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FLOWERY BRANCH – Falcons middle linebacker Paul WorrIlow, who has led the team in tackles over the past two season, has been practically living at the facilities this offseason.
He led the team with 142 tackles in 2014 and 127 in 2013. The new coaching staff has asked him to concentrate on his mobility this offseason.
Worrilow spoke to the media on Thursday, here’s what he had to say:
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
ON THE OFFSEASON PROGRAM: "It's going good. the past couple weeks have been real exciting, just kind of getting back in the flow of things and going through all the meetings and workouts."
ON THE NEW COACHES: "I think so, definitely. Conditioning wise, the coaches aren't down there, but you always feel like you have something to prove anytime you have a new coaching staff. That always weighs on your mind. You don't have any credit. Everybody is coming in at the same level and we're all competing for the same spots."
ON THE NEW LINEBACKERS: "We've got a couple guys new in our room. They're tremendous people. Everything is kind of (coming together) smoothly so far. They're great guys and we've all been getting along."
ON THE BIGGEST CHANGES TO THE SCHEME: "I think through the first couple weeks, compared to last year, there's less volume in terms of everything we had then. You can tell that it's geared more toward effort and the fundamentals of the game. Tackling has been a huge emphasis and attacking the ball has been a huge emphasis as well. Less scheme than individual efforts and the fundamentals on the field."
ON RUGBY TACKLING: "Every day we do something and go through a different part of tackling. They kind of take you through and teach you through that, which is kind of different. A lot of times over the years you never really watched film and talked in-depth about the technique of tackling. It was kind of understood everybody knows how to tackle. It's awesome. I think it's definitely going to help. You can always learn more."
ON COMPETITION: "Just everybody you bring your best and you do as much as you can. You don't take any time off. You do always feel that pressure. Especially right now. We have a big group in our linebackers room. It just makes everybody better. We're all helping each other. We all watch film together. It's a good group for that. We're all going to push each other this year."
ON HIS WORKING REGIMEN: "Most people that know me, strength and conditioning is a huge interest of mine. That's what I like. Even if I didn't play football, working out would be a huge part of my life. I like to put a lot of time into that. Olympic lifting and weight lifting is a huge part of it. Just talking with the coaches this year, mobility is something they want me to focus on and it's something I do every morning, whether it's 20 minutes or an hour. I schedule so I get to the building an hour or an hour and a half early so I can get that in to start the day."
ON HOW INFORMATION IS COMMUNICATED: "Right now, it's still kind of early. We're just getting in all the installs and stuff. But the meetings, the way they're conducting it, the way they're breaking things down, you're learning a lot. Things are different than in the past. I think it's very beneficial and I'm sure we'll get a better feel for it as we go along and we get all the plays in."
ON NEW LINEBACKERS COACH JEFF ULBRICH: "He is very intense. You can feel the intensity in our meetings, when he's explaining things. He's been through it and you know anything he's telling you, when you can take your chances, where you can cheat a little bit, in the game play, it's a huge part of it."
ON THE CHAOS IN THE DIVISION: "You just kind of focus on your own thing, what you can control. You worry about personally what can you attack, what can you improve."
ON CROSS TRAINING: "Anytime you're learning a playbook, you've got to learn all the positions, especially at the (middle linebacker spot). You've got to know what everybody is doing everywhere. When you put yourself at the position, you know what everybody is doing, you make yourself flexible. They can put you in at the (weakside), or if need by I can go play (strongside), not that they'd put me there, but I would know my responsibilities. That would help you at the (middle) anyway, knowing where everybody is and how to make all the calls."
ON WHAT HE WANTS TO SHOW THE COACHES: "They preach intensity, attitude and effort and that's something I think I bring. I'm looking forward to working on the fundamentals of everything they're preaching, tackling. I think it's going to be a good offseason."
ON LEADERSHIP: "You can see (Desmond Trufant) stepping up. I think Tru is somebody who definitely is working on his vocal leadership. There's no doubt everybody knows how good he is on the field, and you can feel his presence in the weight room and on the field a lot more this year."
ON HOW TO IMPROVE HIS MOBILITY: "Range of motion work and mobility is something I've always done a little bit, but I've kind of put it more to the forefront as an emphasis this offseason. Boxing is something I've always done in the offseason, so that's nothing new. I've got the speedbag up in the weight room and the heavy bag in the barn, but that's sort of business as usual."
NFL DRAFT CORNER
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FALCONS COMBINE MEETINGS
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COLLEGE PRO DAY VISITS
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SOUTH CAROLINA: RB Mike Davis (Stephenson High) has strong showing
GEORGIA: Todd Gurley reflects on his career in Athens
GEORGIA: Quarterack Hutson Mason has solid showing at Pro Day
GEORGIA: Chris Conley performed well in position drills
GEORGIA TECH: Synjyn Days hopes to run to daylight in NFL
GEORGIA TECH: VIDEO -- Head coach Paul Johnson
ALABAMA: Amari Cooper aiming to be top wide receiver in the draft
ALABAMA: VIDEO: Amari Cooper on his draft status
ALABAMA: Lineman Austin Shepherd has met with the Falcons
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