Grüße und Vorstellung » Los Angeles Rams on Thursday.

— It was just another routine throw in practice Thomas Morstead Jersey , a rookie quarterback tossing the ball to a rookie receiver.

When the two failed to connect, Julio Jones stepped in.

Do it again, he ordered.

“What a pure example of what we stand for as a group,” said Atlanta Falcons coach Dan Quinn, clearly pleased that one of the NFL’s top players would even take the time to notice. “It doesn’t matter who the quarterback is. It doesn’t matter who the receiver is. What matters is getting it right.”

Jones’ leadership qualities could take on special importance this season.

Calvin Ridley was the Falcons’ first-round pick .

Like Jones, he went to Alabama. Like Jones, he plays receiver.

The Falcons are counting on the rookie to quickly carve out a role in an offense that has plenty of weapons but needs to find ways to lure coverages away from Matt Ryan’s favorite target.

Jones is certainly doing his part of help Ridley — and, by extension, his own pass-catching prospects.

“Everybody knows Julio is really, really good,” Ridley said. “But people don’t really know how good he is. He’s so detailed in the plays. He knows everything. He’s like a coach. He coaches me on everything.”

Early in Tuesday’s practice, undrafted quarterback Kurt Benkert — a longshot to make the team — was working with Ridley on a particular route.

They haven’t gotten a lot of time together in practice, so it wasn’t all that surprising when the two were out of sync.

That wasn’t acceptable to Jones.

“Julio was like, ‘Do that one again,'” Quinn marveled. “That might’ve gone unnoticed to some people.”

Even when Ridley makes a catch in practice, he usually has Jones in his ear.

“He says Kyle Wilber Jersey , ‘You can do it better, you can lean on him, whatever it is,'” the rookie said. “It’s like having another coach on the field. He’s watching everything that all of us do.”

While Jones took some heat from fans and the media for skipping offseason workouts and a mandatory minicamp in a bid to land a new contract — he agreed to report to training camp only after the team adjusted his deal for this season and promised to renegotiate in 2019 — there is no question about the commitment to his teammates.

He shows it with his willingness to work with anyone who has a desire to get better, whether it’s a first-round pick such as Ridley or a fringe player such as Benkert.

Jones is impressed with Ridley’s work ethic and potential.

“I knew he was going to come in and be a hard worker,” said Jones, a two-time All-Pro who has gone four straight seasons with at least 80 receptions and more than 1,400 yards receiving. “He definitely has all the tools to be a great wide receiver. The game just has to come to him. Just seeing things on the move and not thinking, that’s the only thing. He’s a rookie. He’s going to have to think. He’s going to see unscouted looks, things like that. You can’t make that transition on the run.”

While Jones has enormous physical skills, he knows his success as a receiver goes beyond his speed, size and hands. He keeps telling the rookie to pay attention to what’s going on around him.

The eyes might be the most important attribute of all.

“Watching safeties,” Jones said. “Watching what people are trying to take away. Different concepts. Knowing what he can and cannot do on a route to help his teammates.”

To give all the rookies an idea of what they’re up against in Friday’s first preseason game against the New York Jets, Jones showed a tape of his very first exhibition contest against the Miami Dolphins in 2011.

“We have a great group of young receivers on our team,” he said. “But it’s going to get blurry out there. You’re out there at full speed, and you don’t know what to expect. I told ’em Chris Jones Jersey , ‘Just do what you do. Do what got you here. You don’t have to go out there and make up things. The game will come to you.'”

Someone asked Jones for a critique of that younger version of himself.

“I was flying around,” he said, breaking into a big grin. Just as quickly, he turned it into another teaching moment. “If you’re a young guy, you don’t want to bust a play and start looking around. If you bust it, go full speed. You’ll get the next one.”

Notes: Longtime Baltimore Ravens safety Ed Reed attended practice Tuesday at Quinn’s invitation. In particular, the Falcons coach wanted Reed to stress the importance to creating turnovers. “One the best ball hawks of all time,” Quinn said. “It was important for him to spend some time with the DBs.”

CARSON, Calif. (AP) — After a valuable week of joint practices with the Los Angeles Chargers, New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton felt comfortable extending that open approach to their preseason game by calling everything from a fake punt to multiple 2-point conversions.

Alvin Kamara ran for a 2-yard touchdown, and the Saints capped a productive visit to Southern California with a 36-7 preseason win over the Chargers on Saturday night.

Saints quarterback Drew Brees was 7 of 9 for 59 yards with an interception in three series, while Philip Rivers was 5 of 7 for 29 yards in a brief tuneup appearance for the Chargers.

This was the second consecutive year the Chargers hosted the Saints in a preseason game at StubHub Center following practices between the teams in Orange County. While the workouts came later in training camp than usual, the Saints built off two productive days with a strong performance in the traditional dress rehearsal for the regular season.

“It benefits both of us and I think both teams understand that,” Payton said. “The relationship between the staffs is good, and you see it in the type of work we got. It’s something that benefits both teams, so hopefully it’s something we can continue to do.”

Third-string quarterback and special teams contributor Taysom Hill became the embodiment of Payton’s willingness to experiment Eli Manning Jersey , giving New Orleans its initial first-down late in the first quarter by running a direct snap on a fake punt around the left side. That helped set up Kamara’s short touchdown plunge seven plays later.

The Saints took an 8-7 lead on a 2-point pass from Brees to Michael Thomas, one of four 2-point attempts called by Payton and the last throw Brees would make before giving way to Tom Savage.

Hill did it all for New Orleans, completing 7 of 8 passes for 66 yards with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Tre’Quan Smith in the fourth quarter. Hill also rushed for 35 yards and a touchdown scramble, adding a 2-point conversion on a keeper, and had one tackle on special teams.

“Imagine the load that’s on you as a quarterback, and then couple that with being a four core special-teams guy,” Brees said. “There’s a lot on that guy’s plate, and he has handled it as well as anybody can handle it.”

Wil Lutz kicked field goals of 25 and 35 yards in the final two minutes of the first half, and cornerback Marcus Williams added a 59-yard interception return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter, which came seven plays after a pass interference penalty against Williams negated a ricochet TD return by linebacker Craig Robertson.

But the start of the game belonged to the Chargers, with first-round draft pick Derwin James intercepting a pass from Brees on the first possession of the game. James, the safety from Florida State, picked off a third-down throw by Brees that he admitted forcing into double coverage with Desmond King defending Ted Ginn Jr.

The ensuing possession did not end in points, but Los Angeles fared better on its second possession, with rookie Detrez Newsome scoring on a 5-yard run off left tackle. That marked the end of game action for Rivers, replaced by Cardale Jones early in the second quarter.

“The second half Joe Berger Jersey , that’s a different story,” Chargers coach Anthony Lynn said. “I thought our reserves, I thought we got outplayed. We couldn’t run on third downs. We couldn’t stop them on third downs. We’ve got a lot of work to do right there.”

DAVENPORT DEBUT

Saints first-round draft pick Marcus Davenport had three tackles in his first preseason action, getting credit for a half-sack as one of four New Orleans defenders to drop Jones late in the second quarter. The defensive end from UTSA missed three weeks of training camp because of an unspecified injury and also had surgery on his thumb in June.

EKELER EXCITES

Chargers running back Austin Ekeler finished with 50 yards rushing on six carries and added three receptions for 13 yards. With starter Melvin Gordon not with the team because of a family matter, Ekeler ripped off runs of 21 and 12 yards to his first two carries to get the Chargers moving on a drive that ended at the Saints 4.

“He’s arguably the strongest guy, pound for pound, on our team,” Rivers said. “So he’s definitely a between-the-tackles guy, and he and Melvin really complement each other well.”

ANTHEM UPDATE

There were no apparent protests during the national anthem.

INJURIES

Saints: DE Trey Hendrickson was able to return after hobbling to the sideline early in the first quarter. A second-year player from Florida Atlantic, Hendrickson has been a pleasant surprise in training camp as the Saints look to bolster their pass rush.

Chargers: DE Joey Bosa (foot) did not play, but went through a series of agility drills prior to the game. Lynn said Bosa, who has not practiced since sustaining the injury to his left foot on Aug. 7, would have been available if it was the regular season. . Jones was removed from the game earlier than planned because of a minor groin strain. Lynn said Jones, who was 1 of 3 for 13 yards as he competes with Geno Smith to back up Rivers, will play in the preseason finale.

UP NEXT

Saints: Finish the preseason at home against the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday.

Chargers: Finish the preseason at the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday.

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