stingy defensive team with an elite goaltender, but

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Atlanta Falcons coach Dan Quinn is always seeking ways to bring his players closer together.During the offseason, he asked the front office to redesign the locker room, removing two long inner rows of lockers that divided the room and opening up the space so everyone can see the entire room.Locker spots are now mixed by position and age. No longer are defensive backs in one area and quarterbacks in another. Quinn shuffled everyone around.I like it, said defensive end Adrian Clayborn, who sits next to fullback Patrick DiMarco. You see D-linemen all day, so its nice to talk to someone different.Quinn said the change was necessary after the Falcons began last year 6-1 and finished 2-7 to miss the playoffs in his first season. Atlanta opens the season Sunday against Tampa Bay Buccaneers.It was honestly a way to bring the whole team together more, Quinn said Friday. We thought that would be important.Personal locker space shrunk -- linebacker Sean Weatherspoon joked that everyones riding coach now -- but the wide areas allowed Quinn to put in a pingpong table, sofas, recliners and chairs.The seats arent quite as big, but the views pretty good, Quinn said Friday. Youre still having fun with the guys, so thats a good way to look at it.Second-string quarterback Matt Schaub, back with the Falcons after spending his first three NFL seasons in Atlanta, likes the new layout. Its what he was accustomed to in Houston, where he spent seven seasons as a starter.When I was here (from 2004-06), you had to make it a point to go over to other areas and talk to guys, Schaub said. Even though you could be a tight-knit team, its hard to have that in the locker room when you cant see everyone. This is where its most important.Now that the roster has been pared to down to 53 active roster players and the 10-man practice squad, the loquacious Weatherspoon can sense different parts of the room taking on their own personalities.This is already an effervescent area over here, Weatherspoon said. That area over there is a little more reserved. Its louder over here. A lot of personality.Quinn positioned veteran leaders at the three high-traffic exits to other parts of the building.All-Pro receiver Julio Jones and defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux, the longest tenured Falcon at 12 years, have lockers on either side of the hallway that leads to the equipment room and dining area.Quarterback Matt Ryan, who sits next to new center Alex Mack, is right beside the door that leads to the weight room and practice fields. Kicker Matt Bryant, 41, is positioned near the hall that leads to meeting rooms.With those lockers right in the middle, it was hard to see guys on the other side of the locker room, Babineaux said. I used to be on the far end of the locker room. Now Im in this corner. Tyson (Jackson), Julio, (Devonta) Freeman are all right here, and its a brotherhood. Were all tight.Game notes Quinn said RB Tevin Coleman will split kickoff return duties with Weems. WR Justin Hardy will do the same on punt returns. ... Quinn added that Jones has fully recovered from a mild ankle sprain and will be 100 percent on Sunday. ... Third-string RB Terron Ward (ankle) and reserve S Dashon Goldson (hamstring) are both questionable.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL Custom New York Mets Nike Jerseys .J. -- Marty Brodeur beat the Pittsburgh Penguins yet again. 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TAMPA, Fla. -- The new-look New Jersey Devils are determined to make sure a two-game swing through Florida produces more than a case of sunburn.The Devils debuted a new lineup that includes the likes of Taylor Hall, P.A. Parenteau and a healthy Mike Cammalleri with mixed results in an opening night overtime loss to the Florida Panthers.We have to be way harder on the puck in every facet, New Jersey head coach John Hynes told the Bergen County Record. How we manage it, how hard we are in the offensive zone. How quickly and hard we defend down low.After facing the Panthers on opening night, the task does not get any easier for the Devils in the second game against a Tampa Bay Lightning team that has reached the Stanley Cup Final and Eastern Conference finals the past two seasons.Its not going to be perfect right away, Hynes told The Record. But weve got to take some lessons out of that. We can play with structure. We can play with detail.To take that to the next step as a team, we have to be harder and more competitive for more of the time in the game continually on the puck. Thats the biggest lesson out of that (first) game, and we get another opportunity to challenge ourselves again. Weve got a team thats favored, possibly, to win the Stanley Cup. Weve got to be a better team than we were against Florida.Tampa Bay opened the season with a 6-4 victory against Detroit, using depth and team speed to create the necessary momentum to rally from deficits of 2-0 and 3-1 while finding space through the neutral zone.ddddddddddddLightning head coach Jon Cooper figures space will be a little bit harder to find against an historically stingy defensive team with an elite goaltender, but now has more scoring threats.They are built from the back end out, Cooper said. I think Corey Schneider is an upper-echelon goaltender in this league. They have a coach that plays to that system and they are really disciplined in their structure.The one knock has been the goal scoring, but you throw in a healthy Cammalleri and a Taylor Hall, now their speed element is up, their goal-scoring should go up. I expect them to score a lot more. Lets just hope its not (Saturday).Lightning alternate captain Ryan Callahan, who underwent hip surgery during the summer that forced him to miss the World cup of Hockey, has been cleared for contact and participated in a full practice with the team on Friday wearing a normal colored white jersey. But the time frame on his recovery has not been altered, according to Cooper.His jersey color may change but the when-hes-returning-date wont change, that one is way more important to me, Cooper said. But hes chomping to get back. His body is holding him back for the time being.Callahan is not expected back until November. ' ' '