FLOWERY BRANCH – Washington coach Ron Rivera is no stranger to the Falcons.
He was the head coach of the Carolina Panthers in the NFC South from 2011 to 2019 and took them to a Super Bowl before getting fired when ownership changed hands.
He quickly landed on his feet in Washington and guided the Football Team to NFC East title last season.
Here’s what Rivera had to say to the Washington media on Wednesday;
On how WR Curtis Samuel looked at practice: “He looked good. He moved around well. We incorporated him in some of the things that we do. I really like watching him run, especially on the deep balls. He showed his speed, so it was good to see him out there. But we have 21 days still before we have to do anything. But you know, it was good for his first bit of action.”
On having a different approach to the return to action of Curtis: “We have to do the same thing we do because we’ve got to try to put him in as much of a football situation that we could possibly do that. And so by having him come out and practice the way we had and practiced today, we’ll increase stuff tomorrow and see how he handles it if he comes out of it good tomorrow morning.”
On what he sees in the receiving room especially WR Dyami Brown: “Well, you know, there is growing and learning, and we’ve got to be able to make sure he understands and gets the feel for things. He’s a rookie, who’s got some things that he has to improve on, and he knows that he’ll continue to work. We’d like to see him obviously be a little more active, make a few more plays, but we’ve also got to throw the ball. And if we do throw to him, he’s got to catch it, and that’s the truth.”
On how the return of Curtis will affect teammates: “Yeah, especially if Curtis gets back to the form that we know he’s capable of. I mean, he’s an impact player. He’s the kind of guy you want on the football field, and it’d be good for some of the younger guys to get a chance to take a look and see how it is done.”
On Head coach Arthur Smith and his similar developments in Atlanta: “It wouldn’t be fair to compare because it’s all about the players, you know, what type of players you have. I do know that from what I’ve seen from what he did in Tennessee with the offense, you could see him trying to install the same type of attitude, same type of philosophy and the same type of scheme. It’s a physical football team, I believe it’s what he wants. And I think they’re on their way because you watch it, and it is physical. You watch their defense, with (defensive coordinator Dean) Pees there as the coordinator is physical, they’re attack oriented. So, I think he’s well on his way to doing what he wants to do and establish it his way.”
On secondary being conscious of QB Matt Ryan’s ability to exploit defenses: “Well, we just have to make sure that, we’re not tipping anything. We’re not showing our hand. I mean, this is a savvy guy, this is a guy that’s been doing it a long time and has had a lot of success. He’s a league MVP. So you know, he’s a really good football player. He’s got a good arm. He still makes all the throws. He is a little older, but with that comes wisdom and experience. And that’s what you see from Matt.”
On teams using quick passes to combat the pass rush: “We’ve had situations where they’re trying to eliminate the pass rush by the way they throw the ball. Three steps, quick game, play action, the way they set the protection up; you know, putting the extra tight in over there, putting the back over there to other sides. There’s a lot of ways to show, but at the end of the day, when we have an opportunity and when we do get the one-on-ones, you know, we’ve got to win and that’s the truth of the matter. Can we put them in better positions? Yeah, sometimes we could, but at the end of the day, we just have to do our jobs and be more efficient.”
On what particularly stands out to him about one-on-one on the pass rush: “I just think again, it comes down to just winning at the point (of attack). Sometimes you’re going to win them. Sometimes the quarterback’s going to step out of the way and he’s going to win and that’s what happens. That’s football.”
On why RB Antonio Gibson is getting fewer carries every game: “In the second game, we got (RB) J.D. (McKissic) a little bit more featured in the game and the third game, you know, we were trying to catch up when you play catch up. Unfortunately, your tendency is to throw the ball a little more than you probably had planned on initially. So again, it’s, circumstances really dictated a lot in terms of how we have played this year.”
On what he tells DE’s Chase Young and Montez Sweat to stay motivated despite a slow start to the season: “I think the big thing is, they’ve got to stay the course, more so than anything else that they’ve got to fall back to what they do best and that’s one of the things that we’ve talked about as a team is when things get tough, you got to go back to your base fundamentals.”
On how the Atlanta game will define the team: “Win or loss, I think the thing is it’s about how we play now. And that’ll talk about whether or not we’re resilient, whether or not we can put things behind us, we can learn from what happened in the past and use it going forward. That’s what I’m looking for as far as that’s concerned. I think it’s an opportunity for us to take a step. It’s going to be a very competitive game. Both teams are in the same situation. So, I expect it to be a hard played game.”
On QB Taylor Heinicke playing near his hometown: “It’s interesting. That’s a good thing, we’ll see how it goes. For Taylor, he’s going to have to be the one that handles it and compartmentalizes it, take care of all the things beforehand, get all your tickets everything’s settled with the family ready to roll. And it’s true for all our guys, we have several guys that are from the Atlanta area as well. So, for them, it’ll be a big game in their mind as well. But to me, that’s an interesting thing. And the important thing is to make sure we’re focused on playing on the field.”
On his relations to Arthur Smith: “No. I only know Arthur professionally and he’s done a very good job and he’s earned a great opportunity. And I think it’s a place where if you can put your team together, you can have success. And so it’s a great challenge for him.”
On how QB Taylor Heinicke has progressed: “He’s progressed very well. The big thing that Taylor has to understand is that if you’re down by a big deficit, there’s not a 17-point play, you know what I’m saying? So you’re not going to get it all back on one throw. So let’s make this make the right decision. And again, I’ve said this before, and the point being is that you do what’s right, because it’s the right decision. If a checkdown is the right play, then throw the check down. If the nine routes is the right play, throw the nine route. And that’s the thing that has to be, that’s the thing that has to be done.”
On why the term game manger carries a negative connotation: “Because people think you don’t want the guy to make plays. There’s a time and a place to make the big play. if you’ve watched the way (Buccaneers QB) Tom Brady plays and everybody wishes, they had a Tom Brady, but he’s very systematic. He controls the game and controls the tempo, controls the pace, and makes great decisions. And all of a sudden, he’s throwing, big bombs. I mean, he’s throwing big balls, downfield. I mean the guy is the ultimate, I think, and that’s really if you look at it at times, Tom Brady knows, hey, I’m going to manage it here. He knows, hey, I got to make a play here. That’s really what you want your quarterbacks to do. It’s just, what you don’t want him to do is to be put in a tough position. And that’s on us in terms of putting him in a tough position.”
On how his previous pass rushers he coached refined their technique: “I was fortunate. I played alongside some of the, you know, (Hall of Famer DE) Richard Dent was one of the all-time greats. And the thing that happened is just, it’s over a period of time, they grow, they get better. They learn to do things the right way. I remember that when I got to Chicago, my first and second year, I think it was Richard’s second and third. Richard wasn’t a starter though; Richard was behind some guys learning and developing and becoming a starter and he grew into his position, and he understood how to do it. We’ve got guys that have been put in that position right off the bat, and they’re kind of doing the same thing. They’re learning, they’re growing and they’re developing. It’s one thing to be out there with guys that have been in the league six, seven, eight years and you’re the only one that’s a first-year guy. We’ve got guys that are first, second- and third-year guys working together. So you know, that’s, we’re going to grow. We’re going to make mistakes, but at the same time, I think we can be better.”
The Bow Tie Chronicles
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Falcons’ 2021 schedule features trip to London, January trip to Buffalo
Atlanta Falcons Schedule
Washington FT at Falcons, Oct. 3 at 1 p.m.
New York Jets vs. Falcons in London, Oct. 10 at 9:30 a.m.
Bye Week
Falcons at Miami Dolphins, Oct. 24 at 1 p.m.
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