Here’s what Matt Ryan has to say after Day 7 of training camp on Friday:
On where the team's at: "I think we are doing pretty well. The first week of camp is always huge. Especially for the young guys kind of getting acclimated to how we work and how we do things in pads. I think they've done a great job. Attention to detail in meetings has been excellent. I feel like we've been productive in the first week, but we still have a long way to go. But we are off to a really good start and I think everybody is really encouraged by that."
On the Red-White scrimmage: "We've only played a half. You can't win in the first half. We have some work tomorrow. I think we are a little big behind (14-0). We have to make sure that we have a strong finished tomorrow."
On the red zone offense: "The number one thing is trying to find more ways to score touchdowns. That's probably the biggest point of emphasis for us as an offense. I thought we moved the ball effectively as an offense. I thought we did good things on third down. I thought we could be more efficient in the red zone with coming away with touchdowns. How do you do it? You rep it. We've worked a lot in practice on those situations. I think (head coach Dan Quinn) has made that a point of emphasis for us. You keep going after it. We have to work on our timing. We have to work on a details. We have to run the football effectively down there as well. It's combination of all of those things. But there is not secret to doing it. It comes down to hard work and finding ways to get it done."
On Julio Jones being 100 percent healthy: "He looks good. I don't know. He looks great. Obviously, he's in really good shape. I got to spend some time with him prior to training camp and he looked really great. I don't like to comment on other people's percentages, but I like that he said he feels 100 percent. He looks pretty good."
On wide receiver Marvin Hall: "Marvin is having a really good training camp. I think he's having a great offsesason. He was really, really good for us in terms of training, attention to detail, his work during OTAs. He was excellent and he's kind of continued that for the first week. I think he's going to be a good reserve guy for us behind when you talk about those first three guys. Marvin is right behind that. He's got great top ... speed."
On tight end Austin Hooper: "Well, he's gotten a lot better. A lot more polished. His first two years, he was productive. I think he got like 45 catches or something, similar around that last year. While it's not a huge, huge number, with the other guys that we have, it's a pretty good fit for our system. I think, again, he's kind of figured out the timing of the offense that we want. As being a little bit more patient with his routes, just understanding where we expect him to be. I think that, along with the additions that we have, is going to make for him to have a really good year."
On his offseason workouts with Hooper: "For sure. I think being on the same page is critically important in this league because things happen so fast. You have to have so many reps, you have to have so much time on task and an understanding of what we're expecting from each other in order to be successful. I got to give him a lot of credit. He put in a lot of time this offseason. It was very unselfish with the locations of where we would meet. Kind of accommodated to me which I appreciated. He would show up anywhere. Literally, he would show up anywhere and did. I appreciate that from him. That's the kind of stuff that it takes to be really good in this league. You have to be willing to work and he's certainly willing to put in that work. There are little things that have come up during training camp where you've seen that work come to fruition. That's the stuff that continues to motivate you when you see that hard work put in and then you kind of see the production that comes from it, kind of makes you want to put in more. That's kind of been the case with him, his work ethic and his attitude have been outstanding."
On Hooper's work ethic: "100 percent. But I think it takes time in this league as a young guy to figure out really what it's going to take for you to be successful. Because everyone's different. Everyone can tell you what their routine is and how they do things but we're all different. We all have different personalities and we all operate differently. I think he has kind of gotten to a point where he's comfortable with himself and understands what it takes for him to be productive and has figured that out. To me, he looks really good."
On new quarterback coach Greg Knapp: "Knapp is great. Honestly, we've gotten to know each other really quickly. I think his familiarity to be honest, with Matt Schaub, with having worked with him before, has made for a really comfortable room. Knowing the personality type, Schaub knows me, Schaub can kind of let Knapp know some of the things I might like in addition to me telling him that. I think that has led to a real transition for us. He has a wealth of knowledge. He's worked with a lot of different guys and I think that experience is good for me but it's good for our football team."
On the offensive lineman's temporary tattoos:"I wish they were permanent. Giving shout outs to our coaches. I laughed pretty hard because I didn't know about it and I walked in this more and I saw Dan Brunskill sitting at his locker and I saw his forearm tattoo and I thought 'oh my god, that's a bad tattoo, I'm not sure what he's doing'. Sat down and then Schaub told me what they were doing in our meeting and I thought, oh thank god. I just saw (Daniel) Brunskill going I didn't have the heart to tell him that it was an awful tattoo. It was pretty funny. But those guys are always coming up with something. Whether it's Andy Levitre ordering these tattoos months ago just for today, it was pretty funny."
On the team's training camp: "I think it's about putting in the work day to day. I think camp if you can focus on the daily grind and improving every day and attacking every day, it sets up for a good mindset throughout the season. Sometimes we look too far down the road and you're worrying about things that could happen in December, or January or February. But if you're not taking care of August 3, today, then those things aren't going to happen. If we can create that mindset now of handling your business day to day so that when we get to the regular season, we operate the same exact way, that's going to benefit us."
Subscribe to "The Bow Tie Chronicles" podcast with the AJC's D. Orlando Ledbetter on iTunes or on the new AJC sports podcasts page.
About the Author
