Tune in to ESPN at 7 p.m. ET Thursday night and you’ll find Falcons wide receivers Roddy White and Harry Douglas doing a bit of a crossover themselves.

The two are slated to be judges for the annual college basketball slam dunk contest, which will also be accompanied by a 3-point contest. Twenty-four college basketball products will be participating in the contests.

If you’re in the Atlanta area and would like to attend, the event is being held at Georgia Tech’s McCamish Pavilion and tickets are $10. For more information, visit collegeslam.com.

In the final game of the regular season against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Harry Douglas trotted out to the field to handle the team’s punt return duties, something he hadn’t done since his rookie season in 2008.

Douglas fielded four punts that day for an average of 10.5 yards per return and a long of 11 yards. Speaking to the media Tuesday, special teams coordinator Keith Armstrong said Douglas could return to the position in the postseason.

“There’s a chance Harry could be back there,” Armstrong said. “Obviously, we’ll have to look at that this week and go from there and see how the guys are doing in practice.”

Armstrong said the decision to put Douglas in the position during the regular season finale was just to move him around a bit and get some depth at the position.

Dominique Franks handled the punt return duties during the other 15 games, making 21 returns and 18 fair catches, while amassing a 7.8 yards per return average. His longest of the season is 28 yards.

You might expect Roddy White or Julio Jones to be at the top of all wide receiver categories for the Falcons, but what you might not expect is the Falcons’ third wide receiver trumping the two stars in a big category.

According to ESPN.com NFC South blogger Pat Yasinskas, Harry Douglas had the hottest hands not only for the Falcons but for the entire division.

ESPN’s catch percentage stats for the NFC South have been tallied. How they come to the final number is by dividing total receptions by receptions plus passes dropped. I don’t math, so this is all very foreign to me. Just take Yasinskas’ word for it.

Anyway, Douglas’ catch percentage tops the division at 97.4. He made 38 catches in 2012 with one drop while being targeted 56 times.

No slouches in this department, White and Jones are right at the top of the division list in the category — White at 96.8 and Jones at 90.8. White, it’s important to point out, was also targeted more than two times more than Douglas, so there’s a higher chance of drops. Still, impressive numbers for all three Falcons wideouts.

The Falcons have been in this situation before. They’ve been 13-3 heading into the postseason with the NFC’s No. 1 seed. We remember how that turned out.

Head coach Mike Smith has been intent on making the bye week before the divisional round playoff game different than it was in 2010. That year, Smith gave the team plenty of time off to rest and recuperate before what they thought would be a long playoff run.

Even before Sunday’s 22-17 loss to the Buccaneers, Smith has said that this coming week would be very different in that he plans to practice with the team quite a bit.

“We’re going to be in all week, it looks like,” tight end Tony Gonzalez said after Sunday’s game. “It’s not really a bye week; we just don’t play a game. That’s all it is. That’s what expected of us and he’s the bossman, and we’re going to come in and get after it because maybe it’s good to keep the wheels turning, keep the car running and make sure we come out and have a good showing in that first (divisional) round game.”

During this week’s practices, however, the Falcons will have one specific opponent they’ll be focusing on: themselves.

The coaching staff will be preparing for a multitude of potential divisional round opponents with the Falcons’ first postseason opponent of 2013 not determined until next weekend, but the players will be focused on improving their own play.

The Falcons are planning to go through a thorough self-scout this week and prepare to face each other for three or four days — something the players very much look forward to.

“The number one thing is the intensity from both sides,” wide receiver Harry Douglas said of the Falcons-on-Falcons practices. “Both sides want to do good, so it’s always great when you have a good defense and a good offense that can go against each other and compete, and it’s a friendly competition. It’s not, ‘We’re better on this side,’ ‘No, we’re better on this side;’ We help each other out and we get better that way.”

The Falcons are no strangers to Falcons-on-Falcons practices. They’ve had several this year and tend to come off of them well.

Those types of practices allow the Falcons to get back to basics and focus on things like their own techniques and fundamentals, instead of having to worry about game-planning for an opponent.

“You get back to things that have gotten you to the record you have,” Douglas said.

Quarterback Matt Ryan has broken a bunch of Falcons records already this season, and he added a big one Sunday. A fourth-down pass from the Bucs’ 8-yard line to Harry Douglas put Ryan in the record books as the Falcons’ all-time single season passing touchdown leader.

Ryan came into Sunday’s game against Tampa Bay tied with Ring of Honor member Steve Bartkowski at 31 touchdown passes this season. Bartkowski’s record was set in 1980.

Ryan broke his own club marks for most passing yards in a single season and most completions in a single season in Week 15. Ryan’s 342-yard performance in Week 9 broke Bartkowski’s record of 12-career 300-yard games, set between 1975-1985.

Ryan also broke Bartkowski’s single-season record for pass attempts, set at 571, in Sunday’s game during the first quarter.

During the game’s most crucial punt return Sunday, the Falcons’ go-to returner was on the sideline. Wide receiver Harry Douglas trotted onto the field and got settled in at the position while Dominique Franks stood by.

Head coach Mike Smith explained Monday that the decision was a product of feeling like Douglas would give the Falcons the best chance at good field position for the game’s biggest drive.

“We felt like we wanted to give Harry an opportunity to catch the punt,” head coach Mike Smith said Monday. “It was a backed-up punt situation. We wanted to get as many yards as we can. We’re not, in our mind, in a position to have Harry as a full-time punt returner. He’s done it in the past, and we felt like it gave us an opportunity to get the most yards on the return.”

Douglas returned punts for the Falcons in 2008 before a knee injury kept him out in 2009, but hasn’t held the job since. Franks was originally part of the Falcons’ final cutdown to the 53-man roster, but was re-signed after Tim Toone — who was slated to return punts — was injured during the first week of the season.

Douglas didn’t net any yards on his one return. Franks caught two punts Sunday — one for a 9-yard return and the other was a fair catch.

Franks, Smith said, will remain as the Falcons’ full-time punt returner.

Head coach Mike Smith said he will have an update on linebacker Sean Weatherspoon’s injury status Wednesday, saying during his Monday news conference that he’d have a better idea of where he is later in the week.

Weatherspoon left Sunday’s game in the second half with an ankle injury.

“Sean is in the training room and we’ll have a more concrete idea of where he’s at after practice (Wednesday),” Smith said Monday. “He did sustain an ankle injury in the ballgame.”

Smith said Kevin Cone also suffered an ankle injury Sunday and will have an update on him, Weatherspoon and WR Harry Douglas — who missed Sunday’s game with a knee and ankle injury — on Wednesday.

UPDATE 5:25 p.m. – Head coach Mike Smith told D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Weatherspoon suffered a low ankle sprain.

Head coach Mike Smith updated the status of several key players during his Monday news conference and the outlook is largely positive:

• Smith said Asante Samuel was not injured on his 79-yard interception return for a touchdown in Sunday’s win over Oakland. Smith said Samuel is fine and stayed out a play or two of the next series to get his wind back.
• Linebacker Stephen Nicholas was questionable coming into Sunday’s game with an ankle injury he had suffered the week before at Washington. He missed two days of practice and was limited on the week’s lightest day of work, so Smith wanted to keep Nicholas rested as much as possible. The linebacker played only special teams against the Raiders, and “the decision was based on the next four or five weeks.” Nicholas was cleared to play, but Smith wanted to keep him on the sidelines as much as possible Sunday to ensure longevity.
• Harry Douglas suffered an ankle injury during the final offensive drive of Sunday’s game. Smith said Douglas “should be OK.”
• After Week 6, defensive tackle Corey Peters is eligible to return to the active roster after spending the first part of the season on the reserve/non-football injury list. Smith said Peters could be activated as early as next week or as late as 21 days from now. The Falcons have until Week 9 to determine what they’d like to do with him for the year. Smith said the biggest challenge is getting Peters into football shape, as he’s missed mini-camp, OTAs and training camp.

Wide receiver Julio Jones returned to full participation at practice, as noted on Wednesday’s Piedmont Healthcare Injury Report, after suffering a hand laceration during a Week 3 matchup against San Diego.

Speaking to the media Thursday, Jones said he doesn’t see anything holding him back right now.

“Oh, yeah. I’m fine,” Jones said. “I’m ready to go.”

Jones didn’t see much in the statline of Sunday’s game, finishing with just one reception for 30 yards, but he said it didn’t have anything to do with the injury.

“The Carolina game, they tried to double me and Tony (Gonzalez) throughout the whole game,” Jones said. “Roddy (White) and Harry (Douglas) had the one-on-one matchups and you saw Roddy made numerous big plays, basically winning us the game. Matt (Ryan) was finding those one-on-one matchups.”

On first-and-goal at the 1-yard line in the second quarter of Monday’s 27-21 win over the Broncos, the Falcons looked primed to run the ball to cross the goal line. Instead, Matt Ryan faked the handoff and stood firm in the pocket while tight end Tony Gonzalez and guard/tackle Mike Johnson — declared an eligible receiver before the play — rolled out into their patterns.

Gonzalez — a 12-time Pro Bowler at that position with 1,000 catches — garnered absolutely no attention from the Broncos defense. Mike Johnson, however, might as well have been wearing a No. 11 jersey with the attention he received.

“We got to the line — and it wasn’t the exact look we were looking for in practice — but I noticed the (defender) was kind of sitting off the ball and was waiting for me,” Johnson said with a smile during Wednesday’s open locker room session. “I just blocked the end a little bit and tried to get out as much as I could. I even put my hand up for a minute, trying to say I was open to Matt, but I think he went with the better option to get it to Tony.”

Watch the play by clicking here

Ryan threw a dart and found a wide-open Gonzalez in the back of the end zone before Gonzalez finished the scoring play off with his trademark dunk.

Johnson said that play continues to evolve and the Falcons can do a lot of different things out of it. But should the time ever come where he gets a look from Ryan, he wants his quarterback that he can trust him.

“My hands are pretty good. I like to think so,” Johnson said with a laugh. “I guess we’ll find out if I ever get in that situation.”

Also, make sure to follow the official Falcons Instagram account @atlantafalcons.

Early morning at the Falcons’ Flowery Branch facility

Signage at the front gates

Flags greet fans at the entrance to camp

A beautiful day for football

Fans pour through the gates

A camp sign stands in front of the flag pole

Fans line the field early to get as close as they can to their team

WR Julio Jones takes the field

WR Harry Douglas comes out of a route

Sean Weatherspoon smiles as he jogs it off to the next drill

A moment before impact

Two fans show off their Falcons pride

Tony Gonzalez is always getting in extra work

The punt block drill is always a favorite for great photos

Spoon looks on from the sideline

WR Drew Davis attacks the sled

WR Roddy White makes a one-handed snag

With his black visor, Roddy casts an imposing figure against a blue sky

You don’t want none of LB Mike Peterson

A familiar view for anyone who traveled to the top of the hill next to the fields

Julio looks a pass into his hands

Harry warms up with his teammates

Freddie Falcon tries his hand — errr… wing — at running AtlantaFalcons.com

Storm clouds gather before practice

Rain dots a helmet as the Falcons practice through the weather

Friday Night Lights provided a beautiful sky as the Falcons practiced in front of thousands

Wide receiver Harry Douglas, who sat out of last week’s game due to an injury from the combined practice with the Tennessee Titans, will play against the Bengals, Smith said.

With just less than seven minutes left in the first quarter, Franks took a punt from Ravens punter Sam Koch and returned it 45 yards to the Baltimore 15-yard line.

The Falcons, however, couldn’t capitalize as Matt Ryan’s first-down pass was picked off on the next play.

As camp battles continue to rage on, the new chart may give some insight into who is separating themselves from the pack.

View the entire unofficial depth chart by clicking here.

Of note:

• At left tackle, Sam Baker is listed as the starter and Garrett Reynolds is the first string right guard.
• Mike Cox has a hold on the top spot at fullback with rookie Bradie Ewing backing him up.
• With an injury to defensive tackle Corey Peters, Peria Jerry has taken the spot opposite Jonathan Babineaux.
• At the returner positions, Jacquizz Rodgers is listed at the kick return spot and Harry Douglas at punt return.

Terry Robiskie: Obviously, it’s still early in the game for him, and I don’t ever know what a ceiling is or to put a ceiling on somebody, but he has got the potential to be a really good football player for us, and we expect him to be. The more he’s in the game, the better he’s going to get, but this is going to be his second year in the NFL. The system is not changing that much so, of course, he’ll be a better football player for us. We expect him to be a better player and we’re looking forward to it.

JA: How much is having a year under his belt going to help him out?

TR: It’s going to help him a lot. Obviously, he knows that. Forget the football aspect of it — just the conditioning, coming to training camp prepared, the toll he’s going to put on his body as far as what he needs to do to get his body ready, to know what he’s got to put his body through to get ready and to come to camp and be ready to go and to know what it’s going to take to get through that 20 weeks. Just that phase of it is a plus for him.

JA: Harry Douglas is fully recovered from that 2009 knee injury. What’s it going to take for him to take that next step toward fitting into and excelling at the No. 3 wide receiver position?

TR: I think, as the year got going and got better and better, Harry got better and better. Every day, he’s getting better. He’s getting healthier. Harry’s just got to go play. We’ve got to keep Harry in the game. We’ve got to keep putting him in the game. We’ve got to keep having things come up for him. I think back to New Orleans here last year. Harry had a big game for us (eight receptions, 133 yards). The Minnesota game, Harry had a big game for us (two catches, 45 yards, one touchdown). The only thing Harry can do — and the only thing we can do for Harry — to become a better football player is to keep playing. Let him go. Let him keep going. Harry’s the same thing as Julio. He’s got another year under his belt. He’s got another year of his body getting stronger, getting healthier. Harry’s just got to keep going. Harry will be fine.

JA: You lose Eric Weems in the offseason. Everyone remembers him as a special teams guy, but some of that continuity is lost from the wide receiving corps. Certainly, it’s a spot you’ll have to fill. How do you view the No. 5 spot right now, and is that a battle you see going all the way through training camp?

TR: I think it’s going to go all the way through camp. I think it’s a battle that’s going to go all the way through the preseason. Like you said, it’s a spot we’ve got to fill, but it’s a tough spot. It isn’t a spot that you can fill relatively easy. As you know, Eric Weems was in the Pro Bowl two years ago for us and was a valuable part of it, so we hate to lose him but hey, that’s the business we’re in. You can’t keep them all. You can’t have them all. We’ve got to find someone who can step up and be Eric Weems. Somebody here was Eric Weems before Eric Weems, so we’ve got to have somebody that wants to step up with the group I have. Somebody’s got to step up and say, “Hey, Coach. Eric Weems left. I know what he did, I know the contribution he made and what a good player he was. Coach, I want that job.” Whichever one of my guys is going to do that through… training camp and preseason games, he’ll be the guy that’ll have that spot.

JA: I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Roddy White. You’ve been around him for a while. From the time you came in until now, what have you seen that’s really allowed him to establish himself as one of the best wide receivers in the NFL?

TR: His work habits. I think when I first got here (in 2008), the first week, month — whatever that was — Roddy was Roddy. He had his way of doing things. He had his way of coming to work, doing his work and going home. I think, over the years, that we’ve changed that. That first year I got here, I had to go to his house and sit down with him. We had a nice sit-down conversation and I explained to him, he’s got his way of doing things and I’ve got mine. We’ll do it my way until we figure out that my way don’t work. We did. As you obviously know, Roddy has gone on to play in four Pro Bowls in a row. He’s got a sense that I know a little bit of what I’m talking about and doing it a little bit the way I say to do it, it’s got a chance of working. Now I’ve just got to get him out of them Pro Bowls and get him into a Super Bowl. That’s the next phase of it: What do we have to do now to get him into that part of it?

His phone would nearly blow up from all the calls, texts and tweets he received about his future. The questions hounded him.

What are you going to do? Where are you going? What are people saying?

After a while, he didn’t want to deal with it anymore.

“I just put my phones on silent and I just was relaxing,” Douglas said in a phone interview with AtlantaFalcons.com on Wednesday afternoon. “I was doing stuff on my own, and then people who I’m really, really close to or knew stuff about it, I would talk to them about it.”

Finally on Tuesday night, Douglas could turn his phones back on and accept all the congratulations and well-wishes on his new deal with Atlanta, a place that has always been home.

Douglas grew up here. His family is here. His friends are here. His home is here. All those factors made it a no-brainer when he was going through the negotiation process.

“I grew up watching the Falcons and me signing this contract now to come back, I made up my mind,” Douglas said. “I said, ‘I wouldn’t mind retiring one day just playing for one team.’ ”

That all but settled it as the deciding factor.

Now, Douglas — who says he basically lives at the Falcons’ complex in Flowery Branch, Ga., he’s here training so much — can get past the distraction and uncertainty of free agency and focus on the season ahead and his future in his hometown.

“I feel good. It’s always a blessing to come back to the team that drafted you,” he said. “For me, it’s a blessing to be home. Atlanta’s my home and it feels like home. It’s just great to be back here.”

With the free agency period still less than 24 hours old and the moves around the rest of the league coming fast and furious, the Falcons are holding true to the points made in that press conference.

“We have 17 free agents this year that we need to look at. We have a lot of work to do with our analyzation and scrutiny of our team, as well,” Dimitroff said during the January press conference. “There’s a foundation here in place. I’m not suggesting at all that we’re going to blow anything up.”

The Falcons have been aggressive in keeping their own recently, signing safety Thomas DeCoud, tight end Michael Palmer, running back Antone Smith, running back Jason Snelling and defensive end Kroy Biermann and agreeing to terms with backup quarterback Chris Redman and wide receiver Harry Douglas. In that same press conference, Dimitroff said he thought “seven or eight” would be a realistic guess as to how many of the Falcons’ 17 free agents the team would be able to keep.

Adding to that, however, are the signings of free agent guard Vince Manuwai and free agent linebacker Lofa Tatupu, both of whom can make a big impact with the team. Those two make nine new contracts in the past week the Falcons have doled out, but as they mentioned in January, they won’t be eager to just hand out anything.

“We’ll continue to, again, analyze this roster. There are no… sacred cows. No question about it. I don’t care where we drafted them or how we’ve acquired them in free agency,” Dimitroff said back in January, as Blank added: “There might be some sacrificial cows, but no sacred cows”

Weems was a cog on special teams, and not just as a returner. Weems was always near the top of the team in special teams tackles during his time with the Falcons.

The Falcons will now turn to filling that role and there are two candidates already on the roster that could get a long look: CB Dominique Franks and WR Harry Douglas.

Franks was a punt returner in college with Oklahoma and found some steady success there, returning 29 kicks for 346 yards at an 11.9 yards-per-return average. A speedy, dangerous player in the open field, Franks has gotten some work at the return positions during the preseason since his NFL career began two seasons ago.

Douglas is also versed in the return game and was saw time as the Falcons’ kick and punt returner during his rookie season. His 61-yard punt return for a touchdown that year was the first punt return for a touchdown for the Falcons since 2004 when Allen Rossum last completed the feat. Douglas earned NFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors for that game.

UPDATE: Fans have added on Twitter that running back Jacquizz Rodgers also spent some time as a returner in college with Oregon State.