Falcons head coach Dan Quinn addressed the media on Tuesday in Houston following Super Bowl Opening Night. Here are the main takeaways from his second podium session:
Falcons Must Affect Tom Brady
The Falcons want to play fast and physical in every aspect of their game, and Quinn knows that in order to do so, his team can't overthink things because it will slow them down.
"The quarterback has done a great job in terms of accuracy of where to go with the ball," Quinn said of Patriots' QB Tom Brady. "We've got to find ways to affect him. Defensively, we are at our best when we can really play fast. Too much overthinking, too much game planning can sometimes jam you up. You have to find that right balance as a coach to make sure the team is playing at max speed where we can have that aggressiveness, the hitting we like."
Quinn stressed how important it will be to find ways to affect Brady on Sunday and veteran defensive end Dwight Freeney echoed a similar sentiment.
"He's a great quarterback and it's hard to fool him with a blitz," Freeney said. "If you have a great defensive line and you can put pressure on any quarterback with just four guys you can have success."
Julio Jones, Alex Mack return to practice
Quinn said Julio Jones (toe) and Alex Mack (fibula) were limited during Atlanta's first practice of the week on Monday.
"Both were limited yesterday," Quinn said of Mack and Jones. "Julio looked great, for him to get rolling just like he did right off the bat, you could feel his intent, you could feel the energy. For Alex, it was equally important for him to get moving and feel like he could participate like he could and felt comfortable. Both of them will ramp up their work over the next two days, on Wednesday and Thursday specifically. I was encouraged by both of them on the first day of the week for us."
Jones and Mack's status will be monitored as the week continues, with the first injury report coming on Wednesday.
Improved communication, vision reasons for Deion Jones' emergence
Rookie LB Deion Jones was the Falcons' leading tackler (106) this year, and his performance has not only played a major role in Atlanta's success on defense, but put him in the conversation for the Defensive Rookie of the Year award.
Quinn referenced a specific moment in which he saw Jones playing at a different level.
"There was definitely a shift in his game, I'd say about five or six weeks ago," Quinn said. "Where not only did he have his assignment down, he could get the communication out to other players. That's when we saw the shift take place, not only could he could he take care of his assignment, but he could tell the guy who was right next to him, hey this alert, hey this might happen. We've been really pleased with his development so far."
