The following are excerpts from Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco’s conference call with the Atlanta media Wednesday in advance of Sunday’s game:
Q. How was the change in terminology change in adapting to a new offense?
A. It's different in terms of the play call. It's totally different offense. A lot of the words are completely new and different. It's just football at the end of the day. When you are out there on Sunday and are running plays you still have the same pictures in your mind and the same types of reads.
Q. Last week, were you aware that you broke the record for shortest time to get five touchdowns passes?
A. I had no idea it was a record. I do remember looking up at the clock with 13 minutes and 50-some seconds left in the second quarter and saying 'I've got five touchdowns already.' I didn't think about any kind of record but it was pretty crazy, that's for sure.
Q. How easy was it to get Steve Smith acclimated to the operation?
A. I think the big thing was we all learned this offense together. It wasn't like we learned this offense, me and the receivers had all been in this offense for five years and Steve was coming in trying to play catchup and felt like an outsider. We were all here and learning everything together. I think that worked out well and I think he's done a great job. The bottom line is he is a really good receiver and he knows how to get open and catch the ball. It's not too complicated to get a guy like that on the same page as you and everybody else.
Q. What about your trio of running backs, including Justin Forsett?
A. These guys have been playing really well and we have to keep giving them the ball and let them do their thing. I think they've all done their own thing and they've all done their own thing well. We've got to keep that going.
Q. What has it been like coming into the league with Matt Ryan and have you followed his career at all?
A. It's always fun to play Matt just because we did come in together. It's a shame that we are in opposite leagues and don't get to play each other that often, just a couple of preseasons. This is only the second time that we've really played each other. It would be cool if we got to play each other more. I've always enjoyed going up against the Falcons and seeing Matt and seeing him close up.
Q. What have you seen so far and what have you guys talked about in terms of the Falcons defense?
A. We've looked at them the last couple of days. Today we really worked on them and talked about what we have to beat and the differences between this week and last week – on third downs having to beat man coverage, protecting against their front, being able to run the football, just the typical things that you would want to do every week. These guys have played really well. There has been a play here or there that they've given up that allowed teams to put some points on the board. For the most part, they've played very sound football and are very good. They are disciplined and they are going to be in the right spots. We just have to make sure we play fundamental football.
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