FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- It's a comfortable day at Falcons practice, but offensive and defensive lineman are working up a training camp size sweat.
The men are in athletic shorts and t-shirts on the side of the practice field. They take turns squatting to ground and launching medicine balls over their heads to a partner about 10 yards away.
Some let out primal yells as the push up with their legs and force the heavy weight into the sky. Others, like Justin Blalock, work in near silence.
The drill, designed to increase strength and stamina, is important to the second-year player as he works with a new coaching staff and re-secures a starting role. Blalock admits the game sometimes moved too quickly in his 14 starts last season. Tweaking his mind and body have been key as he reaches a new level of football enlightenment.
"I don't want to say now I see everything before it comes, but there were sometimes last year where I would look at the guy in front of me and be oblivious as to what's going on the rest of the play," he said earlier this week. "Now I can look around and see more things going on. I think that's a testament to the new staff. They really break it down to us, use our meeting time real well and things are starting to make sense."
Paul Boudreau, the Falcons new offensive line coach, is impressed with Blalock's resolve and aptitude.
"You tell him one time and you ask him to do something and the next time you turn on the film he's trying to do it," said Boudreau, a 21-year veteran of NFL coaching. "I like the fact that he's very smart (and) I like the fact he has an understanding of not just his job but everything around him."
That understanding led coaches to try Blalock at right tackle earlier in the offseason. Boudreau said the move was part of an effort to educate some lineman on multiple positions. Tyson Clabo and Quinn Ojinnaka, a pair of tackles, played guard.
"We've got a lot of guys playing a bunch of different positions trying to be interchangeable," Blalcok said. "The more things you bring to the table the more valuable you're going to be. It makes it easier for us. Injuries are going to happen during the course of the season -- that's the nature of the beast -- but if we have guys that play multiple positions we can have a different starting lineup out there without missing a beat."
When it comes to a natural position, Boudreau said the team likes Blalock at left guard. It's there where he's picking up some chemistry with Ojinnaka and rookie left tackle Sam Baker.
Blalock has known Baker since college, meeting him when the two played against each other in the 2006 Rose Bowl.
"I met him sometime ago and known him for a little while," Blalock said. "He's a great kid. He reminds me a lot of myself actually, kind of quiet. Obviously he's a great player and I'm excited to work with him and impart some of my limited knowledge to him."
When it comes to size and strength, however, offensive linemen are very much on their own. Blalock was listed as the heaviest player on the team last season and coaches want to trim some weight across the front five in an effort to increase endurance.
Trust and durability are pillars in Boudreau's system. He coached a Saints offensive line that allowed just 15 sacks in a season where all five starters played every play (more than 1,100 snaps).
"It's easy to lift weights and run in the offseason but that isn't like conditioning to play a game," the coach said. "What I'd like (Blalock) to do a little bit better is play a little harder and finish a little bit stronger -- more physical at the end. What he's trying to do right now is get in better game shape."
That's where the medicine balls -- and other creative practice styles -- come in.
"We do a lot of interesting drills," Blalcok said. "I think they all carry over to the field. It's exciting when we get out there. You may not notice it, but you'll flip on the tape after practice (and it shows up). It's neat to see stuff carry over."
