FLOWERY BRANCH -- In a conference call with the New Orleans media, Falcons wide receiver Roddy White wouldn't take the bait when informed that Saints cornerback Keenan Lewis said that they were going to have a "funeral" for the Falcons at the Superdome on Sunday.
The Falcons (5-9) play the Saints (6-8) at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Superdome. The Falcons will be eliminated from the playoffs if the lose.
Here’s what White had to say on the conference call:
Q: What kind of atmosphere are you expecting in New Orleans? Will it be a playoff atmosphere in the Merced
A: "Absolutely. It's going to be loud and crazy in there. I can't wait to get down there."
Q: Do you kind of like the fact that it’s been so long since the two of you have played?
A:
“Yes, the way the NFL’s doing it nowadays with the division games counting it at the end of the season is great and the way they separate it and everything like that. It’s an important game for both teams with the season we’ve been having. We’re both right there. The winner of this game is probably going to win the division, so the excitement will be there. Everybody will be pumped. Everybody will be ready to go.”
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
Q: The Saints have three new starting defensive backs since you last played them and some different looks on defense. I don’t know how much film you have had a chance to watch yet, but what do you see out of their new look on defense if anything?
A: “I’ve really watched the film these last two days and the personnel’s changed so much since we played them in the first game this season. They’ve had a lot of injuries, guys getting hurt and stuff like that, but they have put some guys in and those guys have made some plays. Just watching the Bears game they’re going out there and guys are picking off balls and things like that. These guys are playing with confidence. I don’t know if they’ve played a group like ours yet as far as depth at wide receiver and guys we can put out there to make plays. It’s different in that aspect of it.”
Q: You guys started fast this season and then slumped. Do you think your team is round back to where you were at the start of the season?
A: "I just think right now our guys are playing at such a high level. Julio's (Jones) was playing great football until he got hurt last week. Harry's (Douglas) has been playing outstanding and (Drew) Davis has been playing well the last three games. I just think that our guys are playing right now at a very high level. I love it. I love the way those guys are going out there and making explosive plays. The last three or four weeks, we've had about 10 explosives and that helps win football games. We've been having red zone problems the whole year. We haven't figured it out yet. We just have to be better down there. When we get down there we have to score touchdowns instead of kicking field goals. I feel like these last couple weeks we have put ourselves in bad situations just getting inside the ten, getting inside the five and basically kicking extra points. We have to find a way to punch the ball in the end zone and we'll be better."
Q: Did you see that Keenan Lewis told a reporter that the Saints were going to give you your funeral when you come down here on Sunday?
A: "Yes, may we rest in peace."
Q: Is that your response to that?
A: "Yes, may we'll rest in peace. I don't have a response for that because the game is played on Sunday at 12:00. When the ball kicks off and we start to tangle, get it up and mix around and mingle out there, then we'll see who the better team at the end of the game is. That's all that's going to matter. Anything that comes out of their locker room, comes out of our locker room, there's no kind of motivation that's going to make us step up and be like 'Oh, they said this'. No, we know what it is, it's Saints-Falcons."
Q: Did you get your confidence back as a team in that Green Bay game?
A: "I think it was actually the Arizona game. Our guys played extremely well in the Arizona game. We made a lot of plays. It was a big game for us at home and we went out there and executed the game plan and made a whole heck of a lot of plays and then from there we went to Green Bay, couldn't pull it out there at the end, and didn't get an opportunity to get our offense out there. That's when I thought we played well. We had 400 yards of offense. We just got in the red zone three times and kicked field goals. You can't do that in this league. You need to score touchdowns. So, I think our guys are playing really good football. The offensive line is doing a heck of a job. We're throwing the ball two yards and getting, 40-, 50-yard gains and stuff like that. We need to continue to be an explosive offense."
Q: This division race is obviously a little odd this year? Does this feel like a race for a division title? Does it feel as big as it is?
A: "Yes, I feel like we are in playoff mode and we have two weeks left in the season. This is it. You lose this game, we're pretty much done. We are in playoff mode. We know we have to win our next two games to make the playoffs and that's the only way we're going to make it. We're locked in. We're going to take it one game at a time and be focused and be mentally and physically prepared."
Q: If Julio Jones can’t play, do you put more on yourself?
A: "Absolutely. Me being a veteran guy, I have to go out there and play good veteran football if Julio doesn't go. Regardless of if he goes or not, I still have to go out there and play well for my team to have to chance to win. That's going to be my expectation for this game. I have to go out there and execute and make plays and help our team, especially when we get down to the red zone area. I feel like that's affected us all year. We have to figure out how to dissect and get a better read on defenses and what they're trying to do to us when we get out there. It's hard when you go out there with four guys at receiver and three guys and they're playing a lot of eight-man drops and stuff like that, but we just have to figure out whether we're going to run it in or throw it in, but we have to figure it out."
Q: What makes the Saints-Falcons rivalry so special to you?
A: "It's the atmosphere and how excited the two teams are to play each other. The dislike is there between the players and everything about this rivalry, even though the Saints have won most of the games in the last five or six years. Every time it's been close, it's always been down to the wire, always we need a score or they need a score to win. That's just how it's been and they have gotten the best of us the last couple of time. We won the first game at home. We have to go down there and make a statement."
Q: This is the time of year a lot of your teammates are talking about college football and bowl games for their alma maters. Is it kind of bummer or frustrating what your college’s football program has been going through the last few months?
A: “It’s been a bummer being bowl-eligible and not being able to participate in a bowl, cancelling our program. It’s been a bummer. All the support that people have given out to UAB, it’s been frustrating. From where that program started and how it achieved goals, getting to division 1 from being a division 2 school. To getting people to where they followed UAB football, to it getting shut down all of a sudden it sucks.”
FALCONS FAN MAILBAG: We take your questions from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Friday.
ICYMI: In case you missed it
GAME STORY: Steelers knock Falcons out of first place with 27-20 wi n
QUOTEBOARD: What the Falcons had to say after the loss to the Steelers
SIDEBAR: Falcons slow Bell but not Steelers wide receivers
SIDEBAR: A franchise record for Roddy White, but no reason to celebrate
COLUMN: The blame for lose No. 9 falls on Matt Ryan -- Mark Bradley
NOTEBOOK: Jones, Moore held out with injuries
BY THE NUMBERS: Steelers 27, Falcons 20
UP NEXT: The New Orleans Saints at the Superdome where the Falcons are 1-6 under Coach Smith
