Here’s what Falcons coach Dan Quinn had to say after practice on Friday:
Q: How did the second practice go?
A: "There's more urgency and quickness in and out of drills which was one of the things we emphasized with the team last night. We added a second day of installation. I wanted to make sure that we are coming out with the right enthusiasm to go against one another. Back and forth, it was going to start right at the line of scrimmage and it did today. I thought the defense got the best of the turnovers today. I think they got two or three. We have to go back and see if one was a fumble or not. I was pleased with the defense in terms of their speed to the ball. Past that, we had a third down competition period there at the end. The offense won that. We went back and forth with all sorts of defensive ones. There in the middle of practice we had just a move the ball competition to see if you could get two first downs. That went back and forth."
Q: What intrigued the Falcons about Efe Obada?
A: "Really, it's the size and speed. Is there something there to take a look at? He doesn't have an extensive football background. He played a little bit last year with Dallas in the (exhibition) season. I had a chance to watch that tape. In the workout he really looked good. He's a 6-5 guy who's 250 pounds and he can move. He's definitely worth looking at as a possible project. Is there a rusher out there who doesn't have the experience of being on the edge. Can we teach him the hands. The get-off, you have to have that as part of your talent."
Q: What have you seen from your pass rush the past two days to think you’ve improved from last year?
A: "A number of things. It think it's just the different combinations of people that we've had line up at different spots. I like the speed that we've added at linebacker and at safety. We can play a little more man-to-man when we need to. We've worked hard at that. We addressed it not only in the OTAs and minicamp and we are starting right back here to make that a real priority for us."
Q: What’s the update on Julio Jones?
A: "Julio, we intended to have him do individuals today and hold him out. It was certainly my decision. He wanted to go. He was disappointed that I wouldn't let him. We let him participate in the walk-through. He's likely back in the next day or so. So, he's doing well."
Q: Will you all have to monitor this all season?
A: "Just one off thing. A small tweak and I just decided, as a coaching decision to make sure that he's at his best. He wanted to go. I allowed him to do individuals. I'll take it through his practice tonight and then we'll make another decision tomorrow. He's fit. He's strong. It was my decision and I wanted to hold him back."
Q: Do you plan to get Tevin Coleman extra touches in the passing game?
A: "I don't know if that was extra touches, but that's certainly part of the plan. When we have those matchups, especially in man-to-man. Both he and Devonta are a handful. When we talk (about) him, it's the speed that he has. If a linebacker has to go out, that's not a matchup as a linebacker that you like going out to, to get singled out. We are trying to have that as a featured part of our game. Each of the guys, one of the things they do best and that's part of Tevin's game that we are trying to bring up as a receiver when we put him outside."
Q: What’s it like trying to cover Devonta on a deep out?
A: "I think everybody who saw me covering him, we wanted to make sure that Devonta could make the catch. But, honestly, you feel the pressure of a guy who can stick his head one way and come back up. It's that short area quickness that makes him such a challenge for people to cover. He can break laterally and get to full speed real fast. The guys that can do that, that makes them the hardest to cover. When you play man-to-man you usually have a leverage. Inside leverage or outside leverage. On an option route when you can break away from that leverage you can imagine how difficult that is to cover. That's what we look for often times in man-to-man."
Q: Overall, does this camp have a different feel than last year’s camp?
A: "I think that we are able to function faster. Not only as a team, but as a staff. We have a real understanding of how we want to play…. The speed that what we want to practice at. Now, it's the rooks, can they assimilate just as fast? The veterans who were here, I thought have been off to a good start. Can we keep bringing guys along so that they can participate at the same speed? That's the challenge for them. We'll take another ramp up tomorrow for our first padded practice."
Q: Anything that has stuck out to you that’s worrisome?
A: "We are trying to find the guys. What else can we do? Can we find the matchups? There's no part that's worrisome, but I have special interest in the spots where they are trying to earn it. It's guard. It's tight end. It's corner and it's who's going to be returning. So, it's not concerning, but I do like watching that part of it."
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