FLOWERY BRANCH – New Orleans head coach Sean Payton, who is off to a 1-4 start, spoke to the Atlanta media on Tuesday.
Here’s what he had to say:
Q: What stands out to you about the Falcons, who are undefeated after two losing seasons?
A: When you watch just the way they play on tape, they've done a great job both offensively, defensively playing a complimentary game. You name the statistic, you can see it on film. They are taking it away defensively. They are first in the league in run defense. I think offensively you see a good run balance. A very effective play-action passing game that comes off of it. They are doing the things that winning teams do. They've also played well when they've trailed. They've had a handful of fourth-quarter wins and you can just see that on tape.
Q: What impresses you the most about Matt Ryan?
A: Number one, he's extremely competitive. He's always played some of his best football it seems in the fourth quarter. Then he's accurate. He's got enough escapability that he can extend the play and find a receiver downfield. I think that when you start to put together all of things that you are looking for from a skill-set, the leadership….He's durable as well. He's doing a great job of playing the position and obviously playing it effectively late in the game. What's most important is winning and he's doing a great job of that.
Q: What stands out to you about the play of Devonta Freeman?
A: He's an explosive runner. You see different runs, but man, I'm telling you, he finishes. There is a little bit of violence to how he plays in a good way. The speed at which he hits the holes… .he's handled the outside plays, the inside plays. He's playing at an extremely high level when you look at not only his efficiency and how he's playing in the field and down in tight. They lead the league in rushing touchdowns. There is an excitement that compliments each other, the offensive line, the running game, fullback, the halfback and the tight ends on how they are blocking their schemes. That's evident.
Q: Are you expecting Julio Jones to play?
A: You have to. It's a short week. But I think you go through the process in your defensive planning paying attention to where he's at on each play and how you want to defend his position. There's a lot that goes into that especially when you have a team that's very good at running the football.
Q: Do you have to consider double-teaming Julio Jones?
A: Absolutely. Part of it comes with the success he's had and earned. I think defensively you want to make sure that you're on top of him. If you understand the coverage scheme that you're in, you have an idea of where his splits are. He's not just at X. They do a good job of mixing him up. When he's in the slot, No. 3 sometimes to trips, sometimes in stacks, in splits….all of that becomes problematic. Then typically there is a benefit to others in the scheme. All of sudden the tight end is catching more passes, or Roddy (White) is catching balls or the back…there is an (election) that takes place with the attention given to a player like that.
Q: What do you think about Thursday night games?
A: Listen, you play them once a year. Overall, from a schedule standpoint, our only challenge a year ago was playing a Sunday night and then playing a Thursday game. That was a little bit unique or different. But I think, look the pros—when you finish playing the game you have got kind of a miniature bye for your players to get rested. The challenges are how do you handle the work week right now. You're out of pads and focusing in on the mental (part of the game), making sure the plan is things that you think you do very well.
Q: Do you see an expansion of NFL games on other nights of the week?
A: Logistically, there is a lot that goes into. If you play in London, there's a 100 percent chance that your bye follows that game. I think that the minute it gets off that weekend schedule and you pump Thursday into that weekend, it gets a little bit more problematic.
