Wide receiver Roddy White

Christopher Owens, who finished last season as the starting left cornerback, could end up in a battle with Chevis Jackson for the nickel spot.

"I'm learning the nickel spot as well as the corner spot," Owens said. "Like I said, last year I was learning, and I got a couple of starts under my belt. After a [season] and offseason, I feel real comfortable."

As a rookie in 2009, Owens played well down the stretch Roddy White and was tough in run support.

"I just feel like I have to be consistent," Owens said. "I don't want to have a good play on first and second down and then on third down give up a pass play. In the back of my mind I'm thinking consistency. Keep on coming up on the run. Keep on knocking down balls, and everything else will play itself out."

Owens turned some heads at practice Friday.

"He's gotten his hands on the ball,"coach Mike Smith said. "He had a 'pick six' in practice. He got a good jump on the ball. Those are the things that will open the eyes of the coaches and the rest of the players."

Battle on the outside

Smith has declared that first-round pick Sean Weatherspoon is in a battle for one of the starting outside linebacker spots.

The team will pick between Weatherspoon and veterans Stephen Nicholas and Mike Peterson.

"There are three guys competing for the two spots at our outside Roddy White linebacker positions," Smith said. "Stephen continues to get better. Stephen really has value for us in that he's a very physical football player when you put him in the box."

If Nicholas doesn't win the spot, he will still be a key cog on special teams. "He's done that since he's been here," Smith said.

Pads not popular

The Falcons are not one of the 12 teams testing shorts with built-in padding during the preseason.

There are 12 teams who will wear the shorts with padding at the hip, thigh and tailbone and give feedback to the league.

In the NFL, helmets and shoulder pads are mandatory. The remaining equipment decisions are left up to the individual players.

"I don't wear pads," wide receiver Roddy White said. "I kind of stay away from hits. I'm out on the perimeter, so there is no need to wear pads."

Most of the lineman and running backs are heavily padded.

"Michael Turner wears pads and things like that because he takes a lot of shots to the knees," White said.

Many perimeter players such as White believe the pads slow them and don't necessarily prevent injuries.

"I had to wear them in college," White said. "It was mandatory. In high school, definitely they were mandatory. When I got to the league, I stopped wearing them.'

White doesn't believe that not wearing any padding puts him at an additional risk of injury.

"Not really, because in college I wore the little pads," White said. "If I got hit ... I'd still end up with the same injury. It's not a big difference."

As good as Andre Johnson may be, he likely will never be as good as Randy Moss was. It was just a few seasons ago that Moss and Tom Brady made history with 1493 yards and 23 touchdowns. Moss has racked up a season total of at least 13 touchdowns on six occasions, most recently last year. Better yet, Moss has plenty of incentive to perform at a high level this season, as he becomes a free agent soon after. Of course, such an incentive usually plays a large role for Moss, and even at the age of 33, he can rank as one of the elite wide outs in the NFL.

Even though he ranked third in the NFL for receiving yards and touchdowns in 2009, there is reason to believe that Miles Austin can be even better this season. The Cowboys lead receiver stumbled out of the gate with just 81 yards through the first four games. It wasn't until the Week 5 match-up against the Chiefs that he broke through with 10 grabs for 250 yards including two touchdowns. From that game forward, Austin scored 12 touchdowns and racked up 1239 yards in just 11 games. He returns as the Cowboys top target this season.

Steady Reggie Wayne has now gone six straight seasons with greater than 1050 yards and 75 receptions. The 31-year-old seems to be getting targeted more often now than ever before, having reached the century mark in receptions last year for just the second time in his career. Such dependence on Wayne in the Colts offense adds value for the veteran in fantasy leagues that award points per reception. Wayne has not fumbled over the last two years and has not missed a game since his rookie season making him one of the safest bets in this year's fantasy drafts.