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Marc Raimondi
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The Atlanta Falcons‘ offensive and defensive models acquired into a number of skirmishes Sunday throughout apply, together with two involving rookie edge rusher James Pearce Jr.
On one sequence with the workforce’s first-team offense going up in opposition to the second-team protection, Pearce acquired into it with left guard Matthew Bergeron, whose helmet got here off. There was pushing and shoving between a number of gamers on each models, and edge rusher Leonard Floyd got here to Pearce’s protection.
Only one play later, tensions rose once more. Pearce acquired into it with proper sort out Kaleb McGary, who was screaming at Pearce together with his helmet off. As soon as once more, Floyd got here in to attempt to separate issues with extra pushing and shoving throughout.
“We’re making an attempt to develop a tradition, a method of play for positive, and a part of that’s the violence with which we play and aggression, the urgency and all that,” defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich stated. “At present, at instances, it went slightly too far and we have to discover ways to handle that.
“You are going to get agitated and, particularly if you’re taking part in actually good protection, the offense goes to get very agitated, so you have to anticipate punches being thrown, issues being stated, individuals getting pushed. In these moments, you bought to thrive and never retaliate and so it is a good lesson to be discovered at the moment.”
The important thing, Ulbrich stated, is to cease earlier than punches are thrown. And there have been a few of these Sunday within the large scrums.
Ulbrich stated it’s going to be a significant studying expertise for Pearce, who has been taking part in extraordinarily onerous from the soar in apply and appears to have a chip on his shoulder.
“He is prideful because it will get,” Ulbrich stated. “He loves this sport. He is acquired deep love for his teammates … and he desires to return out right here and create a powerful impression on all people — and himself included — that he can do that. And also you do that at a excessive degree, and I believe if you’re in that place of simply each ounce of your physique’s making an attempt to show who you might be, generally it will get to that place the place it will probably get slightly wacky generally.
“His anger acquired the perfect of him slightly bit and it’s going to be an ideal studying expertise for him.”
Ulbrich stated what he preferred concerning the scuffles is how Floyd got here to assistance from his teammate and that Pearce had a number of good performs after them. Pearce later batted down a Kirk Cousins move, and Cousins even complimented him on the sphere after apply for the play.
Offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford stated these coaching camp practices are like “off-roading in a pleasant truck.” You need to put the pedal to the metallic as a lot as you may — however not a lot {that a} collision occurs.
“Yeah, we had a few crashes at the moment,” Ledford stated. “However the factor about these guys — I do know this, I understand how our locker room, the tradition that we have now right here on this locker room — these guys, they are going to shake it up. They know they acquired to get to work collectively and it should take each of us. It is type of like what we stated, man, if either side of the ball are taking part in onerous like that, it is simply going to make us on either side that significantly better.”
