FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. – In the ever-changing landscape of the NFL, adaptability is key. Falcons defensive back Jimmy Williams knows this and he's excited about adapting his role into that of an NFL safety.
Williams, a second-year player out of Virginia Tech, started five games last season as a rookie. But any action he sees this season will be from a spot further back in the defensive backfield.
“It’s cool as far as the position change,” Williams said Monday. “I kind of like it. It’s a better opportunity for me to make more plays on this defense.”
In an effort to make even more plays Williams has found a place on the field near defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer. The two can be seen talking throughout most of team drills, breaking for just long enough for Williams to take his turn in the rotation.
“I’m just making sure he’s making calls and focusing on every play so that, when he’s in there, things are easier for him,” Zimmer said. "I can talk to him about when other players made mistakes or did right. I’m trying to just keep coaching him all the time.”
Zimmer said the transition from cornerback to safety is easier than safety to cornerback, especially for a player like Williams, who played safety for two years in college.
In fact, Williams had a career-high 114 tackles as a sophomore safety at Virginia Tech.
“One hundred tackles is my goal this year,” he said.
QUICK TURNAROUND: New wide receiver Ben Nelson had big plans for his first night in Atlanta as a member of the Falcons.
Sleep.
Nelson signed Monday morning just hours after his former team, the San Jose SaberCats of the Arena Football League, defeated the Columbus Destroyers in ArenaBowl XXI.
“The party ended in the locker room for me,” Nelson said. “I said good-bye to the team; they went off to Vegas and partied at The Palms.
“I got to hang out with my family and my fiancée in New Orleans, which was good, for a few more hours before I headed off to the hotel and caught a flight early this morning.”
Nelson said he got to sleep around 12 a.m. Monday morning and woke up at 4 o’clock for his flight to Atlanta.
But he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I’m here,” he said. “I’m with the Falcons now and ain’t complaining one bit.”
Nelson signed with the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent out of St. Cloud State in 2003. He spent that season on the Vikings practice squad before heading to the Cologne Centurions of NFL Europa. He played in three games for the Vikings in 2004, mostly on special teams.
The 6-foot-3, 188-pound receiver played 2006 and 2007 with San Jose, finishing this year with 1,258 receiving yards and 25 touchdowns. He set franchise rookie records in 2006 with 94 catches for 1,405 yards and 26 scores.
ATTENDANCE NOTE: The 971 fans in attendance at Russell Falcons Training Camp today got a special treat when wide receivers coach Paul Petrino brought the jugs machine over to the near sideline.
The machine, which launches footballs to receivers, spun at high speed while Petrino pushed ball after ball toward his position group. The receivers rotated through less than 10 yards from Falcons fans.
Fans responded by cheering players that caught every ball or had to stretch to grab an errant shot as they jogged past the machine.
YOUTH WEEK UPDATE: Youth groups from around Atlanta and North Georgia made the trip to the Falcons’ campus today to test their skills in the Gatorade Junior Falcons Training Camp.
Children up to age 14 ran through an actual football clinic with skill stations designed to teach them the basics of the game. The Falcons host more than 3,000 kids in the clinic each year, but a few lucky groups on Monday got an opportunity to practice where the pros play.
Charles Gettig of Buford, whose Choi Kwang Do martial arts group participated in drills, said the program helps kids build basic coordination skills.
“The kids in our group are already athletic, so activities such as the Junior Falcons Training Camp fit into the same types of drills and skill-based maneuvers we instill in them in our own program,” he said.
The Atlanta Falcons thanked the following groups for their participation:
- Agape Community Center
- Choi Kwang Do Martial Arts
- East Point Bulldogs
- Flowery Branch Junior Falcons
WEATHER FORECAST: The sun peaked out for the final hour of practice Monday afternoon as the high temperature rose to 86 degrees by the close of practice. The team will practice again Tuesday morning with all signs pointing to partly sunny skies.
Atlanta Falcons staffer LaRhonda T. Jackson contributed to this report.
