Read More: Robert James (LB – ATL), Jose Valdez (G – ATL), John Parker Wilson (QB – ATL), Rafael Bush (S – ATL), Bear Woods (LB – ATL), Darrin Walls (CB – ATL), Andrew Jackson (G – ATL), Drew Davis (WR – ATL), Kevin Cone (WR – ATL), Atlanta Falcons

Seven of the players released by the Atlanta Falcons on Saturday have been brought back to Flowery Branch to serve as the team’s practice squad. Quarterback John Parker Wilson, wide receivers Kevin Cone and Drew Davis, guard Andrew Jackson, tackle Jose Valdez, linebacker Robert James and safety Rafael Bush. 

Falcons fans react, mostly just to complain about Bear Woods’ exclusion.

Cone and Davis made the practice squad as undrafted free agents, an impressive achievement considering only Darrin Walls made the final 53 from Atlanta’s UDFA crop. Both were renowned blockers out of college, with Davis being named one of his team’s best blockers and Cone … well, playing for Georgia Tech.

Wilson is apparently of more value to the team on the squad than he would be at No. 3 on the depth chart. With a little advance warning, he could be called up to serve as the backup in a system with which he’s familiar, plus he’ll be able to help prepare the defense each week.

At one point, Jackson and Bush were believed to be in line for potential backup spots, but the Falcons have decent depth at offensive line and just picked up a pair of veterans for their secondary.

For more, head to Falcons blog The Falcoholic.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — David Garrard’s back has been relatively pain free this week. No swelling, no tightness, no problems walking, sitting or getting out of bed.Jacksonville’s starting quarterback has practiced five consecutive days and he threw some of his best passes of training camp during Wednesday’s joint session with Atlanta.The real test comes Friday night. Garrard will make his preseason debut when the Jaguars host the Falcons. He hasn’t been hit since tweaking his back two weeks ago, but he knows his response to full contact will determine how close he is to 100 percent for the regular season.”That will be interesting to see how that feels,” Garrard said. “I’m sure at some point during the game I will probably get touched. I’m hoping not to, but I’m sure somebody will find their way to me, maybe a little later like normal. Getting that first shot out of the way will be a good thing just so I can move on from there and just continue to do my job.”Garrard also hopes to keep his job.With rookie Blaine Gabbert showing poise, pocket presence, arm strength and decision-making ability, Jacksonville’s quarterback competition has become tighter than many expected. The NFL lockout negated chances for Gabbert to work on the field and in meeting rooms, but the 10th overall draft pick has caught up in a hurry.Gabbert started Jacksonville’s preseason opener and completed 9 of 16 passes for 85 yards. He was sacked three times, but showed glimpses of being ready to be a starter in the league. His expectations are on the rise, too.”No question, you want to make the improvements,” Gabbert said. “You want to see yourself get better, see yourself make more throws, make more audibles, be correct the majority of the time. Being a rookie, you’re still going to make mistakes; that’s just the inevitable part of the process. But you want to make new ones. You don’t want to keep making the same old mistakes week in and week out.”The Jaguars gave Gabbert more practice repetitions with the first-team offense this week, an indication coaches are at least considering making a switch at the all-important position.Gabbert downplayed the change, saying the only reason for it was to make sure Garrard stays healthy. Garrard said he’s getting close to full speed.”You definitely don’t want to rush guys out there and have something happen in the preseason that you could have prevented, and you don’t have them for the regular season now,” Garrard said. “We’ve still got to be smart.”The Jaguars are being cautious with running back Maurice Jones-Drew and defensive end Aaron Kampman. Both players are recovering from knee surgery and won’t play against the Falcons.Tight end Zach Miller (knee), right tackle Eben Britton (back), running back Rashad Jennings (concussion), linebacker Clint Session (concussion) and several others also have been ruled out for Jacksonville.The Falcons will be without defensive tackle Corey Peters (knee), cornerback Dunta Robinson (hamstring), center Todd McClure (rest) and newly signed tight end Reggie Kelly.Atlanta and Jacksonville held a joint practice Wednesday night, the second consecutive year the teams have shared practice fields. The Jaguars traveled to Flowery Branch, Ga., last August for four joint on-field sessions. This time, the Falcons came south, but because of new camp rules in the collective bargaining agreement, the teams shared just a single, two-hour workout.”It’s good for the morale of the guys,” Falcons linebacker Mike Peterson said. “We tend to pull together a little more. It changes up camp and you get out of that old rut of doing things over and over and over. It’s good for camp.”It also means the Jaguars and Falcons will practice together, play each other in an exhibition game and meet again in December in the regular season.”I don’t think that happens a whole lot where you actually play in the preseason and play in the regular season,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said. “So we’ll know each other. … When you work against the same guys all the time it’s tough because you understand their stances, you understand all their nuances. This just gives us a really good opportunity to evaluate, especially our young players.”

Read More: Tyson Clabo (OT – ATL), Ovie Mughelli (FB – ATL), Jason Snelling (RB – ATL), Dawan Landry (S – JAC), Michael Turner (RB – ATL), Robert James (LB – ATL), Spencer Adkins (LB – ATL), Garrett Reynolds (OT – ATL), Mike Johnson (G – ATL), Tim Buckley (WR – ATL), Brandyn Harvey (WR – ATL), Jacquizz Rodgers (RB – ATL), Julio Jones (WR – ATL), Atlanta Falcons, Jacksonville Jaguars

The Atlanta Falcons and Jacksonville Jaguars practiced together in advance of their preseason matchup, as they also did last year. The 2010 edition, held in Flowery Branch, got famously scuffly and contrasted nicely with the more businesslike work the team put in while hosting the New England Patriots.

Alfie Crow from Big Cat Country observed this year’s proceedings, finding them again heated and competitive. He’s impressed with how good Atlanta looks, from its front lines to its depth. The cool thing about a joint practice is you get to hear about how your team’s players did in addition to updates about some guys you’ve never heard of, and it sounds like WR Julio Jones, OT Tyson Clabo and the rest of the offensive line fared well.

A few Falcons players who could use a nice night Friday, based on this week’s depth chart as broken down by Dave Choate: OG Garrett Reynolds, OG Mike Johnson, WR Tim Buckley, WR Brandyn Harvey, LB Robert James, LB Spencer Adkins and pretty much every running back besides Michael Turner, Jason Snelling and Ovie Mughelli.

The halfback chart is the most eye-catching, with Jacquizz Rodgers running fifth, but we know the team likes Rodgers. No worries here about him failing to make the roster.

Jacksonville has some position battles of its own, with former Georgia Tech safety Dawan Landry holding a starting spot in his first year as a Jag.

For more Falcons, head to The Falcoholic, and for more Jags, stop by Big Cat Country.

Mike Smith isn’t the world’s biggest fan of sharing injury information. The world’s biggest fan of sharing injury information is probably either @InjuryExpert or Facebook. So the Atlanta Falcons coach may have actually kind of liked the NFL lockout, since it prevented any players from having to answer any questions about their offseason medical concerns.

And boy oh boy were there some of those!

Officer Curtis Lofton actually filed paperwork on his knee surgery during the lockout, but the rest of the roster waited until reaching Flowery Branch to disclose en masse news of their operations, leading to your assumption that training camp looks like the staging area for the second season of The Walking Dead. < --- must reference this show every three or four days

On the first day of camp, Michael Turner opened up about his groin surgery. Eric Weems mentioned a “minor” knee surgery. The most exciting revelation, however, was the news that Ray Edwards would miss Friday night’s preseason opener due to a summer knee surgery, which — no wonder he was so inexpensive! I’m probably forgetting five or six.

It’s a little much to take all at once, and leaves you in the weird position of bracing against news that’s already happened, as if you are a _______. < --- need your help finishing that one

But that’s sports fandom sometimes. You look at the mirror one day and realize you’re just a ______. < --- paste it in here too

By Jason Kirk

– Regional Editor

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Jul 28, 2011 – The Atlanta Falcons announced they’ve signed their first three rookies from the 2011 crop. Miami Hurricanes kicker Matt Bosher, Fresno St. Bulldogs OL Andrew Jackson and DE Cliff Matthews are in the boat with four-year deals and will be able to partake in Day 1 of on-field training camp action at Flowery Branch on Friday.

Still remaining are Georgia Bulldogs LB Akeem Dent, Oregon St. Beavers RB Jacquizz Rodgers and the big dog Julio Jones of the Alabama Crimson Tide. The team hasn’t been able to announce much in free agency so far, with Tyson Clabo negotiations presumably holding things up, so it’s good to see the wheels are still turning. In case you’d thought they were taking the week off. I don’t think anybody thought that.

No financial terms have been revealed yet, but here’s where we stand:

	Name	Pos.	Round – Pick	Deal
	Julio Jones	WR	1 – 6
	Akeem Dent	LB	3 – 91
	Jacquizz Rodgers	RB	5 – 145
	Matt Bosher	K	6 – 192	Signed
	Andrew Jackson	OL	7 – 210	Signed
	Cliff Matthews	DE	7 – 230	Signed

Visit SB Nation’s 2011 NFL free agency hub for the latest news on all 32 teams. Head to The Falcoholic to discuss more Atlanta Falcons news and opinion.

Read More: Andrew Jackson (G – ATL), Matt Bosher (K – ATL), Jacquizz Rodgers (RB – ATL), Cliff Matthews (DE – ATL), Julio Jones (WR – ATL), Akeem Dent (LB – ATL), Atlanta Falcons