Bobby Petrino
Q: What are your thoughts on the Michael Vick situation?
A: "Every year, you are going to deal with controversy and adversity. Certainly, we've had our share so far. One of the keys to coaching and the keys to success is how you deal with it, how you face it straight on and how you put it behind you and move forward. I think that's what we have to do on Thursday. We have to get in the meeting room, meet with the players, and make sure we understand what the situation is as we know it with Michael and move on from there and put all of our focus on the team getting ready for our opening game."
Q: Which players will be able to step up and take leadership to help the overall morale of the team?
A: "We're concerned about the morale of the team. All of the players and coaches are concerned about Michael, his well-being and the charges he faces. We understand the severity of what he faces. They are also professionals and understand their job. We definitely have the leadership within the room which can take over the team and head us in the right direction. I think the players will be excited to get on the field on Thursday to start practicing and work toward the 2007 season."
Q: What adjustments will you make with Joey Harrington as the starting quarterback?
A: "There will be adjustments, but that's how our offense is based. We have a huge playbook, we threw it all at them three different times. We've installed it once, we’ve installed it twice and when we start training camp, it will be the third time we’ve installed the offense. Then I believe it's my job and the coaches' jobs to figure out what the quarterback does well, what he can’t do and utilize those parts of the offense. It changes with each quarterback because you try to make the offense his. You utilize his talents the best you can."
Rich McKay
Q: What type of precautions will you put in place to stop future problems among players?
A: "The league has a number of programs in place in respect to educating players. Commissioner Roger Goodell has set up programs and one that will even deal with the issue of dog-fighting to an extent. We have a player program director and we have programs that we run all year. We have Falcons University where we deal with life skills and issues that confront players. It doesn’t mean it's a perfect world. You have a lot of young men with things going on. We do as a League take it very seriously as the commissioner has shown in the past couple of months. One of the ways we take that seriously is through education. It also falls back on the leaders of the locker room. You look at the leaders of the locker room to help the young players realize what is acceptable and unacceptable. I can't sit here and tell you that we end up with a perfect world, but we do understand the responsibility of helping these guys realize what is and what is not acceptable."
Arthur Blank
"This has been a difficult week in every respect that you can think of. The indictment of Michael Vick has affected everyone associated with the Falcons, the National Football League, our players, our coaches, our associates, our sponsors, our season ticket holders, our fans, the Atlanta community and you in this room. But, it's also gone beyond our partners. The details of the indictment have touched the emotions of people across the country. We have heard from many of them. I know that many people are deeply distraught about what they read in the indictment, and I am as well."
Q: Do you know how Michael Vick feels about his own indictment?
A: "My own counsel to Michael would be that these charges are extremely serious. It's not about him playing football in 2007, it’s about him having a life going forward. My personal suggestion to Michael is that he focuses on his defense and focuses on putting his life together in that regard and dealing with the difficult process that he'll be going through in the next couple of months. I think it would be difficult for him to do that and focus on football at the same time."
