The Falcons (1-2) face the Cincinnati Bengals (2-1) at 1 p.m. Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Here’s what Cincinnati coach Marvin Lewis had to say on the conference call with the Atlanta media on Wednesday:
On A.J. Green's availability: "Well, he'll be ready to go. It's his first opportunity to play in the state of Georgia in awhile."
On the play of quarterback Andy Dalton: "I think Andy has done a nice job for us this season. We walked out after the game and I said, 'you played your tail off today.' And, all we have to show for is four interceptions and we lose. But I thought he did a nice job managing the game."
On the Julio Jones and Dre Kirkpatrick matchup: "Julio is such a talented receiver. You see him make the vertical plays. You see him coming and out of breaks. You see him on the shallow crosses. Obviously, in 2011 when him and A.J. came out, we spent a lot of time with him and studying him."
On the Bengals run defense that gave up 230 yards against the Panthers: "Well, we are concerned because we have to do a great job of tackling. We have to do a great job on third downs. There is a lot that we have to do better."
On the Bengals young linebackers Hardy Nickerson Jr. and Nate Virgil: "Nate Virgil has done a nice job all year and Hardy has stepped up and filled in for Preston Brown. We'll have Preston back and ready to go this week. We are blessed. We just keep picking these linebackers and develop them. That's kind of been the fun of it for me. We have these guys that can run. They just have to keep playing productive NFL football all the time."
On the Falcons receivers: "Calvin (Ridley), Mohamed (Sanu), (Justin Hardy) and (Marvin Hall) all dynamic players. They have great speed and they play with great energy. They are full stride guys. They all do a nice of running off the ball. We are going to have our hands full. Calvin was an outstanding prospect. I've watched him since he was a freshman at Alabama. The game he had is not surprising."
On the play of Ridley: "I just think he had the explosive speed. He has the catch range. He has the feel of a receiver. He was a fairly gifted young player. Understanding how to use his body and play receiver. That transfers well to the NFL."
On former Bengal Mohamed Sanu: "Mo is just and outstanding football player. He's been, since we picked him in 2012. His success is what we expected."
On the Bengals cornerbacks Dennard, Kirkpatrick and Jackson vs. the Falcons wide receivers: "They have their attention. They have our guys attention. This is why we have the guys that we have and they are going to have to step up and play their tails off."
On the play of safeties Jessie Bates and Shawn Williams: "Jessie has done a great job for us. Shawn is kind of the steadying force in the back end for us. But Jessie is a young player who has equaled our expectations."
On the UGA players on the roster: "Now, with coach (Kirby) Smart over there, they've done an excellent job. When coach (Mark) Richt was there we had so many of his guys. We've just been very fortunate with those guys. They are all cut from the same cloth.
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