FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Falcons Head Coach Mike Smith talked Monday about the importance of cross-training offensive linemen to play multiple positions in case of injury.
With Renardo Foster and Todd Weiner recovering from knee surgeries, some linemen from last year's squad have adopted new positions to learn the past few days.
Second-year player Justin Blalock played some right tackle this week, three positions over from his 2007 spot at left guard. He said he played tackle at the University of Texas because of injuries and lined up there this week for "pretty much the same reason."
He welcomes the additional role, saying the three-day mini camp gave him a chance to apply live-action experience to classroom work.
"I need to see it on the field as well as in the classroom," said Blalock, who started 14 games as a rookie. "It's one thing to look at a board with X's and O's all day and then see it out here with bodies and numbers flying around. You don't have a minute to respond out here like you may in the classroom. It's good to get out here, physically do it and have it burn into your memory that way.
"The more guys you can have play more positions the easier the transition will be if something happens."
CLOSING TIME: The Falcons ended the first mini camp Wednesday afternoon and, according to Smith, met several goals.
Eight players didn't work out because of injuries, but Smith was pleased with how the team came together and learned to work under the new coaching staff.
"We wanted to make sure our guys understood how we're going to practice and how we become familiar with each other," Smith said. "It's been a good three days for us. We're excited about what we've accomplished. The next time we get together we're going to have an influx of new players and these guys are going to be able to be mentors to the ones coming in."
The team spent equal parts on offense and defense in camp and spent more time on team drills today. Those drills included some big catches in the receiving game -- like a nice grab on a deep ball by Adam Jennings -- and one interception by cornerback Chris Houston.
"We feel good," defensive end John Abraham said. "We just have to try to make it a better year than it was last year and, so far, it feels like we're going in a positive direction."
"This is just the first step," added Smith. "In three days you're probably putting in 10 percent of what you're going to do. We want to expose our guys to as much as we can right off the bat. I thought (offensive coordinator) Mike (Mularkey) and the entire offensive staff did a great job in terms of getting the guys to understand the motions and different things. I thought it was a very productive camp."
Blalock and others on offense also seemed pleased. He's eager to take the next step in the process -- a mandatory mini camp with the team's rookies next month.
"We're learning a lot about each other," he said. "They're throwing a lot at us and they just want us to flush it down and see what comes out on the other side. It was a lot of stuff in three days and I think we retained most of it pretty well."
SIGNAL CALLS: With D.J. Shockley recovering from a torn knee ligament, Chris Redman and Joey Harrington handled all the quarterback duties during mini camp.
Both caught the eye of the head coach, who is impressed with Redman's progress from being out of football to starting the final four games of 2007.
"I think Chris has done a nice job," Smith said. "He and Joey are out there competing every snap and he's done a nice job coming back from being out of the league for three years. I think it's a great story (and) he played efficiently there at the end of the season. It's a new system for him; it's a new system for all of us. We made a lot of progress but we also have a lot of things we need to clean up."
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