Head coach Chip Kelly
On what makes the Falcons' offense so effective:
"Just the diversity. I mean, they can do it (all). Some teams are relying on one phase. I think this team and Kyle (Shanahan) does such a good job. And obviously with Matt (Ryan) directing it, they can hurt you running the football with both (Devonta) Freeman and (Tevin) Coleman, two outstanding backs. And they've got a really good scheme in the run game. And the all the play-action passes that come off of it – it's really played into what Matt's really good at. Then you've got a quarterback who's thrown for over 4,000 yards and 30 touchdowns and (has) arguably the best wide receiver in the game in Julio (Jones). And I think the complementary – they're really not complementary – the other starters, Mohamed Sanu and Taylor Gabriel, have really done a nice job, because they give Matt different options. You've got two really big guys in Jones and Sanu, and then you've got a real fast slot receiver in Gabriel. … You can't gang up on just one phase because they can hurt you in multiple ways."
On what it takes to cover a fast WR like Gabriel:
"You've got to try to get a good jam at the line of scrimmage. Our defensive staff was in Cleveland with him, so they know him and really speak very highly of him. He was a tough matchup for them when they had to face him in practice and knew what type of player he was. He's obviously electric in terms of his ability to make people miss in short areas. He can go from zero to top speed very quickly. So you have to try to get a guy – you obviously need to have help over the top – but you have to try to get a guy in his face to disrupt the timing of his route."
On the potential matchup between OLB Vic Beasley Jr. and RT Trent Brown:
"It'll be an interesting matchup. Trent is a big human being. He's 6-foot-8, 360 pounds. And then, obviously, you've got one of the top speed rushers in the NFL in Beasley. You just look at last week's game against the Rams and how explosive Beasley can be. So that's going to be certainly a matchup that we have to be aware of."
Quarterback Colin Kaepernick
On the Falcons' defense:
"Very fast, very physical. They're young, but they're talented. So you know we have to be able to take advantage of some of the opportunities that are there on their defense, but account for the ability they do have to make plays."
On the importance of avoiding mistakes against Atlanta, which leads the league in defensive touchdowns:
"They have a very talented defense, and we have to be able to account for that and make sure our ball security is great. (We have to make sure) we're not turning the football over and we're not allowing them opportunities to make those impact plays on defense."
On Beasley:
"He's a very talented player. He has the ability to be a game-changer, and that's something we have to be able to account for and make sure that he's not the one out there causing disruption to our offense."
