Falcons coach explains toll on offensive line

Q: Why is the offensive line off to such a much better start than last season?

A: Chris (Lindstrom) has really just started his eighth game, if you really think about it. Having Alex Mack (is good.) James Carpenter has been with us over a year now. You’ve got Jake Matthews. The continuity of the group, the guys are all really working hard. It’s really important to them. I think they had a very, very good offseason. I think they came back in extremely good shape. They studied. Worked. Learned. I think all of those things were a big part of it.

Q: What does Chris Lindstrom bring that the Falcons missed when you didn’t have him last year?

A: I think he brings a lot of things. I think he brings extreme toughness. He brings great effort, great enthusiasm. He’s very athletic. He’s fast. He’s long. He loves to play. He’s a great communicator. I think he brings all of those to the group.

Q: How did Matt Gono play against the Bears and how gratifying is it to see a guy you all developed out there on the field?

A: Matt came out and battled. He did a nice job in a lot of spots. He played a really good player. A good defense for his first start. It is really a cool deal to see Matt and how much he’s put into and how far he’s come. An undrafted guy from Wesley, he worked really hard for the two years he’s been here, this being the third season. He’s developed. He’s learned. He’s worked. You saw how valuable it was. He went in and played tackle and played at a high level in a lot of spots.

Q: What’s the challenge your line will face against Green Bay’s front, which features the Smiths, Preston and Za’Darius?

A: They have good pass-rushers. They do a lot of stuff schematically. They throw a lot of different looks at you. They are attacking. They are moving around. They give you a bunch of different packages. They are good on the first level with some bigger bodies inside. They can definitely run on the second and third level. It’s going to be a huge challenge, but we’re excited for it.

Q: How was the run blocking on Brian Hill’s touchdown? How’s the run blocking been so far?

A: On that play, they walked a bunch of people up to the line of scrimmage. We got bodies on bodies and Brian Hill made a great read. If you look at that run, the wide receivers did an excellent job on the second and third levels down the field. It was a good illustration of all 11 on that play. It started with Brian and then the receivers, a big run for a touchdown is good to see.

Q: Where is the run blocking, and it looks like James Carpenter has won the left guard spot?

A: It’s a work in progress. The more you can fit combination (blocks), run tracks, work together, see new defenses and blocks, the better it will get and the more it will come. We like Todd Gurley. We like Brian. We like Ito (Smith). We like all of our guys. James has done a good job for us. The continuity of it all, we talked a little bit about that earlier, but all of those things help. The more turns you get, not having any (exhibition) games, all that kind of stuff, it all kind of goes hand in hand. The more reps you get, the more turns you get, the better you should be.

Q: What has the feedback been from the guys, in terms of communication without fans?

A: There’s a lot of good and bad feedback. Everybody has got something to say. Some positives and some negatives.

Q: Have you done any analysis of how many pre-snap penalties (there have been) in years past compared the first couple of games?

A: Penalty-wise, it’s been easier on us. Penalty-wise, I think we’ve been a lot cleaner up to this point. Especially the way we were last year. They have a certain way they do things with calls and cadence and you know it’s been OK. It hasn’t been a problem yet. I know we like going to Green Bay with no fans.

Q: With the talent that you have on the line, what do you make of this 0-3 start with a really good group of talented players?

A: We have to find ways to finish. That’s the biggest thing. We’ve talked about playing good in spots and playing good in spurts. You have to play good the whole game. You’ve got to finish and we haven’t done that yet. That’s what we are up here working on trying to do. We’ve got to go do it this week. That’s the plan.

Q: Why has the line improved so much in pass protection? It’s been only five sacks so far.

A: Again, I think it’s a combination of a lot of things. We’ve been working together now. We’ve got good players that it’s very important to. In pass protection, it’s everybody. It’s receivers. It’s quarterbacks. It’s Matt getting rid of the ball. It’s runners. It’s all of those things. It’s another year together in the system. It’s all of those things.

Q: What did you see on film from the fourth quarter of this past game (against the Bears)?

A: We just didn’t make plays. It was the same thing that (offensive coordinator) Dirk (Koetter) said. We had so many runs and they weren’t efficient. We had incompletions. We just got stalled. A credit to them over there for playing good defense, but we didn’t make enough plays. We didn’t finish the game. We know that. We are going to try to address it, handle it and get back on track.

Q: What does Alex Mack bring as far as toughness to the group?

A: He brings everything as far as a leader by example. What he says. What he does. He only plays one way. He only practices one way. That’s the right way. You guys all see it. You know what kind of player he is. He’s the standard with that and we’re lucky to have him.

Falcons' next four games

Falcons at Green Bay Packers, at 8:15 p.m. Monday, Oct. 5

Panthers at Falcons at 1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 11

Falcons at Vikings at 1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 18

Lions at Falcons at 1 p.m. Sunday Oct. 25

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