National Football League

Thunderstorm cuts Falcons' public practice short

Published Aug. 6, 2011 12:12 a.m. ET

foxsports

The Atlanta Falcons practiced for an hour at Norcross High School before an approaching thunderstorm cut the session short Friday night.

A near-capacity crowd of 13,500 didn't get to see the 11-on-11 scrimmage between the offense and defense.

It's been the Falcons' custom the last several years to hold a scrimmage at a nearby suburban high school the week before the first preseason game. Friday's session lasted less than an hour. Nearby lightning, a sudden drop in temperature and dark skies caused coach Mike Smith to stop practice.

Smith had planned for the full-pads practice session to include opening-series drives, third-down scenarios, one-on-one pass drills, red-zone offense and a 20-play scrimmage between reserves.