The Atlanta Falcons completed their walkthrough workout on Wednesday, shortly before offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter and defensive coordinator Mike Nolan addressed the media, previewing Thursday night's divisional matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers; below are some of the key quotes from both coaches, regarding the Week 3 matchup.
Coach Koetter on the vaunted "Tampa-2" defense run by the Buccaneers, led by head coach Lovie Smith:
"Lovie Smith and (Tampa Bay defensive coordinator) Leslie Frazier are two of the best; they're two guys that really believe in this system and they make you earn everything you get. There are definite ways to attack it, but they're not going to give you a whole bunch of opportunities to get it down the field. When your opportunities come up, you have to hit your plays at the right time."
Expectations for WR Roddy White, who hasn't practiced all week and is currently listed as questionable for the game:
"Roddy's played plenty of games in his career without practice; he's been in this offense for years. Sometimes you're worried about players, assignment-wise, but on a short week, you're not putting in a complicated game plan; all the stuff in this game plan, Roddy knows it. When it's an experienced guy like Roddy, it's way more about his health than it is about is he going to know what to do. If he's healthy and able to go full-speed, he'll play well."
Coach Nolan addressing the question of how to improve the team's defense, including the pass rush:
"It's a combination of a lot of things. Obviously, the best players always make the most plays and if you're not one of the best players, and you're trying to get there, the only thing that you can really do is do the things that make your skills better, whether you outwork somebody or you're just more talented and haven't used it. Primarily, it's just a matter of honing in on your techniques and just working on it."
Nolan on the Falcons CBs, Desmond Trufant & Robert Alford vs big, physical Bucs WRs like Vincent Jackson & Mike Evans:
"They'll have a whole-new challenge this week, because the Tampa Bay WRs are very big, physical guys and they'll push around guys. You expect as they have those big receivers, just as we have (Falcons WR) Julio (Jones), that they'll try to go up and over the top to catch the ball; that's what the challenge is going to be for our guys (Trufant and Alford). Both their receivers and our corners are very competitive players."
