Philadelphia rookie quarterback Carson Wentz spoke to the Atlanta media on Wednesday.
Here’s what he had to say:
On what’s has been like to play in the league after starting at North Dakota State:
“First and foremost, it’s been a lot of fun. Obviously, we’ve had some ups and downs as a team. Myself, personally as well. It’s been a lot of fun. I realize that this is an opportunity that not many kids get, especially to come in as a rookie and play right away. It’s been a blast. We are kind of looking forward to getting back on track. We’ve kind of struggled as of late, really just finishing ball games. There has been a lot of learning going on for me personally with this offense and for this whole team. So, we are looking forward to kind of just getting back on track and learning from the mistakes we’ve made.”
On if he admired Matt Ryan growing up:
“Without a doubt. I’ve been a fan of his game for a while coming out (of college). I always thought he was such a calm — a kind of calm leader, and he did things the right way. He made plays, he made throws and I’ve always admired him. He’s just a very well-rounded quarterback. Obviously, this year, he’s had a heck of a season so far. It’s pretty impressive. Again, I have a lot of respect for his game and I am looking forward to going up against him.”
On Atlanta’s defensive scheme:
“They’re very kind of straightforward. You kind of know what you’re going to get, and they know you know that you know, if that makes sense. But what they do, they do it well. They kind of keep everything in front of them. They tackle really well. They’ve got a number of young guys, rookies, playing back there. But they’re doing a really good job. So, we know there’s areas we can take advantage of, but we kind of have to be smart with how we attack that defense, because like I said, they know what they’re doing, and you can tell they’re prepared.”
On his plan of attack early against Falcons:
“Every week we want to come out to a fast start. The two turnovers, getting down 14 points in the last game and some of these other turnovers early in games, they are frustrating. We never want to get dig ourselves those holes like that. But at the same time, in every one of these games, we’ve been in it at the end. We don’t put too much pressure on ourselves to go out and score, score, score right away so to speak, but it’s also hard to dig that hole and climb out of it.”
What’s the key to beating Atlanta’s defense:
“I think it’s just be smart and kind of execute our game plan. I don’t think it’ll take anything flashy; it’s not going to take any tricks. We just have to execute. Like I said, they’re kind of simple, they don’t do a whole lot but they do it well. So we just have to take what they give us and just be smart with the football.”
