FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- For much of his short NFL career rookie quarterback Matt Ryan has appeared ahead of the curve.
He signed his first contract more than two months before the start of Russell Falcons Training Camp and coaches thought enough of his play to put him in the rotation with the first team early in practice.
Ryan took another step forward Saturday evening, relieving starter Chris Redman in the second quarter and throwing for 113 yards and a touchdown in a preseason loss. He led five drives without a turnover.
Monday Ryan got a chance to review the film of his first professional game.
"I put some good stuff on tape to learn from and, hopefully, I can get better this week," the rookie said. "I still have a long way to go, a lot of work ahead of me, but it was a good start."
Head Coach Mike Smith liked what he saw out of his young quarterback.
"I thought Matt came in and threw the ball extremely well," he said. "He operated very well under those circumstances. It was by design to get him in with the first unit and to get him playing against a solid defense."
Ryan may be progressing quickly through the steps of quarterback training but he isn't expecting too much in the coming weeks.
"I don't think there's any time frame on it," Ryan said. "I think you can just show up every day, work hard and do everything you can to put a good effort on the field."
Smith said the team will continue rotating quarterbacks in the preseason and will name a starter for Saturday's game sometime Thursday.
"As we said from the beginning, we are going to give everyone a chance to play with the first team," Smith said Monday. "We will set all of that up on Thursday."
INJURY REPORT: Another Falcons center left practice with an injury Monday. Alex Stepanovich (back) twisted his back and needed to leave the field. He was replaced by Ben Wilkerson.
The team was evaluating the injury Monday but Smith had positive news about other injured players on the roster. He said cornerback Chris Houston (shoulder) was "progressing well" while wide receiver Laurent Robinson (tail bone) took part in practice.
"We're going to get healthier," Smith said. " This week we're still in training camp mode. We have a game at the end of the week but it still is training camp."
The coach said John Abraham (ankle) should be back to practice soon. Players with more serious injuries like Todd Weiner (knee) and Todd McClure (back) are also progressing.
"We've had (Weiner) on a one-a-day schedule and if we've had him on the turf we've tried to limit his amount of time on the turf," Smith said. "I don't know if he'll play this week but we're definitely looking at the following week to get him in there to play."
McClure did not practice Monday but did work with trainers on an adjacent field.
SACK TIME: Jamaal Anderson picked up his first sack of the 2008 preseason in the second quarter Saturday. It was the first reward for an off-season of hard work.
"Luckily I was able to get the sack right before I went out," said Anderson, who went through his rookie season without a sack. "There's a lot of things I need to work on to get on the edge instead of going down the middle. I eventually got in a rhythm but it was the first preseason game and I still have three more weeks to tune myself up for the regular season."
Anderson expresses joy in working with new defensive line coach Ray "Sugar Bear" Hamilton and is ready to work anywhere on the line.
"I'm looking forward to building on that work," he said. "I still have a lot of work to do rushing the passer. I've also worked inside which I feel very comfortable at and I'm looking forward to working on the inside on third downs."
HOT COMPETITION: Fighting for two of the more highly-contested spots on the roster grew more intense Saturday in Jacksonville.
Second-year player Jason Snelling and rookie Thomas Brown are battling for the No. 3 running back spot while punt returner Adam Jennings is facing pressure from multiple players, including rookie wide receiver Harry Douglas.
"I also thought Jason Snelling did some very good things not only running the ball, which he averaged 8 yards per carry, but he had a great catch and run on that screen pass (47 yards)," Smith said when breaking down roster battles. "He made some guys miss so I was impressed with him."
Jennings and Douglas had one return a piece Saturday night. Jennings was forced to call a fair catch while Douglas returned a kick 15 yards.
"It's going to be a nice competition," Jennings said. "We're looking forward to getting returns; we didn't get a lot of opportunities last week. I'm definitely excited about that part. I think I have a lot to prove and so do a bunch of other guys."
Jennings returned 30 punts for a 6.2-yard average last year.
RELATED LINKS:
- COVERAGE: Click here for complete coverage from 2008 Russell Falcons Training Camp
- NOTEBOOK: Ryan pleased with first professional game
- TRANSCRIPT: Head Coach Mike Smith
- RELEASE: Falcons waive/injured tight end Listorti
- VIDEO: Head Coach Mike Smith | Brent Grimes | Matt Ryan | Chevis Jackson | Keith Brooking
- BIRDSEED: J. Mike reviews and comments on Falcons news
- J. MIKE'S BLOG: Loyal Leadership
- MOOKIE'S BLOG: Some Shots from the Jacksonville Game
