Head Coach Mike Smith
Q: What was your goal going into the bye week? Did you want to give the guys a chance to rest or to go over some stuff?
A: “The thing we are trying to do first as a staff is evaluate everything that we have done in the first six weeks. We spent the last two days looking at things that we need to improve as a staff. The second thing is that we want to get some work done. This week is not about the first six games or the next ten. It is about the Atlanta Falcons this week and what we need to improve on. That is what we are going to emphasize. We have identified a number of areas that we have to work on and that we want to get cleaned up. We will work on Thursday half a day and then we will be off for a long weekend.”
Q: Are you going to be off this weekend?
A: “We are all going to take some time. All the coaches will have Friday, Saturday and Sunday off to spend time with their families.”
Q: You have said there are some things that you would like to do better. Are there things that you would like to do more of?
A: “We want to accentuate the positive, without a doubt. What we are really looking at is that we want to evaluate what we are doing. As a staff and as a football team, want to continue doing the things that we have done well. We want to make sure we give our players the best opportunity to succeed.”
Q: How is the health of your team right now?
A: “Very good. Laurent Robinson and Jason Jefferson were back out in full participation today. They have been out for a number of weeks. We are excited about getting those guys back. We hope to have a full complement when we get on the bus to go to Philadelphia next week.”
Q: Is the depth chart scrutiny part of the evaluation process?
A: “We are always evaluating the depth chart and what our players are doing on the practice field and in games. It is just a matter of us going through the process and evaluating it. We have said that it is always open competition and we always want to be evaluating. We are not going to be afraid to make changes if we feel they are warranted.”
Q: Have you had a chance to look at that pass from Matt (Ryan) at the final seconds and your reaction? I can’t believe you remembered to call timeout because you were so excited.
A: “We wanted make sure we got the ball out of bounds and make sure that we had a timeout as well so we could get our team out there and ready to kick the field goal. It was exciting to see the way we went through the different scenarios as a coaching staff in terms of whether there would be a squib team out there or a big team. Then, to operate and make the change based on the play call, I thought was a great operation for the staff as well as the picture perfect route by Michael (Jenkins) and the throw by Matt. We were then able to kick the ball there at the end.”
MORE FROM THE FALCONS BYE WEEK:
- FEATURE: Workouts proceed bye-week getaways
- TRANSCRIPT: Head Coach Mike Smith | Monday
- VIDEO: Head Coach Mike Smith
- ONE-ON-ONE: Matt Ryan answers fan questions
- RELEASE: League announces Pro Bowl voting details
- NEWS: Falcons make practice squad moves
- COMMUNITY: Rookies take part in second Falcons Cookoff
