Head Coach Joe Judge

Opening Statement: Today we'll begin our preparation for Atlanta. We touched on them a little bit earlier in the week, but the main focus on Monday was really on the New York Giants, touching base with things we did earlier in the season, some schemes going forward, some personnel looks. Today will be a padded day for us getting after it, some up-tempo, really get working together as a team. Touching base on Atlanta, first off, it's a very well-coached team. Have a lot of respect for (Falcons Head Coach) Arthur (Smith) and how he puts his team together, how they approach the game. There's obviously a lot of influence from different places he's been.

Starting it off in terms of the offense, (he) does a great job of working with (Offensive Coordinator) Dave (Ragone) in terms of putting a personal stamp on it. When you look at this offense, the first thing you want to think about are his days in Tennessee with (Titans Running Back) Derrick Henry – obviously, that's a rare player, but I think he's doing a great job piecing a lot of things together and he's really using his weapons effectively. When you trace the stamp of this offense, it really goes back to the L.A. Rams days before bringing it over from L.A. to Tennessee. Obviously, some personnel decisions in Tennessee changed a little bit of that footprint but watching as it changed and adjusted and as it continues to evolve right now in Atlanta, it's been very interesting to watch. Offensively, you start with their explosive players. It starts with the quarterback. Obviously, (Falcons Quarterback) Matt Ryan is one of the top quarterbacks in the last decade or so in this league. You go with the explosive receivers on the outside – (Falcons Wide Receiver Calvin) Ridley is as good as they come. He's very savvy, runs great routes, has good hands, he's very quick going up the field, he has very good agility in open space to make you miss if you're not a good, sound tackler. Fundamentals in open space will be key against this guy and then also playing with good fundamentals in pass defense to not give him opportunities for open receptions. You go to the tight ends, I think obviously they have several good options there. I think (Falcons Tight end Kyle) Pitts, the young guy, stands out. There's a reason they took this guy so high in the draft, a reason why people liked him coming out. You can talk about this guy being a big receiver, but this is a guy who's very capable of blocking and running their offense as a tight end. You see him in the last couple of games as the packages start to unfold and really develop with this guy, he's definitely a threat down the field. You saw against Tampa him taking a slant and extending that thing and getting vertical with it, some of those pop passes over the seam. This guy is really a threat with the ball in his hands, he's definitely a weapon. They can line him up out wide matched up on corners and run all the receiver routes as well, so this guy is a versatile piece. Then, between the running backs, I think the one guy who's a little bit of a unique piece that goes in that stamp of Tennessee is (Falcons Running Back Cordarrelle) Patterson. One thing about CP is he's a big, strong man whether you're talking about him in the return game or in the offensive game. This guy really runs that wide zone scheme that they're bringing from the L.A. days, the Tennessee days, the footprint of this offense. (He) does a great job of really stretching and running. When you watch this guy with the ball in his hands – I don't care if it's kickoff return or offense – the one thing this guy does is really build speed, put stress on your defense, sticks his foot in the ground and he gets vertical. The thing about this guy, you let him get going and he's very hard to take down, he's very big, he's very strong, he's very powerful. Without trying to group guys in the same category, I think there's a lot of things they did with Henry in Tennessee that really apply directly over to how they're using CP right now. Obviously, he's a different piece in the pass game with how they use him. You can see him really starting to evolve with his role in the offense, had an explosive game against Tampa Bay. This guy is definitely someone you have to account for every time he's on the field, whether he's playing gunner covering kicks, whether he's a kickoff returner, whether he's on offense as a runner or a pass catcher. This guy has really gone ahead and developed his game throughout his career and built a lot of versatility on it. I think Ragone does a great job in terms of using the pieces with him and working with Arthur. It's going to obviously be a lot of elements you see from his days in Chicago under that tree of (Bears Head Coach Matt) Nagy, that West Coast tree that kind of stems from (Chiefs Head Coach) Andy Reid. Does a great job of using things that really hurt you in the past. They package them a little bit differently, so we have to be very aware of things that came up in previous games as well as past games and last year with our team. They're going to look to expose personnel and systematic deals. They do a great job offensively.

Defensively, I've got a ton of respect for (Falcons Defensive Coordinator) Dean Pees. This guy has been around for a long time for a reason. You could say on the surface that the defense comes from a similar tree, that there's a lot of similarities between what we do and they do. I think the thing he does a great job of is really using the personnel he has available. You see a lot of guys that were in (Cowboys Defensive Coordinator) Dan Quinn's defense last year that he's turning and kind of using in a little bit of a different scheme, the way he's using them up front and in coverage. He's really doing an effective job right now. I think there are some things that you can look at on the stat sheet that are very misleading. This is a very aggressive defense. They've got speed off the edge to rush the passer, you saw that with the strip-sack (Falcons Outside Linebacker Dante) Fowler (Jr.) had on (Buccaneers Quarterback) Tom (Brady) late in the game the other day. Obviously, they can get after you with the blitzes and the packages inside, that's definitely something they do very well. They play that aggressive zone defense where they can disguise the looks. They can play three-deep or two-deep, really shade it. It really breaks down to giving you something short, breaking on you and then punching the ball out. This team is third in the league for forced fumbles for a reason. They're very aggressive. You can see great eye control with these guys in open space, looking for bad fundamentals on ball security and they really look to attack it. There was the one they punched out on (Buccaneers Running Back Leonard) Fournette the other day. It was a great teaching clip for our team in terms of how they're structured and taught to attack that ball. There's going to be multiples in that defense. We've got to play very sound. It's got to start up front with protection, giving ourselves a chance to throw the ball and get it out, and then the run game, getting a chance to get this thing vertical and get it moving up the field or hit the edge, whatever ends up coming up within the game plan.

Special teams-wise, (Special Teams Coordinator) Marquice (Williams) does a great job. He's been around a lot of aggressive coordinators as he's worked throughout his years in the league. He's taken some things from each one of those guys, but he's definitely putting his own personal stamp on it. The thing that really sticks out to me when you watch his tape is (they're) aggressive. They're aggressive in the return game with explosive returns to get this thing going. They're definitely a home run threat every time they have the ball in their hands. They're aggressive to block kicks, whether it's the field goal rush or the punt rush. They're very big on using their size players or defensive players to create mismatches on your long snapper, your wings on the punt team, trying to collapse your edges on field goal protection. They do a great job of really getting after you and using their size players. They also have a very talented and very fast young core. They're covering kicks right now very well, really limiting other teams' return games from getting going. I think this team plays with a lot of multiples, as well. When we talk about their special teams – we talk to our team about them being aggressive, being aggressive within the multiples and then also we have to play aware for the fakes, the gimmicks, the formation shifts, things that are going to come up throughout the game.

This is a good team, they've got a lot of good players. They definitely improved from Week 1 to Week 2. We expect to see the best football they have to play. We expect to see an up-tempo type of game with these guys looking to take shots and be explosive. We have to have a good week of prep as a team and take that step forward. Our focus is on improving as a team. That being said, I'll open up to any questions you have.

Q: What makes Ridley such a dangerous receiver?

A: It ain't one thing. It's not just one thing. I think this guy has got a lot of experience, number one. He's very savvy. He has great awareness in space when he's playing against zone of really finding the open spot. He doesn't tip his routes at the top, that's the other thing, too. He doesn't get high in his pad level and his feet get out in front of his body – this guy can really run in press chest over knees over toes and make sudden cuts. He's got very good agility, he's very good athletically, he has very good hands and then that quickness to get going vertical. A lot of times you've got fast receivers, but when they get the ball in their hands, if you get them going – it's kind of like that train going up the hill that's got to get going to get the momentum. He's one of those where he sticks his foot in the ground and he's going. He hits top speed very quickly, so that separation of hitting that top speed fast overrides a top speed of someone maybe straight-line fast or they can't get going as fast.

Q: What are your medical people telling you about what (Tight End) Evan (Engram) can do today and what are you expecting from him this week?

A: We're going to start him out early with the trainers, see where he's at. He had a decent day the other day. He's still progressing, moving in the right direction. We were hopeful early coming out of camp – obviously, we didn't put him on IR – we were hopeful to get him to this point. We're going to have to see these next couple of days how he can string it together. Again, I talk all the time about (how) the point is to get guys on the field and keep them on the field, so we want to make sure (with) guys coming off of certain injuries that you don't press them too early and risk getting those guys out there playing fast and then losing them. We're going to have to see him at practice today, see what he does, see if he can stay out there with us.

Q: You said he had a 'decent' day the other day?

A: He did. Decent day the other day.

Q: 'Decent' is not great, right?

A: I mean, you can go ahead and paraphrase it and try to structure it, whatever it is. For me, decent is decent.

Q: Do you view (Running Back) Saquon (Barkley) getting that 41-yard run as a positive sign that he's getting close to the Saquon that you need him to be?

A: I don't think sitting here trying to compare someone to what they were in the past is really ever the objective of us as a coaching staff. I think it's a positive for the team knowing that he can make explosive runs for us. I see him going out there every day, he practices hard, he plays with confidence. Obviously, there are some things coming off an injury like that that you've got to have certain stepping stones, but like I've said all along, when the medical team says he's greenlighted to go, we've got to go and start playing with him. He's done a good job preparing for us. he's done a good job in performance for us and we're going to keep on going with him.

Q: I think you said (Quarterback) Daniel (Jones) played pretty well.

A: Yes.

Q: He wound up losing the game anyway. Is there a danger there that he's going to go back to trying to do too much? I mean, that's always been the pitfall for him is he tries to do too much and that's when the turnovers come.

A: I think our focus with any player is to make sure that they understand there's 11 people on the field and we need each player to do their job, and Daniel's done a really good job of that for us. Just do your job. We have to rely on the other guys to take care of their job and their responsibility, and when that happens and we play complementary football, we have success. I thought Daniel did a lot of positive things the other night, a lot of positive things for us. He put us in a position to be successful. There's other things as a team we have to do to eliminate mistakes that cost us the opportunity to be successful. That's really the lesson we have to learn and go forward with.

Q: Do you have to hammer that into him and say –

A: I hammer that with every single player. I hammer that with every player on our team every day. They probably get sick of hearing it, but every day they hear the same thing. Daniel's no different than any player. I try to make that point every day in terms of doing our job, working hard, putting the team first, but making sure that we rely and communicate with the people next to us every day. Daniel's done a great job of really playing within the role and understanding that he can't – I think everyone at some point is a competitor and wants to do something to change the game. To me, the important thing is for every player to understand that you'll change the game by doing your job with good fundamentals and execution, and you change the game when everyone else does their job, as well. You can't press it and try to force it. That's really when you start seeing mistakes from around the league. You see guys in different situations, you say, 'Hey, they're close, they're pressing,' they make an errant throw, they make a bad mistake as a runner, reaching out for the ball and getting the touchback when it goes through the end zone, things like that. You've just got to make sure you keep pressing these guys on fundamentals. Our guys are very competitive. Our guys come out here obviously every week, we practice, we play, we prepare to have success. That's always the focus, that's always the goal. The goal is to improve as a team and put ourselves in a position for that. Daniel does a great job every day coming out and working his hardest. We all have confidence in him and how he does that. In terms of him pressing too far, my message to him is always the same, just play within the system, play within your role, facilitate the offense and good things will happen.

Q: You've said in the past the idea that when a guy puts mistakes on film, teams will drill down and go after it. With a guy like Daniel who puts together the kind of game that he put down the other night – and I'm not saying it was perfect, but obviously it was pretty good – do you have to walk a line of, 'Okay, just go out and do the same thing,' or do you think that teams will now attack what he did well the other night? It's almost like a different way of attacking what he was successful at.

A: I can't speak for everybody, but I believe everyone always tries to neutralize your strengths and take advantage of your weaknesses. The message I always have to the team that I believe is until you get something off tape, teams are going to attack it. When I say get it off tape, I mean you've got to watch at least four games in this league of seeing a scheme, a system, a personnel situation, that it's no longer an issue. You've got to see someone prove over the course of time that they can handle whatever you're going to throw at them. So, to me, we have to be very conscious of if you have a breakdown in protection, if you have one on special teams, if you have something with a personnel mismatch on defense, offense or whatever it may be – you have to understand that everybody's watching that tape.

It's a small league, everyone watches everybody's tape all the time. Everybody is looking to steal, copycat, borrow, whatever you want to call it. So, until you get that off tape – I'd say it's at least a four- game stretch – teams are coming after you. I think in different phases of the game that may hold up for a longer period of time. To me, if it's in special teams, it's almost the entire season. If you have a breakdown in protection, they're going to test it every week. In situational football, maybe it's third down or two-minute, you don't get those situations – you get third down every week – but you don't always get a true two-minute or end of game type of situation every week. Once you show something (and) until you show that it's no longer an issue as a team, teams are going to attack it.

Q: You talked about Ridley and what makes him so tough. How do you think (Cornerback James) Bradberry has played so far this season?

A: I'm pleased with the way James is progressing. There's obviously things that every player on this team (has) to keep doing better and keep getting better. We're far from a finished product, but I like the way he comes out, works and competes. I've seen a lot of production obviously in games. He's competing for us. I think James is off to a good start for us.

Q: How does having (Cornerback) Adoree' (Jackson) affect your philosophy and how much you want James to go follow other teams' top receivers?

A: I don't think it affects anything directly with what we want to do with James. Certain game plans we play more matchup based. Some game plans we may think it's the best thing based on what the opponent does to play right and left, field-boundary, whatever we do. Every week we come in on Wednesday, like we did today, and we explain the game plan to the players. We make sure through training camp we build on a lot of that versatility, so when guys hear different adjustments or what may be different each week they understand that this isn't really new to us. I think Adoree' gives us flexibility within matchups. I don't think it limits James in anything he's going to do. I don't know if that answered your question or not. It's not going to restrict us with anything we want to do with James.

Q: When you look around the league, it seems like there are a lot of high-scoring games. Is that because it's harder to disrupt the quarterback's rhythm these days and what offenses are doing?

A: I think you watch the trends of the league, what you just said is very true in a lot of ways. I think the structure and rules of the league lead to higher scoring at times – the inability to really disrupt receivers down the field the way you used to, some of the restrictions on quarterbacks – not that you want to make them a target, but the reality is the rules are little bit different than they were called 10, 12, 15 years ago. I think it leads to higher scoring the way it's structured. That's just part of the game. You can't panic or overreact. You have to go into games and understand these guys get paid to play offense. These guys get paid to coach offense. They're going to have a scheme or a system that's going to work at some point. It's how do we adjust? How do we fix it? How do we move on within the game to make sure we limit that opportunity again? Offensively, we've got to make sure we take advantage of our opportunities to finish drives, that's something we have to do. And defensively, we have to take advantage of the opportunities to get teams off the field, that's something we've got to work on this week.

Q: I apologize if the timing is off here, but it's a little awkward. We got here Monday and after you talked, (Wide Receiver) Kenny Golladay said that he was yelling at (Offensive Coordinator) Jason Garrett on the sideline. Is there a difference there? Do you have to address that? Do you have to make sure that there is none of that fighting on the sidelines between a player and a coach?

A: I'd like to clarify. I said the same thing the other day – to me, speaking with emotion and fighting are two completely different things. Maybe it's because of where I grew up and how it is. Maybe I talk with my hands a lot and maybe I raise my voice a lot, I don't know. Maybe I don't overreact sometimes to volume. Look, I've got to apologize to certain people on the sidelines. Sometimes we have support staff out there or people that help us, and I've got to tell them on the front end like, 'Whatever I say today, don't take it personal.' In the heat of the moment, things happen, things get going. Like I said the other day, when there's something that has to be disciplined, I'll discipline it. I talk to all the players all the time. We're very transparent and open with our team. Look, if there was an issue, it would be handled. I love the way Kenny competes. The one thing I really love about this guy is he's got a lot of fire. He's got a lot of fire and he wants to go out there and he wants to be successful. The conversation the other day wasn't anything in terms of an attack on a coach or a player specific to 'You have to do something,' but it was just simply put, of, 'Hey, I can do this. Give me a chance on this type of route,' or whatever it may be. Those things happen a lot. They happen a lot. Me and (Defensive Back) Nate Ebner may talk like an old married couple. He normally comes to the sideline and our volume doesn't really get restricted too much. He may come over and give me or T-Mac (Special Teams Coordinator Thomas McGaughey) what's on his mind and at the time he's coming off the field, you're playing with a lot of adrenaline and a lot of emotion. Things happen right there. Now, there's a fine line between disrespect, fighting and communicating with volume and intensity. We know the difference right there. We know the difference.

Quarterback Daniel Jones

Q: What are your thoughts on (Former Giants Quarterback) Eli (Manning) having his jersey retired on Sunday and what that means to you?

A: Yeah, I'm excited. It'll be cool to see. It'll be a cool moment. Obviously, a legend of this game, a legend of this franchise and what he represented, how he played for so long. Being able to be with him my first year was awesome for me. It was a huge opportunity and it'll be cool to see him recognized.

Q: Awesome for you in what way?

A: Just a tremendous opportunity to learn and to watch him, to be able to talk to him and ask him questions, watch how he went about his work and how he carried himself. On the field, how he played, how he prepared and then off the field in the building, dealing with teammates and leading this organization.

Q: Do you talk to Eli after games, during the week or anything like that? Do you guys compare or anything like that? Do you talk about what he saw with you or anything like that? Is that the type of relationship you have with him?

A: We've certainly stayed in touch and check in every now and then. He's always kind of been someone who's been willing to answer questions. I think in his position he's not in our meetings every day and I think he understands that. But like you said, he's played a ton of football and knows how to play the game and knows what it's supposed to look like. He's been helpful for me.

Q: How's he doing in his new gig? Have you been watching at all? Do you like it?

A: Yeah, I've watched a little bit of it. I think he's pretty good. He's pretty funny. He's got some good one-liners and some good commentary. It's been fun to watch him and Peyton (Manning) go back and forth.

Q: Has he invited you on it yet?

A: No, I haven't gotten the invite (laughs).

Q: We want to see your one-liners.

A: (Laughs).

Q: What's the biggest thing you learned from him?

A: I think it was just day in and day out the way he prepared and the way he carried himself. I think anyone would expect a guy that successful and who has played that long at a high level, that he has a certain way to prepare. I think that's expected, but being able to kind of see it day to day and him go about it, being able to see him interact with teammates, interact with people in the facility, with staff members, and the leader that he was kind of in all aspects of the organization and for this team.

Q: How would you describe his work ethic?

A: Consistent. Extremely consistent. He never got bored with doing the fundamental things on the field, whether it was footwork – working on something as simple as a three-step drop or a five-step drop. You'd hear him talk about his footwork a lot and kind of a lot of those things and I remember that sticking with me early on. This is a guy that's played a lot and he's still focused on day one fundamentals and the little things. The little things were always extremely important, and he was just extremely detailed and specific in all of his preparation. That carried through to every aspect of his game.

Q: Was there any one piece of advice he gave you starting Week 3 of your rookie year?

A: I think there was a lot. I think certainly the routine, going about the week and preparing. I think I was able to see his preparation, so just talking through kind of how he prepared day by day, the things he looked for and how he went about his week.

Q: You talked about consistency and there are probably a lot of people looking at last week saying, 'Why can't Daniel be as consistent as the way he played last week last week every week?' Do you look back and say, 'I'd like that game to be the model of what I do every week'?

A: I think every week's different, and my goal is to prepare as well as I can and play as well as I can every week. I try to be prepared and ready to go every week.

Q: Is that one of your better games though?

A: I don't know. I don't think judging it that way, I don't know how productive that is. We didn't win the game, so we didn't do enough. I didn't do enough and didn't make enough plays, so we've got to look at that and improve.

Q: When you looked at the film from that game, what in particular stands out and what do you think maybe were some areas where you could've worked on?

A: I think at times we attacked well and kind of controlled the tempo of the game. I think we were able to create some explosive plays and some plays that kept drives moving and pushed the ball down the field a little bit with some chunks. I think that was productive. I think at times, a couple of those drives stalled and whether it was penalties or whether it was negative plays or situations that kept us from continuing drives on the fringe, in some of those spots we've got to be better.

Q: Do you enjoy the quarterback running element of the offense? Do you get into a game differently when it's going?

A: Yeah, I enjoy that part of the game. I think that's been a big part of this system in the past and was part of what we did last year. I enjoy that part of the game and when those opportunities are there, I certainly look forward to taking advantage of them.

Q: I think that some people underestimate that part of your game. Do you feel like that's the case and feel like it maybe surprises some people and some defenses who aren't super familiar with you and your mobility?

A: It's hard to tell whether they're surprised or not. If the opportunity is there, you take it. If it's not, you don't. That's just kind of dependent on how they're playing and what they're doing defensively and just trying to take advantage of them.

Q: I think the first eight questions or so were about a former quarterback here, that's a tough act to follow. How hard has that been for you?

A: Like I said, I always looked at it as an awesome opportunity to be behind him and be with him for that year and have that relationship to be able to learn from him, and look to what he was able to do in his time – all he accomplished and the level that he played at. That's kind of how I look at it. I certainly have a ton of respect and I respect him and all he accomplished.

Q: Do you think can take a peek at halftime or try to get out early and see the ceremony?

A: I don't know. I mean, halftime's pretty quick and we've got to make some adjustment and we've got to be focused on what we're doing in the game. That's where we'll be focused, but certainly happy for him and certainly well-deserved.

Q: I know (Head Coach) Joe (Judge) preaches patience, but 0-2, you've been there before at 0-3. How dangerous is the prospect of falling to 0-3 and how big does that make this game?

A: Every game is big. I think we look at this week and the goal is to win this week, to be 1-0 this week, so that's where we're focused. Improving from last week, obviously we didn't do what we needed to do to win the game, so we've got to look at that and make sure we're ready for this week. But our focus is here on Atlanta and making sure we play as well as we can.

Linebacker Blake Martinez

Q: What is the mood of your defense this week coming off how you guys played last week?

A: I think as competitors, we are hungry to get back out there. Hungry to make the corrections. We looked back at the tape, it was little things here and there. Just winning one on one matchups, just focusing in on the details. If we do that, we're a really good defense. It's just making sure we're consistent.

Q: Where's the drop off been, in your assessment so far, based on where you were last season and what we've seen so far?

A: I think the biggest thing is just the attention to detail. I think there's just little lax lapses out there and they're finding it this year I think more. I think for us, it's just focusing in on those things because it ends up being kind of a one-off thing. One guy here, one guy there, or you go to the sideline and it's like, 'Oh okay, hey, I need to fix this small thing.' Next thing you know it's a big snowball effect.

Q: You talk about the attention to detail a lot and finding it, is some of that because you guys are in zone defense?

A: Yeah, I think at the end of the day, it just comes down to whether it's zone or man or anything. You understand where your help is, where your other zone droppers are, where you can anticipate to be, reading off the quarterbacks eyes. Just small things like that and being one or two steps quicker to be able to break the ball up instead of just making a tackle.

Q: Have teams adjusted coming off of last years tape to how you guys try to disguise coverages or how you scheme?

A: Potentially. Probably in some sort, some way. (The) more tape you put out there, teams are going to look at some kind of tendencies we have. Overall, I think when we look back at the tape, it's more on us than the other team.

Q: Obviously the way you guys lost that game was unusual to say the least. Did you guys come back here angry? Are you guys pissed as a defense and how that unfolded?

A: Yeah, 100 percent. I think when you go out there as a defense, you want to have the game on your shoulders, you want to be able to make those plays, you want to be able to get off the field. It's just one of those moments where it was too many times where it was like, 'Okay, hey, I got this next one. I'll be better on this next one.' Then it's another guy, 'I've got to get better on this one.' At that point we've got to stop that and switch it around and hold everyone accountable and make sure we have that string of three or four plays to get off the field.

Q: Virtually everyone on the defense you now know and are comfortable with. Do you anticipate those adjustments should be made more quickly now?

A: Definitely. I think as we grow comfortable across the board and we grow through these mistakes and these types of things that have happened to us to not help us win games, I think as we get that going and like I said, it comes down to the attention to detail. Once that comes, every single play or at least 95 percent of the time, then we have a chance to go out and win games.

Q: As a leader and a captain, does this take you a little bit by surprise that there would be lapses here or there so frequently throughout the whole defense?

A: I mean you go through OTA's, you go through training camp, you go through preseason, you work extremely hard and are focused and making sure you're doing everything right. You go out there and you don't perform the way you expected to, it's definitely something we want to turn around.

Q: Do you think your guy's lack of pressure on the opposing quarterback is exposing things that wouldn't be exposed if they didn't have as much time?

A: I mean yeah, I think that's kind of self-explanatory in the sense if we get after a quarterback, he's not able to see his second, third, fourth read and now he's having to scramble or throw the ball away or things like that. I think rush kind of goes with coverage. You have good rush, good pressure, it's hard for teams to move with the coverage.

Q: How problematic is it to give (Falcons Quarterback) Matt Ryan a lot of time, given how much he's seen and how much he can pick a defense apart with his eyes?

A: Definitely, I think he was an MVP quarterback for a reason. (He has) a lot of experience. I think getting out there you don't want to get him in to that MVP groove. That's kind of the game plan – make sure he doesn't get comfortable and we're able to kind of dictate the game.

Q: What kind of a challenge does a guy like (Falcons Tight End) Kyle Pitts present at tight end?

A: Oh yeah, (he's) definitely a unicorn athlete. He's basically a wide receiver, tight end at the same time. It's somebody you have to know where he's at all times, what formations he's in and just try to see certain tendencies and then go and make plays against someone like that.

Q: Does he remind you of anyone that you've seen when you've studied him?

A: No, I think he's a one of one. In the collector space, he's definitely a one of one and he's a freak.