Here’s what Falcons secondary/defensive passing-game coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. had to say to the media Tuesday:
Q: What has Darqueze (Dennard), who just went on injured reserve, meant to this group?
A: He had a really good game the last game (Sunday against the Bears). It’s unfortunate that he hurt. He played like a warrior through the game. He’s brought leadership. He brought a guy that’s very accountable. Looking forward to getting him back once he gets healthy. He’s been a pleasant addition to the group.
Q: What went in to the moves when you found about A.J. Terrell going on the reserve/COVID-19 list?
A: The game plan was to play Queze outside some anyway. So he had practiced the week outside more than inside. I don’t think that’s necessarily why he played well. It’s just that he played well because he was a good player. That was the game plan, to get him some (work) outside to give A.J. and Isaiah (Oliver) a little bit of a breather and bring Blidi (Wreh-Wilson) in and get some plays for Blidi. Then when A.J. went down, we permanently put Queze outside and then Blidi at the nickel.
Q: What has been some of the struggles here early for the defense, especially on the back end from your perspective?
A: On the back end, the main issue is we haven’t turned the ball over enough. We haven’t held vertical control or keep explosives down. That’s what we have to do. If we can eliminate those explosive first, people aren’t scoring on us. But when we give them opportunity to 20-yard plus plays, that gives the offense the opportunity to get in the end zone. Then we have to play better in the red zone. We have our work cut out this week and hopefully, we’ll get it addressed.
Q: What is Isaiah Oliver struggling with, and what are you all trying to do to keep him together to maybe elevate his play here?
A: It’s not just Isaiah. We’re a whole group that needs to elevate our play. We talk everyday, with Isaiah and individually. I don’t want to necessarily detail how we’re coaching him because I know teams look at interviews. Just understand that the whole group, we have to improve. It’s not one individual who’s letting us down. If anybody is letting us down, it’s myself because I have to lead these men and put these men in position to make the plays that then need to make, and I need to do a better job of that. I’ll get Isaiah playing at a higher level and not only him, but the whole group.
Q: What’s it been like coaching A.J. Terrell? Have you had him talk to Charles Woodson (who played for Whitt with the Green Bay Packers)?
A: A.J. is just a great kid. He’s very talented. I though the last game that he played (against Dallas), that he played a really solid game. Yes, I had (Woodson) talk to whole group. I had a number of different guys that I’ve coached talk to the group. (Woodson), I believe, was one of the first guys to talk to the group. I haven’t had him talk him one-on-one, but A.J. is a sponge. Anything that you can give him, he takes it. I can’t wait to get him back. He’s a great kid and a talented young man. We need him.
Q: What’s the plan to juggle the secondary with Terrell and Dennard out?
A: We talk about the whole room being prepared. This is the NFL. Everybody has to be ready. We are not paid to go out there and play well. We’re paid to go win. This week (going) against Aaron is going to be a great challenge. I was with Aaron for 11 years. I know what type of quarterback that he is. Their offense is rolling. Watching the film of them, they are as good as any offense in the league. It’s going to take everybody. It’s going to take the guys up front, giving a little extra rush. It’s going to take us to make sure that we hold our coverage on the back side to give those guys (time) to rush. When we have opportunity to make plays -- which we had a couple of opportunities in this last game and we dropped them -- we have to make those plays to win games like this coming up on Monday night (at Green Bay). I’m not going to make an excuse for certain guys being out. It’s our job to go out there and play. It’s our job to go out there and win. No excuses.
Q: Are there any positives from the unit’s play over the first three games?
A: Most of the explosive (plays) have come in the second half. We’ve started the games with the right mentality. I think we started games coming downhill, playing with a level of physicality. A level of focus. What we have to do is play four quarters. If it needs to be five quarters, we need to finish. We were able to pull a ball off of Chicago twice, but we’ve had two other opportunities that would have changed the game. Then, we have to make sure that our tackling is where it needs to be. They got one explosive ball because we missed to tackles on that play. We can’t have that. Not on the back in.
Q: What advice can you give your players about (Packers quarterback) Aaron Rodgers?
A: Everybody has a lot of respect for Aaron and me being there with him. Just a great understanding that he can place the ball where ever he wants to put it. He can move people with his eyes. I used to tell my players when I was there that he’s like Medusa, don’t look him in the eyes because he will freeze you. He has great arm talent. He can throw the ball from any plane. You can move him to the left or right and he can still throw the ball. The thing that we have to make sure that we do, we have to hit him. We have to make sure that we stay on top of these receivers. Davante (Adams) and (Marquez Valdes-Scantling), those guys can go. They have a really good offense. Aaron Jones, the other Aaron, is running the ball really well.
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