MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Here’s what the Falcons had to say after the 19-3 victory over the Dolphins on Friday night (36 Falcons did not play):
DEMARCCO HELLAMS, SAFETY
On the red-zone defense: “I just want to give credits to my teammates and coach (defensive coordinator Ryan) Nielsen because that was part of our mindset, part of the plan he had for us, as a team, as a unit and as a defense – to always be attacking and aggressive. It doesn’t matter how close they get into the end zone, there are no points scored until you get across that line. So we just had that mindset. It doesn’t matter how they got down here, let’s just make sure that they don’t score.”
On the week of practice with the Dolphins: “I just got a great week of preparation. The Dolphins, they’re a great team. They have some great guys on offense, hats off to them. It was a time to get out there and get acclimated to the weather a little bit and just be around my teammates for a couple days to practice against those guys and get a good feel for what we’ll probably see in the game as far as looks, formations and things like that. So that joint practice was definitely a great competition with those guys, and it definitely helped us a lot as a defense as far as what we’ll see in the game.”
On help from the other safeties: “It’s been great being around those guys. They’ve done a great job. Even though they didn’t play today, they did great job of encouraging young guys, letting us know just to be patient and that our plays will come to us. It was my first NFL game, but the field is still 53 yards wide, 100 yards long – it’s just a different uniform, a different team. But those guys definitely did a great job helping us on the sidelines as far as what we would see, things that were happening to us. They did a great job of encouraging us and just letting us know what we can do with our first preseason game, and we were ready for the moment.”
DEE ALFORD, CORNERBACK
On the late surge: “Yes, it is never over until it’s 00:00 on the clock. Which is crazy because I was talking to the guys, I went out for a punt return at first, and he kind of punted it out of bounds, but I told them when I get my hands on the ball, I was going to score. They were like, ‘OK, we’re going to see. We’re going to see.’ Actually, I was kind of getting tight on the sideline, kept on waiting, man. But when my opportunity came, I was able to do that, like I had told the guys like I was going to do.”
On the touchdown ball: “I kept the ball, I’ve got to.”
On the touchdown: “It’s my first touchdown since high school. It’s crazy. I got a few in college, but (they) got called back a lot. (laughter)”
On scoring a touchdown: “It felt great, but I mean, I kind of knew I was going to do it, so I can’t really explain the feeling because it was supposed to happen – that type of feeling. But it feels great, man. I’m just ready to get to my phone, call my dad, talk to him and just see how happy he is for me.”
On what he’s doing with the ball: “I’m going to keep it. I’m going to keep it. I still have my ball from last preseason against Detroit, so I keep all my balls and stuff like that.”
ARNOLD EBIKETIE, OUTSIDE LINEBACKER
On the red-zone stops: “I mean it just goes back to practice. We talked about it all camp, that’s who we want to be, that’s the type of defense we want to be. We want to attack, we want to be aggressive, and I think today kind of showed that we’re in the right direction to where we want to be as a defense.”
More on the red-zone stops: “The biggest thing for us is we don’t flinch as a defense. We kind of have that next play mentality. Coach Ryan talked about it. Pretty much, all the coaches talk about it, just next play. No matter what happened this play, at least give us another opportunity to defend the end zone. I think it’s pretty good when you see those things. The coaches kind of preached it throughout the whole camp, and I think seeing that actually happen in the game, the whole defense started to believe in it.”
On his playing time: “Well I think being that we are kind of doing new things this year with being asked to be more versatile on the defense, I kind of needed those reps. It’s one thing doing it in practice, but you kind of need those live reps to kind of get the experience to when we get to the regular season, you have a step ahead. So, I love it. I feel like I definitely got better today.”
GODWIN IGWEBUIKE, RUNNING BACK
On his play: “It was smooth. It was smooth. It was fun to finally get out there again. Was at the cribio (his house) about two weeks ago, so it’s funny how quickly things can change. So just grateful for the opportunity and of course getting the opportunity to get out there and help our team win. That’s what means the world.”
On the importance of getting some playing time: “For me, my story has definitely always been the long way. It’s never been the straight and narrow. So, just taking account for my story and what it is. I’ve been in positions like this before, just coming into (meeting) rooms and just having to battle and grind and just show what I have. It’s a great room to do it. A lot of the guys in there obviously super talented, but also super helpful. (Running backs coach Michael Pitre), obviously coach Arthur (Smith). So, it’s a great culture. Guys just really want to make everybody better. There’s not many better places that I’ve been to be able to just shine and compete and kind of hold that high standard that the room has.”
On playing special teams: “I think reality is … our (position group) is full of talent, and so any way in which I can contribute. I might not be getting the rock in my hands at first, so if I can go out there on special teams, make some tackles, go back there at returner, set our offense up for great field position. That’s what this league is about. It might not be what you necessarily want it to be at the moment, but it’s taking advantage of your role at the time and you never know how things unravel.”
BREON BORDERS, CORNERBACK
On the red-zone defense: “I felt like we just kept the hope. We stayed together. We stayed tough. We were talking about it over there. ‘They don’t score. They don’t score.’ We held our end.”
On his pick-six: “The running back came out. … I figured they weren’t throwing it to the running back. So, I was kind of lagging off a little bit. The running back actually ran a go (route). I lagged off. I saw the quarterback throw the ball, and I broke on it. In practice they preach run to the ball and good things will happen to you. A good thing happened to me. I made a play.”
On the pass breakups and tipped balls: “I feel like just because the way we practice and just the way we prepare. The coaches, they have to prepare and I feel like all the (defensive back), I feel like we’re hungry, too. So, it’s a mix of just competing, competing in practice so when the game comes we can execute.”
NATE LANDMAN, LINEBACKER
On the red-zone defense: “You’ve got to play a every snap. That’s why we have four downs, and that’s why you keep playing even if the ball is on the 1-yard line, you keep playing. I think we did a great job stepping up in those moments, the D-line getting pressure, safeties and corners had a steady coverage. We preach being salty in the red zone, and that’s going to help us win games in the regular season and hopefully in the postseason.”
More on the stops: “Yeah, for sure. I think that’s part of the way we train and part of the way we practice. We practice so hard, and we practice those situations so when we get to the game that you fall back on your training. No panic – just put the ball down and play that down, no matter where the ball is put down.”
On playing aggressively: “For sure. Our motto as our defense is ‘attack and aggressive.’ Those are the two things we live by, and those are the two things we want to achieve on each play. I think we did a great job of that today. Always room for improvement, but that’s definitely our motto and our standard that we want to keep in our whole defensive unit.”
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