Head Coach Mike Smith
Q: What are your evaluations of minicamp this weekend?
A: “I’m very pleased with the effort that the guys put forth. I thought the guys came out here and practiced hard. The mindset was that we were going to get better everyday and I think we did that. The guys who were here for the first time got a chance to get adjusted to our system and I thought that they picked it up. I was pleased talking to some of the guys prior to our practice today and they were speaking our language.”
Q: Did anybody punch their ticket to the Hall of Fame this weekend?
A: “You don’t cut anybody following this first minicamp, but you don’t give anyone pass to Canton (Pro Football Hall of Fame) with a bronze statue either. They all worked hard and I’m sure they feel a lot better today then they did on Friday night when they first got here.”
Q: What are your evaluations of mini camp this weekend?
A: “We put the groups together and it was great to see our offense operate in that two-minute situation. It was the first time we did that. It was good to see our defense have to be put in that situation as well.”
Q: What are your impressions of the linebacker position over the past three days?
A: “I thought that Keith (Brooking) did a nice job at the WILL linebacker position with the reps that he took. In his career, he’s probably played more there than he ever has at the MIKE linebacker position. We want to create as much flexibility in this defense as we can and we want to have guys play multiple positions. Keith did play some MIKE linebacker on occasion through this camp, but most of his snaps came when he was playing WILL. Curtis Lofton is a guy who will get some time at the outside linebacker position during OTAs as well.”
Q: When will the team start OTAs?
A: “We’ll start our OTAs on Monday, which is one week from today. We’ll go from May 19th to June 19th and will work two, three or four days a week.”
On Roddy White’s injury in practice:
A: “Roddy White tweaked his hamstring and we held him out as a precaution. We don’t want to put ourselves in a situation at this time of year that might hurt a guy more if we put him out there.”
Q: What were your impressions of Harry Douglas and Thomas Brown?
A: “I was very impressed with Harry. We were excited when we drafted him and we were able to get him in the third round. He’s a very efficient receiver. I was most impressed with his ability to soak up most of what we were giving him. He’s a very smart football player, he works hard at it and I think he has a chance to be a good player. Thomas Brown has fit in well with our running back crew in terms of what he has been able to do athletically. He’s a guy who can run the ball between the tackles while having the speed to hurt you when he gets free. I was impressed with him. I saw him do some nice things too with his blitz pick up.”
Q: Can you talk about being eager to get more physical in practice?
A: “We are very eager and we’ll do that in July and August. We’re all anxious, especially the offensive and defensive linemen up front to work together at a full speed pace.”
Q: How has Chris Redman handled the situation with Matt Ryan being drafted?
A: “All of these guys have been great in terms of handling the situation that we are in. They know it’s an open competition in terms of what we are trying to get done. Guys are going to come out and compete and they have been supportive of each other as well. That’s how you build a team. You want guys who want to be around each other and they want the best players to play because that will give us the best chance to win.”
Q: Are you concerned with possibly rushing Matt Ryan into the lineup?
A: “No, right now in terms of Matt, we are concerned about him learning our system at this time. As we move through the OTAs into training camp, we’ll be able to have a feel for where he is and when he’ll play. Matt wants to be familiar with our system and I know that Bill Musgrave and Mike Mularkey have been working closely with him.”
Q: Are you ruling out that Matt Ryan will start right away?
A: “No, we are not ruling out anything in terms of who is going to start. We are going to let them go out and compete. I can say that the quarterback position is one of the more difficult positions to transition. If anyone can do it, I think Matt is a guy who can.”
Q: Where does D.J. Shockley fit in the quarterback competition?
A: “D.J. is just coming back and this was his first opportunity to come out here and participate. We didn’t want him to participate in any of our team stuff because he is just about seven months out from his ACL surgery. He will get an opportunity to compete and I think he brings a different dynamic as far as our quarterbacks are concerned. He can run the ball and do some things with his feet.”
Q: What does Matt Ryan show you in a leadership role out here?
A: “I thought Matt did a great job with his ability to handle the huddle. He was confident as a quarterback and sometimes rookies come in nervous from the beginning. I thought he did an outstanding job handling the huddle. I tried to stay back there as much as I could and hear his commands. I thought the players responded well to him as well as the other quarterbacks.”
Q: Did any of the tryout players jump out at you this camp?
A: “We’re going to make a determination and we talked to the tryout guys this morning. It’s really difficult when you have two practices a day to evaluate the players. We are going to take a few days to look at some tape to see if any tryout guys will add to our roster.”
MORE FROM MINI CAMP:
SATURDAY MAY 10, 2008
- NOTEBOOK: Ryan glad first practice in the books
- QUOTABLE: Quarterback Matt Ryan
- J. MIKE'S MISSIVES: Baker Has Family Support
- PHOTOS: Snapshots from Mini Camp
- AUDIO: Tackle Sam Baker
- VIDEO: Coach Mike Smith | David Baker | Matt Ryan | Michael Turner | Michael Boley
SUNDAY MAY 11, 2008
- VIDEO: Todd McClure | Jonathan Babineaux
- PHOTOS: Snapshots from Mini Camp
- J. MIKE'S MISSIVES: Got Wallpapers? | Mini Camp Tryouts | Helping Hands | Windy Afternoon
MONDAY MAY 12, 2008
- NOTEBOOK: Falcons close three-day mini camp
- PHOTOS: Snapshots from Mini Camp
- VIDEOS: Coach Mike Smith | Matt Ryan | Brian Finneran | Curtis Lofton | Roddy White | Thomas Brown
- QUOTABLE: Head Coach Mike Smith
