Starting from the top

From the owner on down, Falcons nesting for success

This is the fourth in a series of postcards Sports Illustrated's Peter King will e-mail from his annual NFL training camp tour.

Friday, July 26

Team: Atlanta Falcons

In Greenville, S.C., on the foresty campus of Furman University. I haven't seen all of them, but this has to be one of the prettiest campuses in America, with terrific athletic facilities (the soccer stadium and its putting-green surface would put several U.S. pro venues to shame), a lovely central campus fountain, and trees as far as the eye can see. Funny "FU" hats in the bookstore, too.

1. I think Michael Vick is lucky to have a cornerback as good as Ray Buchanan to go against every day. In the morning practice, Buchanan -- against an admittedly starless group -- was on top of receiver after receiver.

2. I think, by the way, that Vick looked spectacular Friday. He's showing touch on the short throws that he might have lasered a year ago.

3. I think this is probably the first time that a real Falcons fan -- a guy in a tank top, burly, bearded, 30-something -- called the owner over before practice said, "Arthur! I just wanted to say thank you. You're doing some real nice things for the fans." Arthur Blank, the co-founder of Home Depot, has lowered prices of 23,000 season tickets in the Georgia Dome from $330 and $370 per 10-game package to prices ranging from $100 to $240. Not since 1975 have you been able to buy a Falcons season ticket for $10 per game. Blank is lowering the price of game-day parking, putting big-time music acts in the stadium during the game, and, lo and behold, the Falcons, who sold out one game last year, might sell out the preseason opener Aug. 8 against Jacksonville. Talk to Blank, and you can tell right away that he a rare quality among very rich men: He listens. "When you buy something," he told me, "I'm convinced that the most important thing is not to figure out how to turn a profit right away, but to figure out how to make the product the best it can be for your customers. If you don't do that, you're never going to have a great product." I mean, how sensible is that?

4. I think Dan Reeves isn't coaching like a man on his last legs. Still intense, still full of ideas, and suddenly pretty flexible too. He's pared down the nomenclature in the playbook, in large part to help Vick be a better player and not have to think so much. Good idea. But if the Falcons don't win nine, the first tough decision of the Blank regime will be whether to fire Reeves and his entire staff and turn to a list headed by Nick Saban.

5. I think it's interesting how an NFL franchise, even with a city excited over a new ownership, can practice in near-anonymity. There were 47 fans on hand when the Birds went out for the start of the 9 a.m. practice.

I will make one hard-to-believe statement about my first five days on the NFL camp trail: The most impressive athlete I've seen is Alvis Whitted. He's the perennially disappointing wideout from Jacksonville that Tom Coughlin always seemed to be browbeating the confidence out of. Whitted signed with the Falcons (for a measly bonus of $25,000 and the veteran minimum) and looks like the goods early on. He made a cut in the morning practice today that took my breath away. And the speed upfield ... if the guy can catch, and this has always been his problem, he will be Vick's best friend by Oct. 1.

On the offensive line, where the only stalwart is left tackle Bob Whitfield. And at wideout, where the Falcons chose to pass on Ashley Lelie in the draft in favor of running back T.J. Duckett. And at safety, where Keion Carpenter, an underrated player for the Bills in his formative years, was imported to boost a woeful unit.

I learned exclusively from Reeves on Friday that only one of his real-life grandchildren, the cute red-haired one, is in the Zocor commercial with Reeves at the center of a "family" gathering. You just can't get exclusive stuff like that anywhere else. Admit it.

A very nice, well above-average spread (if a bit disappointing on the entree side) in the Furman dining hall. I interviewed Vick while he lunched on some beef stir-fry (which I didn't trust), white rice and beans, then went for this mostly healthy platter: Entree: Grilled mahi-mahi, which I'm sure was fresh sometime in the last 14 months. Not Friday, though. Tough, stringy, not very tasty. I applaud the effort, Falcs, but fresh Dinty Moore beef stew is better than stale fish. C-minus. Vegetables: Marvelous fresh salad bar, with leaf, romaine and an Italian mix of baby lettuces. Fresh cauliflower, broccoli and sliced cukes, with shredded carrots that were as sweet as a Milky Way. Balsamic dressing. A-plus. Dessert: One South Carolina peach, fuzzy and juicy. And, I'm ashamed to admit, a Good Humor chocolate eclair bar. B-plus. Drink: Dasani. Pass, on the pass-fail system. Overall: I can't be too mad at the Falcons for the shoe-leathery mahi-squared. (I can't be mad at all, obviously, because the eats were free.) The salad and the peach make this meal a solid B.

You go to all these camps to try to get a handle on how the teams will do this year, and you go in with preconceived notions, and usually those notions are right. Not here.

I came in thinking the Falcons would win six or seven in the new NFC South. Now, I have two very strong ifs about the Falcons after hanging around them today. If Vick can be an accurate thrower who doesn't make a bushel of rushed mistakes that most young quarterbacks make, and if the mostly neophyte offensive line doesn't get him too battered (and, in a related matter, if Todd Weiner was worth the huge $5 million signing bonus he got after being a part-time player in Seattle), I think the Falcons are a nine- or 10-win team.

The defense will be improved and much more aggressive under new coordinator Wade Phillips, who should make potential-filled Patrick Kerney a star pass-rusher. I'm not all that concenred about the lack of great receiver. Willie Jackson has always been a productive possession receiver, and Vick will love his toughness. Brian Finneran, this team's hoped-for McCaffery will be the same type of guy. Alge Crumpler is such a load at tight end, and he showed soft hands this morning, too.

We all know this thing is up to Vick, but the Vick I met with over lunch is brimming with confidence he didn't have a year ago. "I have no question about my ability to lead this team," he said. "We're going to be better than everyone thinks." He predicts, by the way, 11 wins. A little aggressive for my taste. But I'd be surprised if this isn't the second-place team in the AFC South, behind Tampa and ahead of New Orleans and Carolina.

Dallas Cowboys, San Antonio, Texas.

Check back soon for more of Peter King's Postcards from Camp. Or visit the archive to catch up.