Atlanta head coach Dan Quinn
On what he will take from win over Carolina last year as Seahawks' defensive coordinator: "Number one, I've got lots of respect for this team and this staff. As you know, some of the games from the years past with Seattle and with Carolina were just absolute battles that went down to it. I think the biggest thing, I am not surprised that they are off to the start that they are based on the fight and attitude that so many of the guys on their team play with. That is probably the thing that jumps off the tape to me is the attitude and style that they play with. I think it's great. I think usually when you have that kind of attitude about you, you're playing really hard and that's really where it starts for me, how hard they're playing and it totally shows on tape."
On what he takes away from he success he had last year with Seattle against Panthers' offense: "I don't know if I'd call it the success of it. It was some hard-fought battles. That's for sure. Some of the turnovers were a factor and usually that's the case as you're going down to playing games when it's coming down to the end where there's a turnover that happened or doesn't happen. That's usually when two teams are battling for it, that's what it comes down to and I know that's a real reason why these guys are off to such a good start. I know the turnover ratio is way up there for them and for us, that's been a real storyline for us. Can we play our football better by regarding the ball better offensively and ball hawking and going after it on defense? So, it's a big part of my own philosophy in terms of the ball. So, I'm hoping our club has come through the difficult parts of where we did not take care of it and can kind of work really hard in that part of our game to play well."
On what he thought of last year after playing the Panthers in regard to thinking that they are going to be a problem for a few years:"Man, that's a good question. I think I probably thought they just did a really good job of featuring their players, as opposed to saying this is what we do. They had all these unique guys and how to feature them and I think that's just holding true today, you know. (Ted) Ginn is the one just blowing the top off the coverage and how to use (Greg) Olsen and then okay, by the way, here's some gun runs because we've got a quarterback who is strong enough to handle those kind of runs. For most of the league, some of the gun runs are hey, run it if it's there and then get down. Well, that's clearly not the case in Cam's spot. So, I think that's probably why I thought they're a factor because the gun runs are alive where they can go inside or outside."
On what he is seeing out of Cam Newton in red zone and fourth quarter: "One of the best traits of a competitor is his ability to finish and that's the thing that jumps out to you. When the game is at hand, it doesn't have to be the last drive. Sometimes the game is at hand on a third down in the middle of the fourth quarter. Sometimes, you know when those defining times happen? And he makes a play, he scrambles for one on third down in the red zone, he's able to, whether it's run it in or rip a ball in for a touchdown. Those are kind of the defining ones as a competitor and it feels like he went through another ceiling to say, 'Yeah, I'm going to take it up to even a different spot,' and that's what I see so far in the film this year.
If he believes games against the Panthers are going to make or break playoff fate: "The fact that yeah, we started off well and then hit a major bump. For sure, our backs are against the wall. We totally recognize that, but honestly for us to do anything about the future, it's about what we do right now. That's really what the message has been for our team. If we look ahead to what we need way down the road, three games, four games, we'll get all jacked up. So, the only way for us to control things that happen is what we do now and that's honestly where our mindset is at. I think that's how our team has to be."
On how Julio Jones goes into games mentally: "What I will tell you about him, the guy is an absolute, relentless competitor. You know the guy that kind of smiles before a fight? Who just won't back off? Like it's practice, it's training camp, it's OTAs and so, as a competitor, he's as high as you get. And sometimes, it may not come across in terms of what he's doing, but I can promise you behind the scenes, he's getting ready."
On if he believes Matt Ryan is still the same quarterback that he was in the past:"I 100 percent believe that and one of the things that I talked about with our own team today is: It's not for us doing things differently, but for us doing them better. And, so that's kind of the message I gave to them team and we need to play well offensively, defensively, around that. So, yeah, 100 percent the trust, the belief is there, in the entire program that we're running. Did we have a slump? For sure, but we have great belief in the players and no doubt, we'll be ready to go this weekend."
On what Matt Ryan has to do better:"I think it's not one thing. There were some games where there was a throw. At Indy we had one where it was a bad one where it got returned, so that would be an example of yeah, a bad throw. You can't do that one. And then there are some other ones. Like we had some drops, no doubt, that's not on Matt and some ones in the run game. Can we finish better? So, it's like, anytime you're not playing as well and you guys know this because you're covering a team that is playing so well, usually that's when those factors get hidden up. You know, it's not the drop, the next play happens, the catch keeps going. For us, it's about doing right longer and we're not backing off one bit about our standard, how we want to go about it. That part of it, we'll get right. We're not there yet, but I do think we have to do things better around Matt."
Atlanta wide receiver Julio Jones
On if it feels like every Sunday is a must-win situation:"That's the mindset every Sunday as far as just playing championship football. Over the last few games things didn't go our way, but we've got to just keep doing it. We've got to keep going out there and competing."
On what the issues have been recently after such a strong start:"It's just been everywhere. Overall we just haven't been finishing as a group, as far as offense, defense and special teams, we haven't finished. We've been playing good ball. We can move the ball and we're stopping people on defense, but like I said we just haven't finished well."
On matching up with Josh Norman:"He comes with great energy, he's a great player. I'm just looking forward to just going out there and competing. I know he's going to come to play and I will too."
On what Norman does to challenge him:"His will, every play. He doesn't back down, he comes every play and he has very, very good technique."
On where he would rank Norman among the DBs he has faced:"I don't know, It depends on how he plays me. A lot of times a lot of guys they usually have a safety over the top for help. It's hard to assess a guy or put him in a ranking because I haven't played him yet this year, I don't know what they're going to do."
On if Norman is a physical corner:"I think with his game he can kind of do it all. He can be physical, he can drop back, he can cover very well, he can do all those things. That's what makes him good."
On Matt Ryan and the criticism he has received:"First off, we don't care what anyone says about anyone on our team. We know what we have here, it's just been rough for us. We've just got to stay tight. I see Matt every day and he's doing the same thing, he's getting ready. Things happen. Unfortunately everything is going to come back to him. It's not going to show if the O-line is doing something wrong or if the receivers are doing something wrong, it's always going to come back to Matt and that's the territory that comes with being a quarterback. But we're here, we've got his back, he's always been positive, he's never come in and just been negative. We're all here for him and he's here for us."
