NW Atlanta News

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- The Falcons' first training camp practice followed a structured and deliberate pace. Head coach Raheem Morris had indicated prior to the session that it would be a slow build, with the team going through each play design at around 25% speed.

Despite the lack of contact or big plays, significant work was being done, particularly by quarterback Kirk Cousins. "Zac (Robinson) threw a lot at us," Cousins said of the Falcons' new offensive coordinator. "I was a little surprised last night as I saw what we were going to be doing in practice in terms of the number of motions, formations, concepts, the volume of offense."

Cousins noted that they walked through the script earlier in the morning before donning helmets for their first camp practice. He observed strong retention among his teammates regarding play designs and mentioned using seven or eight snap counts during practice.

"I think that does allow us to hit the ground running and to keep expanding on what we did all spring rather than needing to go back to the very beginning," Cousins added. "I think that's encouraging."

Morris confirmed that Cousins had cleared his medical evaluations following a season-ending Achilles injury last year. Cousins reported feeling more athletic and experiencing less pain compared to OTAs and mandatory minicamp in June.

During practice, Cousins took all reps with the starting rotation on one field while Taylor Heinicke acted as his backup on that specific field. Michael Penix Jr. and John Paddock worked with other younger players on another field.

This approach is reminiscent of former Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan's tenure when he exclusively threw passes to Julio Jones during drills.

The first practice underlines Cousins' command over the offense he is set to lead this season.