What they are saying about Falcons defensvie end Adrian Clayborn, who had six sacks in the 27-7 win over Dallas:
DAN QUINN, Falcons coach
ON WHY THEY SIGNED HIM IN 2015: "When I got to know him better….we tried him some at nickel tackle the first year and it wasn't as good, but it was worth just trying to get pass rush on the field. We had drafted Vic (Beasley) that year, so he was going to be at one spot, and we used him some at end and a little bit at tackle just try to get some more speed in the nickel.
“Last year, we just really tried to feature him more at right end. Then we signed Dwight (Freeney) as well. So we had Dwight and AC and Brooks (Reed) would be the fourth DE. We used him some inside, but mostly at right end.”
ON HIS PLAY IN 2017: "He really has it down and has it together.
Mostly at right end. Some inside again, but only third down.
ON WHAT ATTRACTED THE TEAM TO CLAYBORN AFTER THE BUCS LET HIM GO:
“Toughness and pass rush. That’s the style of player that we can feature. He gets up the field and he’s going to play all-day tough. Those are the guys as rushers that I’ve connected with and I wanted to make sure that we were going to add that style of toughness and attitude, dog competitor, just throw it into the group.”
ON RIGHT END: "That seems to be the spot for him. Some players just play better in one spot."
ON CLAYBORN ELECTING NOT TO RETIRE: "He had a pec and then a bicep and then a knee. He's had to show a lot of resilency. Not just physical toughness, but mental toughness. Hey man, maybe it's time to hang it up... you know those questions probably came. Those are questions he had to answer. He's quiet, but he's really intense. He's really loyal. He's really committed to doing it right. Behind the scenes he's an excellent mentor to the younger players."
PETE CARROLL, Seattle Coach
ON CLAYBORN
ON WHAT IT WAS LIKE WATCHING CLAYBORN ON FILM: "I felt that he took advantage of his opportunities. He did a great job and he was really…it was just a dynamic performance. So, rarely do you see a guy have that kind of success. It didn't bother him at all. He just kept coming and keep bringing it. A big factor and obviously we are real concerned about it."
GRADY JARRETT, defensive tackle
ON CLAYBORN: "Oh man, it was awesome to see AC go out there and have that six-sack performance. It seemed unreal sometimes, you know, and he said the same thing. It was awesome to see him go out there and have that performance, and I know he just wants to continue to build off of it."
MARQUAND MANUEL, defensive coordinator
ON CLAYBORN'S PERFORMANCE: "That was the second time that I've been around something like that. Chris Clemons on that Monday night (game), he had five. It's been a blessing to watch those guys have those career-days. When you're dailing it up and you see them in their zones, that grace is what we call it."
RAHEEM MORRIS, assistnat head coach/wide receiver (who was Tampa Bay’s head coach when they drafted Clayborn)
ON DRAFTING CLAYBORN: "When we picked him up in the first round, we thought about his authentic toughness. I loved his deameanor and how he played the game. Everything about him.
“He’s a quiet leader where he leads by example. He’s not a real boisterous guy. But I loved everything about his game tape. How hard he played and how he went for it.”
We picked him up with Mark Dominick
“It was a can’t miss pick for us. I just love Adrian.”
ON CLAYBORN THINKING ABOUT RETIRING:
“AC wants to be at his best self all the time. Your mentality will be your realtiy. I think he has that tattooed on his body at this point. He plays that way. He lives that way. He does everything that way.”
ON HIS REBIRTH WITH THE FALCONS: "Coming to Altanta has really allowed him to be able to express himself and become that guy that he wants to become. This year has really worked out well for him."
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