Ryan getting used to new coach
QB uses practice to hear Smith call the plays in his helmet
Matt Ryan is getting used to hearing a new voice in his helmet, so Saturday’s practice at Mercedes-Benz Stadium gave him a new chance to listen to Arthur Smith call plays.
Ryan, the 14th-year quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons and the 2016 NFL MVP, made the most of having fans in the stands — the team said it sold 25,000 tickets to give to charity — so he could practice fine-tuning his listening skills with Smith, the new head coach who will call plays this season.
“For me, it’s a different voice in your ear and when you’re on the field — it’s hard to explain,” Ryan said. “It’s a very strange deal, right? That somebody is talking to you while you’re playing, so you have to get used to their rhythm, their cadence, how they speak because sometimes it gets loud in there. Everybody’s tone is different. Everybody’s pronunciation is different. Those kinds of things. You’ve got to get used to those guys talking in your headset.
“For me, today was a great opportunity to have a little bit of noise and to have to kind of listen through that and get a feel for how Arthur communicates on there. I thought that was a huge benefit for me today.”
Cardinals: Arizona signed running back Ito Smith. The 5-foot-9, 195-pound Smith played his first three seasons with the Atlanta Falcons. Dolphins: Miami tight end Adam Shaheen says contact tracing landed him on the COVID-19 reserve list, and he has no intention to get vaccinated. “For me, it’s a personal choice, and it’s bigger than just COVID,” Shaheen said Saturday. “The NFL is trying to push it. … I’m going to continue to go through the protocols of the unvaccinated that they make me do. I’m not going to get fined. But they’re not going to strong-arm me into doing something for more freedom when this is such a changing atmosphere, and they’re already taking away freedoms of the unvaccinated guys.” Shaheen said he has never tested positive for COVID-19.
Steelers: Defensive coordinator Keith Butler acknowledged that linebacker T.J. Watt isn’t practicing because he has yet to sign a long-term contract. Watt has been on the field doing individual work, but he hasn’t practiced with his teammates during training camp workouts.