Interview with Coach Q of the Falcons

by F0RL3FCLOV3R | 10 years ago | 2 Comments

SFL reporter Meck Sikan is back on the road getting news for the SFL community. Today he interviews Coach Q of the Falcons.

Meck - Coach Q, you are 1-2 after a season where you lost to the eventual Super Bowl champ Rams, what do you plan to do this year to get back to the Super Bowl? Or, do you consider this to be rebuilding year?

Q - I plan on doing the exact same thing that I have been doing for 25 seasons; competing, and doing it at a high level. It is well known that we went 15-1 right after winning the Superbowl so it would be expected to have a ridiculously tough schedule like we have. Despite the roster moves, this is not a "rebuilding" year.

Meck - Devonta Freeman has had 2 great years in a row. Rumor is he is burnt out. He averaged 6.9ypc the past two seasons and this year it's down to 4.1ypc. Nearly 3 yards per carry less, is Devonta burnt out?

Q - Devonta has been outstanding these last couple of years. Dare I say, the best back in the entire league. Went on to break the all-time rushing yards record in a season. He's better than he's ever been even though the stats don't necessarily reflect it. We just hired Kyle Shanahan to run the offense and the scheme has shifted somewhat. So now it's not Freeman and company, it's more of a cooperative effort and that will reflect itself soon.

Meck - Is there a QB battle brewing in Atlanta? On the season, Matt Ryan is injured, 32 years old, has a 91.8 QBR, 56.7 comp %, and averaging 11.7 yards per throw . Meanwhile, Damon Hansen has a 132.1 QBR, 81% comp, and 14.1 yards per throw.

Q - Trust me, there's no QB controversy in Atlanta. It's no secret that Ryan has gotten himself hurt and that's unfortunate but we feel as an Organization that Hansen can do all the things that Matt can do and we are excited to have him be apart of this franchise. He was so fired up about his first start and I think he and Matt handled it extremely well.

Meck - Lastly, besides Julio who needs no introduction, the Atlanta receivers are a bit shady. It appears you have gone the Raiders route and drafted for speed with Dansby and Okuyemi as they have 95 and 97 speed respectively but only 62 and 45 awareness, 79 and 73 CIT and 78 and 71 Route running. Is that enough for a run at the Superbowl or are you looking to trade for some WR Talent? Thanks for your time Coach Q.

Q - Julio, is the man, the One True Destroyer. The Superbowl MVP. We were fortunate to have had the opportunity to make a deal with Dallas that opened up endless possibilities for the future. The receiving Corp is as young and full of talent as we have ever had in Atlanta. Julio has taken the mentor approach as well as leading by example. We are confident that we have the pieces on both sides of the football to win another championship. But we didn't just go and get a bunch of WRs. We wanted great players of both sides of the football as well as diversity. So you're likely to see some of these guys cross training as well as being return men. We are confident in our group.

Til next time, I am Meck Sikan, signing out.