Here’s what Falcons inside linebacker Deion Jones had to say to the media after the open OTA on Wednesday:
On how the offseason program has been going: “It’s been going great. Just soaking it all in. We’ve got a lot of moving pieces. A lot of different fronts and coverages that you have to digest, new verbiage. I’ve just been a sponge and letting it all soak in. Seeing all of the different places I can line up and different places where I can help the defense.”
On the transition to a new staff: “Offseason has been good. Working as usual. Coming back in, learning the new faces. Figuring this thing out. It’s all been good. It’s been on the up-and-up. Coach (Arthur) Smith is awesome. Coach (Dean) Pees is awesome. I mean everyone just kind of fits in together. We are trying to learn this whole system.”
On if he’ll have different responsibilities: “I haven’t really thought about that. Just being a sponge learning everything. Learning all of the spots at linebacker. Whatever I have to do and then we’ll figure that out as we get closer to the season.”
On the locker-room buzz on Julio Jones: “Haven’t even talked about it. You know he’s out working, and we are here doing the same thing.”
On new coach Arthur Smith: “I’ve seen him open up a little bit. He’s strict. He’s straight forward. He’s not going to B.S. and beat around the bush. When he wants something done, you just get it done. He’s got his standards set for things and I like it.”
On Smith’s coaching style: “I feel like he’s got that in his own way. I feel like both coaching staffs are the same, but he’s got his own little personality with it. It’s funny. I like it.”
On any surprises from the coaching staff: “Nothing stands out yet. I’m just learning all of the new faces. Getting to know the different coaches and how they interact and stuff like that. As far as that, I’m just trying to learn this defense and gel the guys that we have together right now, playing and learning as fast as I can.”
On his favorite part of the new defensive scheme: “I guess just how multiple we are. We have a lot of stuff to learn. A lot of different fronts. A lot of coverages. I can do that. I like it.”
On how he learns the defense: “There are a ton of tricks. The crazy thing is everyone has their own tricks. As we get together on the field and start talking about stuff, you might hear one guy say his own trick to memorize it, then in your head you are going through yours. It’s funny how everybody kind of tie in together and have their own ideas for how they are going to memorize the defense.”
On the linebacker group’s role in the unit: “The biggest thing right now is gelling together and being one group. We are going to be the group to lead the defense. We are basically the quarterbacks of the (defense). As long as we gel together and are on the same page, we are going to be all right.”
On his trick to help him remember calls: “I really just go off the name of the call and try to see how I can maneuver it to (the point where) I can remember it. So, if it was like … say the call is ‘Atlanta.’ The ‘T’ in there means set in to the tight end. It’s just goes either way without giving you all any information on the call.”
On how he came up with his system: “It was something I did my rookie year, coming in and learning a whole new system. Learning fast. That’s how my vets taught me how to memorize it and I just put my on spin to it just like everyone else does.”
