnson (four targets with two catches which went for 27 yards). Coach Smith said Jones (hamstrings) was limited during Saturday practice. "Julio was out running some routes," coach Smith said. "He did some work. He didn't take a full load." Smith also said he expects Jones to fully participate in the near future.

TE: Tony Gonzalez was on "family leave" for the first preseason game. Reports out of Atlanta indicate that he won't be in action until the third week of preseason games. As an established veteran, his presence for all of training camp isn't essential. In Gonzalez's absence, Chase Coffman led the Falcons' tight ends in receiving vs. Cincinnati with two catches for 12 yards.

Defense: The Falcons' defense started with five defensive linemen and two linebackers vs. the Bengals. Defensive ends Kroy Biermann and Osi Umenyiora started along with defensive tackles Peria Jerry, Corey Peters and Jonathan Babineaux. Linebackers Akeem Dent and Stephen Nicholas were featured to begin the game. The starters forced three punts on the Bengals' offense (operating without top wide receiver A.J. Green). The top defensive performer during the preseason opener was undrafted rookie linebacker Paul Worrilow, who had 11 tackles during the game. As a whole, the defense was putrid against the Bengals' backs, allowing 38 rushes for 167 rushing yards (4.39 per carry) and one touchdown. Rookie cornerback Desmond Trufant had two solo tackles and an assist during the exhibition, and reportedly did well in his first action at NFL speed. Trufant was listed as the starting right cornerback on the first depth chart of the year. Linebacker Sean Weatherspoon was forced out of a scrimmage/practice with Cincinnati on Monday due to a badly dislocated finger (reports indicate that the digit wasn't actually broken). Weatherspoon didn't start and didn't record a tackle during the preseason opener on and then he missed the practice session on Saturday.

Special Teams: Special teams coordinator Keith Armstrong recently indicated that Dominique Franks, wide receiver James Rodgers and rookie cornerback Robert Alford are the primary candidates for the kickoff and punt returner roles, along with running back Jacquizz Rodgers on kickoffs. Wide receiver Harry Douglas will not be a regular punt returner, but might be used for an occasional special situation. In the preseason opener, Rodgers had a 24-yard kickoff return while running back Josh Vaughan had a 21-yarder. On punt returns, Douglas had one for 11 yards while Alford had a two yarder.

OL: With the season-ending injury to Mike Johnson (fractured fibula, dislocated ankle), Lamar Holmes is running uncontested to win the right tackle position. The team has not ruled out bringing in outside talent, and the first team line generally looked poor during the preseason Week One loss against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Falcons Depth Chart
QB: Matt Ryan, Dominique Davis, Sean Renfree, Seth Doege
RB: Steven Jackson, Jacquizz Rodgers (KR), Jason Snelling, Antone Smith (RFA), Josh Vaughn, Donald Russell, Ronnie Wingo
FB: Bradie Ewing, Patrick DiMarco
WR: Roddy White, Julio Jones, Harry Douglas (PR), Drew Davis, Kevin Cone, James Rodgers, Marcus Jackson
TE: Tony Gonzalez, Levine Toilolo, Chase Coffman
LT: Sam Baker
LG: Justin Blalock, Jacques McClendon
C: Peter Konz, Joe Hawley
RG: Garrett Reynolds, Phillipkeith Manley, Harland Gunn
RT: Lamar Holmes, Mike Johnson (IR)
K: Matt Bryant
DT: Jonathan Babineaux, Corey Peters, Peria Jerry, Travian Robertson, Micanor Regis, Adam Replogle
DE: Osi Umenyiora, Kroy Biermann, Malliciah Goodman, Stansly Maponga, Jonathan Massaquoi, Cliff Matthews
MLB: Akeem Dent, Pat Schiller, Brian Banks
OLB: Sean Weatherspoon (W) (inj), Stephen Nicholas (S), Robert James (W), Nick Clancy
CB: Asante Samuel, Desmond Trufant, Robert McClain, Robert Alford, Dominique Franks (PR), Kemal Ishmael, Terrence Johnson
S: William Moore (SS), Thomas DeCoud (FS), Charles Mitchell (FS),Zeke Mota (SS), Shann Schillinger (SS), Peyton Thompson (FS)