Atlanta
Falcons

After Turner rushed for 1,699 yards, leading the league in carries (376), further development of the passing attack was mandatory.

"Over these 19 workouts, we have emphasized the passing game," Falcons coach Mike Smith said. "We are a little behind right now in the running game."

The addition of a pass-catching tight end with the trade for Tony Gonzalez is the major key.

Last season, when teams blitzed the Falcons they didn't have a dangerous tight end probing the soft spots of the defense.

Gonzalez will provide that outlet and they are hoping that he will help them in the red zone. Also, they believe that Gonzalez still has the speed to get open down the field.

OFFSEASON STANDOUT: MLB Curtis Lofton dropped about eight pounds and reduced his body fat from 15 to nine percent. He look faster and will get a shot to play all three downs. Last season, he came out in nickel situations and was use solely as a run stuffer.

LINEUP WATCH: CB Brent Grimes opened last season as the starter at left cornerback. He was slow to recover from a hamstring injury and eventually lost his spot to Domonique Foxworth. Grimes was a target of opposing quarterbacks at times, but played with a feisty attitude. He will get a challenge from rookie Chris Owens and second-year man Chevis Jackson. Also, Von Hutchins, who missed last season, could be in the hunt for Grimes' position.

ROOKIE IMPRESSIONS: DT Peria Jerry suffered a mild knee sprain in his first minicamp, but battled back and was on the field for most organized team activities. He showed the explosiveness off the ball that made him the 24th pick overall in the draft. How fast he picks up the Falcons one-gap system will be a key in determining how much playing time he gets in the defensive tackle rotation. Defensive line coach Ray Hamilton was pleased with Jerry's work ethic and ability to pick up the calls early.

INJURY WATCH: CB David Irons, a solid special team player, did not participate in any of the offseason workouts and he was still recovering from his late season knee injury. He should be ready to go late in training camp, but that might be too late for him to earn a roster spot. He must be considered a long shot to make the team at this point, but if he gets healthy he might be able to jump in the mix at the left cornerback position.

CONTRACT TO WATCH: WR Roddy White was watching closely as Green Bay signed Greg Jennings to a lucrative contract extension. White, who is in the last year of his contract, and the Falcons have been discussing an extension. He doesn't want to go into the season without the deal being done. He missed a lot of voluntary OTA time, but he has not mentioned anything about a holdout.

Harris, one of the Falcons' top performers on special teams, will compete with Thomas DeCoud, William Moore, Erik Coleman, Eric Brock and Jamaal Fudge for a safety position on the Falcons' final 53-man roster. The Falcons carried five safeties last season.

Harris played in 12 games last season before suffering a groin injury and was placed on injured reserve on Dec. 9. The surgery and the previous injury were unrelated, according to Chilcoat.

The Falcons open training camp on Aug. 1.

--The Falcons signed linebacker Spencer Adkins, a sixth-round pick in the 2009 NFL draft, the team announced on Monday (June 22).

The Falcons have now signed five of their eight draft picks. The terms of Adkins deal were undisclosed.

The Falcons earlier signed cornerback William Middleton, a fifth-round pick from Furman who graduated from Marist, defensive tackle Vance Walker, a seventh-round pick from Georgia Tech, cornerback Chris Owens, a third round pick from San Jose State and tackle Garrett Reynolds, a fifth round pick from North Carolina.

Defensive tackle Peria Jerry (first round), safety William Moore (second round) and defensive end Lawrence Sidbury (fourth round) remain unsigned.

--Former Pro Bowl safety Lawyer Milloy has maintained a low profile since the Falcons elected not to re-sign him after the 2008 season.

Milloy took part in the Walgreens All-Star Football Camp at Holy Innocents' Episcopal School in Buckhead. Milloy, clearly not wanting to burn any bridges, didn't want to discuss his departure from the Falcons or his plans for next season. He has yet to sign with another team.

After the playoff loss in Arizona, Milloy said he wanted to return to Atlanta.

Milloy, always a straight shooter over his three seasons with the Falcons, did want to talk about the more than 250 kids, ages 8 to 18, attended the fifth annual camp, which is put on by local super agent Todd France's firm, France's All Pro Athlete Management.

"The camp is good," Milloy said. "We have a good turnout. It was even better yesterday. Anytime that you can have a free camp, that's important, especially in this economy."

Milloy is big on the fitness aspects of the camp.

"It helps parents get their kids off the couch and away from their XBox and Wii (computer game) systems and stuff like that," Milloy said. "Just get them out doing some activities. It's important. Health is important. Doing it right with discipline. Those are some of things we are trying to instill in these kids here at the camp."

--The Falcons reached an injury settlement with offensive lineman Alex Stepanovich and released him on Wednesday.

Stepanovich, who missed all of the offseason workouts with a back injury, was signed as a free agent in March of 2008. He played in four games last season, mostly on special teams.

The Falcons also released wide receiver Khalil Jones, an undrafted rookie free agent.

--The Falcons have announced their training camp schedule, which includes several practices open to the public.

The Falcons will hold their training camp scrimmage at Brookwood High School in Snellville on Aug. 7. They will hold a mock game at the Georgia Dome on Aug. 8.

The team will hold 28 practices from Aug. 1-14 before facing Detroit in its first preseason game Aug. 15.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "We are still in underwear, so we can't hit anybody." -- Falcons offensive line coach Paul Boudreau on how it's hard to evaluate his unit in OTA workouts.

Also, undrafted rookie free agent John Parker Wilson could have a clear shot to the No. 3 positions.

FRANCHISE PLAYER: P/K Michael Koenen: Tendered at $2.483M; signed tender Feb. 17.

TRANSITION PLAYER: None.

UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS (not tendered)

--OT Wayne Gandy (not tendered as UFA June 1).

--OT Pat McCoy (not tendered as RFA).

--SS Lawyer Milloy (not tendered as UFA June 1).

--TE Marcus Pollard (not tendered as UFA June 1).

RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS: None.

EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS FREE AGENTS: None.

DRAFT CHOICES SIGNED

--CB Christopher Owens (3/90); Terms unknown.

--CB William Middleton (5/138): Terms unknown.

--OT Garrett Reynolds (5/156): $1.93M/4 yrs, $180,000 SB; 2009 cap: $355,000.

--LB Spencer Adkins (6/176): Terms unknown.

--DT Vance Walker (7/210): Terms unknown.

PLAYERS RE-SIGNED

--OT Tyson Clabo: RFA; $1.545M/1 yr.

--OG Harvey Dahl: RFA; $1.545M/1 yr.

--DE Chauncey Davis: UFA; $14M/4 yrs, guarantee unknown.

--S Jamaal Fudge: Potential RFA; terms unknown.

--LB Tony Gilbert: UFA; terms unknown.

--CB Brent Grimes: ERFA; terms unknown.

--S Antoine Harris: ERFA; terms unknown.

--DT Jason Jefferson: UFA; terms unknown.

--P/K Michael Koenen: FFA; $2.483M/1 yr.

--TE Justin Peelle: Potential UFA; terms unknown.

--RB Jason Snelling: ERFA; terms unknown.

--C/G Ben Wilkerson: Not tendered as RFA; $535,000/1 yr.

--LB Coy Wire: UFA; 2 yrs, terms unknown.

PLAYERS ACQUIRED

--TE Tony Gonzalez (trade Chiefs).

--C Jeremy Newberry: Not tendered as UFA by Chargers; terms unknown.

--LB Mike Peterson: UFA Jaguars; 2 yrs, terms unknown.

--C Brett Romberg: UFA Rams; terms unknown.

--OT Will Svitek: FA; terms unknown.

PLAYERS LOST

--LB Michael Boley: UFA Giants; $25M/5 yrs, $11M guaranteed.

--LB Keith Brooking: UFA Cowboys; $6M/3 yrs, $2.5M guaranteed.

--OT Renardo Foster (released).

--CB Domonique Foxworth: UFA Ravens; $27.2M/4 yrs, $4M SB/$3.38 report bonus/$16.5M guaranteed.

--DE Simon Fraser (released).

--DT Grady Jackson: UFA Lions; $8M/3 yrs, guarantees unknown.

--DT Kindal Moorehead (released).

--WR Laurent Robinson (traded Rams).

--C Alex Stepanovich (injury settlement).

--LT Todd Weiner (retired).