FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- There were no changes to the injury report as the Atlanta Falcons continued preparation for Sunday's rivalry game against the New Orleans Saints.
Defensive tackle Corey Peters and safety Dez Southward remained the only players on the injury report, and once again both had full participation in practice.
Coach Mike Smith remained hesitant about declaring Peters ready to go Sunday. Peters hasn't played in a game since tearing his Achilles last Dec. 23 at San Francisco.
"I don't know that the decision's been made if Corey's going to play or not," Smith said. "But he is way ahead of schedule in terms of when this injury occurred back in late December. It's almost unheard of to be able to even be back on the field as a full participant. So, he's doing a great job."
Smith said he scaled back on some things during Thursday's practice to give a few players a breather in preparation for Sunday's opener. "Did a couple things a little bit differently in our practice today to take some workload off of some of our big guys," the coach said. "We want to be a fresh as we can be at 1 o'clock on Sunday.
Smith said Travian Robertson, a defensive tackle on the practice squad, was excused from practice for personal reasons. "Our thoughts and prayers are with Travian and his family," Smith said.
In New Orleans, receiver Kenny Stills was held out of practice with a quad injury after being limited Wednesday. Stills had a 67-yard pass play against the Falcons in last year's opener.
