Head Coach Pat Shurmur
October 20, 2018
Q: Did (Nate) Solder practice today?
A: He did.
Q: Is he ready to go?
A: Ready to go.
Q: (Patrick) Omameh was on the sidelines?
A: Yeah, he kind of got his leg tangled up yesterday in practice so we’ll just see how it responds here overnight. We’ll just have to see.
Q: You’re calling it a leg?
A: Knee.
Q: Is he questionable? What’s his status?
A: We’ll see how it responds overnight.
Q: Is there anybody who is out?
A: Jawill Davis, I think you were made aware, he had some lingering effects from last week’s game, so I think he’s in the protocol.
Q: I know you brought in (Bennie) Fowler, but will you have to bring somebody up from the practice squad?
A: Possibility of bringing somebody up.
Q: Would that be Corey (Coleman)?
A: We will see. It’s a possibility.
Q: How has (Corey Coleman) done so far?
A: He’s done a good job. We’ve got really two new receivers in here with him and Bennie Fowler both, so crash-course and from what I’ve seen in practice, those guys are doing a good job.
Q: A guy who’s kind of a returner in that group too is Quadree Henderson. I know he’s not exactly new, he’s been here a couple weeks, but what have you seen from him?
A: I’ve seen the same thing. He was a really fine returner in college and we brought him here with the idea that he might return for us at some point. He’s also done a good job picking up the receiver stuff.
Q: What are your expectations for (Olivier Vernon) for (Monday)? He played ten days ago or so.
A: I expect him to go out and play a good football game and put a winning performance on the field.
Q: What did you think of his first game and how good is it to have someone like him back?
A: I think he had some very disruptive reps in terms of putting pressure on the quarterback. Whether you sack the quarterback or not, pressure is what you’re trying to get. He had some really good snaps the other night. The key when you’re doing anything a second time like he’s going to play only his second game of the year is to build on it and play better.
Q: What have you seen from B.J. Goodson? I assume his role might expand a little bit with Ray-Ray (Armstrong) being out?
A: He’s a good, solid football player, he knows what we’re doing, he’s where he’s supposed to be, he could get the defense lined up if we need him to. He’s a good, solid player.
Q: Do you think the extra time between the games will be beneficial? Has it worked to your advantage?
A: I’ve been doing this long enough to know that there’s sometimes when it helps, it’s all going to be how we play on (Monday). It’s important that we just keep trying to practice well and then get in a good frame of mind and go out and compete, and put a winning performance out there. Short week, long week, normal week – I’ve seen the good and the bad after all of those. We have a team here that is staying in the moment, I think we had three really good days of practice. Despite the outside noise, they’re staying in the moment and competing.
Q: What do you mean by “despite the outside noise”?
A: The questions you all ask me about all the time. That’s the outside noise, and so I encourage them to stay in the moment. Fill in the blank from there.
Q: Speaking of the outside noise, you were asked a few questions earlier this week about showing more fire and you called that “BS”. Why do you feel it’s BS?
A: Because I think it’s a ridiculous question. I think you’ve been around me enough to know what’s important and things I don’t like, and I don’t understand what showing that for a less than genuine reason is the way to go. The players know how I feel and when there’s a situation that comes up that I don’t feel good about, they know it. That’s why I think it’s a ridiculous question. Got it? And that’s outside noise, too.
Q: When you faced (Saints WR) Michael Thomas, you had (Janoris) Jenkins pretty much shadow him the whole game. Does the Falcons two and three receivers make that harder to do, because (Mohamed) Sanu and (Calvin) Ridley are good, so you can’t do that with Julio (Jones)?
A: They have three really good targets at wide out, so we have a plan going into it and we’ll let it reveal itself Monday.
Q: With (Patrick) Omameh being injured, is Spencer Pulley next in line or would you consider moving (John) Greco?
A: Both are good. We could play Pulley at center, we could move Greco to guard, or we could play Pulley at guard. We get a good rotation at practice to be ready for any injury that might happen during a game, so if something happens during practice, it’s not like we’re starting fresh from there.
Q: How much do you like seeing what’s going on behind you with (Kyle) Lauletta getting extra work right now?
A: Our players all do that. This is a day where we went fast, I thought the practice was good. They’re all in getting the recovery that they need, and I think Kyle is trying to be the best he can be. All the little extra work I think is important. Typically a quarterback will try to go through and if he’s not the starter, he’ll try to make all the throws he would make if he were in the game. I think that’s what he’s doing right now. In fact, I know that’s what he’s doing, even though I didn’t see it.
