On this being a trap game:
"Those things don't exist in the NFL. Week to week, there is so much parity throughout this League. The difference between records is very minimal. It comes down to a couple of plays. When you turn on the tape, regardless of what the statistics are, you're going to have guys that can play. We're going to have to prepare ourselves well for Sunday."
On the Raiders defense:
"I think they've got two really talented guys in their front four.(DT Richard) Seymour, a local guy, guy that played at Georgia and has ties to the area, very good player. Has been for a long time and very physical. I think their linebacking core has some good players and early round draft picks, and guys that are capable of making plays. We just have to execute as well as we can, and clean up some of the things that we've made mistakes on the last couple of weeks and try and play well."
On TE Tony Gonzalez:
"He's playing at a high level. He really is and he has been for 15 years. He hasn't let up at all. He's great to have in the locker room. He's a huge leader for our football team. He's taught everybody in this organization what it takes to play at a high level week in and week out. I'm certainly glad to have him around."
On him being your go to guy in key situations:
"He's been that guy for us. He's made some critical plays for us in a lot of situations. He never flinches, he really doesn't. He never flinches even when he's covered he seems to make plays. He's one of the best players to ever play this game."
On how his arm is holding up after throwing the ball so many times and changing his routine to help his arm hold up:
"Not too bad. Knock on wood. I've never had issues with that. I feel great. My routine has remained consistent and I think it's worked pretty well."
On the key to throwing it a lot and still being successful:
"I think we've kind of done it differently in each game. For us, I think it depends on how games shake out and how defenses are going to play against us. Some weeks it's been some more passes, but we've run the ball effectively when we've needed to this year. I think we ran the ball effectively when we needed to last week. (RB) Mike Turner's touchdown run last week was kind of the clincher and that came through the run game. I think balance is doing what you need to do to win, and I think we've done that so far."
On what kind of team the Raiders are after an up and down start:
"I think they're a good football team, I really do. They have talented guys. Offensively, I haven't seen much of what they've done, but I know they have some skill guys that can make some plays and score points. On the defensive side of the ball, they have guys that can change outcomes of games. I think they have some talented players. When you turn on the tape, you can't worry about what their record or statistics say. When you turn on the tape, it's a good football team."
On the Raiders having a lot of old veterans on the team:
"There are still a bunch of good players over there. Veteran guys that have played a long time, including Seymour. Those guys have been around for a while, but are still playing at a high level."
On them coming in off of a bye week:
"They will be fresh. They really will. They'll be fresh and will be ready to play. They'll have made some corrections from their first quarter of the season. I think they'll have some different looks for us. We'll have to be prepared for that. This time of year you can't be worried about it. You can't worry about what the other team's having, what they've gone through, or what they're coming off. You just have to prepare yourself to play."
On the two most important things for an offense being red zone efficiency and sustained drives:
"They're important. They are. I think scoring when you have the opportunity to score is really important. Time of possession just depends on what you're doing that day. I think sometimes it's important, sometimes it's not. At the end of the day, I think the number one statistic is points scored compared to their points scored. We've done a good job of that."
On limiting three and outs helping the defense stay rested:
"No question. In all honesty, that's the key to scoring points is you have to extend drives. We're going to create explosives (explosive plays). We've done a good job of that this year. We've had some explosive plays, some longer touchdowns, some short drives where we've had three or four plays and scored. A lot of them, even the field goal drives that are really important, you're going to have to convert third downs. You're going to have to extend drives. I think last week we were about 50 percent on third downs, which is pretty good and I feel like something we could probably do a little better with."
On the interception being a miscommunication with WR Julio Jones:
"No. I was actually throwing it to Harry (Douglas)."
On Coach Robiskie talking to Jones after the interception:
"It wasn't about that play. That one was on me. I didn't make a good throw and can't do that."
On how defensive coordinators have schemed against the offense so far this year:
"We've been played different ways. You just have to react to it and adjust to it throughout the game. Last week, they dropped a lot of guys underneath some of our deeper stuff and forced us to be a little bit patient. However, they come out and play you just have to react to it and execute."
On when the right time to take the shots deep are and do they have to be in the right set:
"I think that's every week. When you have your shot plays, you have to look for it and trust it, and we did that. We just didn't really hit on any last week. That's part of the nature of taking some of those shots. You're going to miss some, but you have to keep taking them."
On DE Andre Carter being a concern:
"Yeah. 11 some sacks last year and talented guy. I'm sure he's back. We've played against him before. He's a talented guy. We know what he's capable of doing, and we'll have to be prepared for him."
On making some back shoulder throws this year:
"I think we've made them before. I think we've hit more of them more condensed together probably this year than years past. Our guys make good plays. Our guys on the outside are playing really well."
On knowing much about the Falcons before he got drafted:
"Not really. I didn't know a lot about the organization before I was drafted. I would suspect that's probably the case for a lot of people that are not from the area growing up. It's been nice to be a part of it, I'll tell you that much."
On being concerned once you learned the history of the franchise:
"I don't think so. I think at 22 or 23 you're probably naïve enough to not worry about those kind of things and just come in and be confident in what you're capable of doing. That was certainly the case for me coming in here."
On why this team has made so much history the last four years:
"It starts with the GM and the head coach. I think Thomas (Dimitroff) and Mike Smith have done a great job of setting a plan, a course of action and sticking to it, and driving the players and the coaches to be consistent day in and day out. That's really what we talk about as a team all the time is being our best on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I would probably attribute it to that."
On the key to your success this year:
"Just having more experience. I've been through a lot of different situations in my career. Had some good things happen and had some bad things happen. Just learning from them, and I think when you have those things under your belt you go out and you feel very comfortable on the field. You're able to react and play well."
On picking up all of the different things that defenses are doing to confuse him:
"I think you recognize things better, and you also understand that when they get you be smart with it. It takes some time to learn that as a quarterback. It's just a combination of a lot of things."
