FLOWERY BRANCH — Washington quarterback Taylor Heinicke, who played at Collins Hill High before setting passing records at Old Dominion, is set to face the Falcons at 1p.m. Sunday at Mercedes Benz Stadium.
His father is from Wisconsin and raised him as a Brett Favre and Green Bay Packers fan.
Here’s what Heinicke had to say to the Washington media on Wednesday:
On quarterback game management: “I think quarterbacks themselves view that that’s all they can do. Maybe. I don’t know. I have no problem with it. That’s what every quarterback should be a game manager. You take what’s there, take what’s given and you move the ball down the field. That’s something I want to do. That’s something I want to be, but at the same time, I know that there’s also other aspects of my game that could help whether that’s on my feet or what not. So, game manager is fine with me. Just keep moving the chains, get the ball in those guys’ hands and score some points.”
On things that stood out about last week’s performance: “Just sticking to the game plan, sticking to what we practiced throughout the week. If it’s a third and 17 like it was late in the game and you’re down a lot of points, you don’t have to make a big play. You just have to keep taking that check down if it’s there and keep moving the chains. That’s where I kind of went off the board and tried to make something big happen and that result is an interception. Again, that’s something that we learned on film yesterday. Something we worked on today at practice and something to keep improving.”
Credit: Adrian Kraus
Credit: Adrian Kraus
On the game manager label: “Every time it’s thrown out there, I’m like, so what if you’re called a game manager and you’re winning games who cares? Again, I go back to every quarterback should be a game manager. You’re put in the spot, the ball’s in your hands every play and you’re supposed to make the right decision. If you manage the game the right way, you should win the game. So, that doesn’t bother me whatsoever.”
On still being confident in WR Dyami Brown following some drops: “I don’t throw perfect balls every time and they don’t catch the ball every time. If it’s a line, maybe miss a block, every here and there. So, that’s the game of football. Going up to Dyami saying, ‘Hey, you know you’re a good player. We all make mistakes. Come back next time and don’t let it happen again.’ He’s got a lot of confidence. It’s not going to hurt him a bit. So we Still have confidence in Dyami.”
On what makes WR Terry McLaurin scary: “I just envisioned myself being a corner, being one on one. I think that would be a scary deal. The guy runs beautiful routes. He’s fast and when the ball’s in his hands, he makes things happen. So ‘Scary Terry’ has a nice little ring to it.”
On playing back home in front of his hometown: “Playing in front of my trainer, I’ve been training with for 10 plus years, high school head coaches, stuff like that. They’re a big part of who I am today and you know why I’m here. So, it will be really cool to go out there, hopefully put on a good show, go get a win. It’ll be good to get a win in front of those guys.”
On his phone blowing up for tickets: “Yeah. I’ve got a lot of texts about the weekend. I just told them, ‘Hey, if you want to tickets, let me know by Tuesday, because after Tuesday I’m not responding to anything.’ So, I got all the tickets situations set up. Actually, my high school and the Falcons kind of put together a deal where if you went to Collins Hill, if you’re alumni or you still go there, tickets are pretty cheap. They’re giving them a good deal. I know a lot of people have gone in that route as well. It’s going to be to be a fun day.”
On how many tickets he has gotten: “Just 10. Very close friends and family.”
On the scouting reports on him as a high school quarterback: “Small, weak arm slow. I had a bunch of good receivers, too, so they made me look good. But yeah, slow and short.”
On when he realized he could play in the NFL: “I think it started becoming a small reality my sophomore year of college. I had a great year went on to win the Walter Payton (Award), which is the Heisman for the FCS. And after that, I was like, I started looking at other multiple award winners and Tony Romo was one of them. At that point I was like, ‘Hey, you know, I just keep doing what I’m doing, work hard. I may get a shot at this.’ So, I would say sophomore year of college.”
On what he can say about the impact his trainers have had on him: “I just go back to when I was coming out of college and I could barely bench 135. I had a chip clavicle and AC joint sprain. It was tough there. They were debating on whether I need to get surgery or not. And that’s the last thing you want to do getting ready for pro day. I went to him, I said, ‘Hey, what can we do?’ And he said, you don’t need surgery. I’m going to fix you up. And after about two months, he had me 20 pounds heavier, looking really strong and I felt good. That’s why I keep continuing to go back to him every offseason. He’s a big part of why I’m still in the NFL.”
On his relationship with QB Matt Ryan: “I grew up in Atlanta, but I was never a Falcons fan. My dad was born in Wisconsin, so right when I came out, I was a cheese head all the way. I grew up a lot watching Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers. Now, I have no relationship with Matt. After my first start, it was against Atlanta and he had some very kind words to say so that meant a lot to me. But there’s, there’s really no relationship there.”
On aspects of Matt Ryan’s game that he can use: “It’s fun watching him play because he knows where to go with the ball at all times, for every look and he usually does find the open guy. And again if nothing’s open, he does a great job of finding check downs. There’s a reason why he’s, leading the stats in a lot of categories. He’s a really good quarterback, is probably a hall of fame quarterback. It is really fun watching him on film. He’s a great quarterback.”
On if he ever thought when he was back home in Georgia last year that he would be starting a game in Atlanta: “No. At that point, I was just hoping for a call, even a practice squad, anything. I just wanted to be back in the locker room with the guys, just playing some football. So, for me to tell you I was expecting this last year, I’d be lying to you.”
On how the fan noise has been: “It was a pretty rowdy crowd there, but they didn’t really affect us at all. I feel like all of our cadences were fine. There were no false starts, nothing like that. I think we handled it really well. We just have to play better.”
The Bow Tie Chronicles
For more content about The Atlanta Falcons
Follow me on Twitter @DOrlandoAJC
On Facebook at Atlanta Falcons News Now
Atlanta Falcons coverage on the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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.
About the Author
