Head Coach Mike Smith
Opening Remarks:
“Before we get started, I would like to give you guys an update on Sam Baker. Sam is going to have a surgical procedure tomorrow for that pain in his hip and his lower back. We have been aggressively treating the lower back and the hip area. We sent him to some specialists, doing our due diligence, to get a second opinion. The second opinion that he saw confirms what we were doing. We really don’t want to put a time frame in terms of how long it will be before he returns. I think after the procedure we will have a better idea about that. That is the first thing that I wanted to let everyone know.”
Q: You said that the procedure is tomorrow?
A: “Yes.”
Q: How big of a loss is this?
A: “Well, anytime that you are going to miss a player, it’s tough. This time of the season, there are a lot of teams that are not playing at full strength. We will have our guys that are playing in the backup roles increase their role. We always talk about it as a team that one man’s misfortune is another man’s opportunity. It is going to be an opportunity for someone to step up and play.”
Q: Who will be that person stepping in?
A: “Todd Weiner, right now, will be starting. Todd has started in a number of games for us already this season.”
Q: What is the surgery slated to repair?
A: “It is a minor surgical procedure on his lower back.”
Q: Is there any chance that from this type of procedure that he could go on IR?
A: “I wouldn’t want to speculate that. I know that it is a minor procedure and we will have to wait and see. We will know more when the procedure is finished.”
Q: Do you think Wayne Gandy will provide depth for you on your line unit?
A: “Yes. Wayne has some familiarity with our verbiage and scheme with having a background in Pittsburgh with Mike Mularkey.”
Q: Could you talk about the cornerbacks from Oakland? Sports Illustrated had their midseason review and they said that the cornerback that no one has really heard about, but that is one of the best in the league is Nnamdi Asomugha.
A: “We know who he is. He is a very good corner. I think he is playing very well. The other corner, DeAngelo (Hall), is too. I think both of those guys have played very efficiently so far this season. I know he is a good player.”
Q: Offensively, JaMarcus (Russell) hasn’t really lived up to the hype of a number one quarterback.
A: “JaMarcus is getting better and better every game. His first start was actually against Jacksonville when I was there last year. I have had a chance to gauge him. I think he has improved immensely from where he was last year. He is going to continue to get better.”
Q: Do you think that is a result of the offensive line getting better?
A: “I think they have done a nice job. Their offensive line is very big and physical. They have a number of guys over 6’5” and 6’6”. I think they have done a nice job. They are running the ball efficiently. They have three running backs who have had over 50 carries. I think it is a very potent attack.”
Q: Do you think that when (Darren) McFadden is healthy he can be on of the better backs in this league?
A: “We did a lot of work on him coming out. I haven’t had the chance to see a whole bunch of film on him, but I think that is because he has been injured. I know that coming out, he had all the skill sets that we were looking for.”
Q: Will (Adam) Jennings be returning punts for you this week?
A: “Well, we are not going to give that away in terms of who is going to be returning punts. We are always evaluating.”
Q: Did the team respond pretty quickly after the game Sunday?
A: “Yes, they bounced back. This is a resilient group. It was a tough loss for us, but we came in on Monday and made the corrections. We have moved on knowing that this is the last game in the second quarter. We have always broken the season down into quarters. We are anxious to go out there and get the outcome that we want.”
Q: What is the defense doing so well in the first quarter to stop the run?
A: “They are playing very good technique. We have been very sound in what we have done in the first quarter. We have talked about it being something that we are going to have to sustain for four quarters. We have talked about sustainability. There are a lot of players in this league that have ability, but the great ones have sustainability, having the ability to play from quarter to quarter, from game to game and from year to year. That is something that we have not been consistent for four quarters. We can put spurts together, but we know we have to get better at it.”
Q: Todd (Weiner) seems to be doing well, but he didn’t finish the game on Sunday.
A: “Todd got rolled up in the game and we anticipate he will be ready to go. Todd is a tough guy. He has two starts for us already.”
Q: Back to the injury, it was a hip injury. How was that related to the lower back?
A: “The hip area is where the pain was. It was after we treated it aggressively and got a second opinion that we realized that the two were connected.”
Q: Will that procedure take place in Atlanta?
A: “No.”
Q: When you say minor does that mean that it is arthroscopic?
A: “I can’t say that. I know that it is going to be a minor procedure.”
Q: Will it be a discectomy?
A: “I don’t know the answer to that. I just know that it will be a minor procedure.”
RELATED LINKS:
- NOTEBOOK: Veteran Gandy happy to be back in Falcons locker room
- TRANSCRIPT: Head Coach Mike Smith | Video
- SAM BAKER: Baker to undergo "minor surgery" on hip, back
- VIDEO: Matt Ryan | Michael Turner | Grady Jackson | Todd McClure | Wayne Gandy
- INJURY REPORT: Raiders and Falcons injury news from Saint Joseph's Hospital
- FROM THE TRAINING ROOM: Team doctors discuss common injuries
- COMMUNITY: Elam joins second-grade student at school
- J. MIKE'S MISSIVES: Baker will not travel to Oakland | Birdseed
