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Atlanta Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski joins The Midday Show with Andy Bunker and Randy McMichael on 92.9 the Game live from Flowery Branch. Coach Stefanski addresses the ongoing quarterback situation heading into Week 2, details what the offense must do to complement Bijan Robinson, and breaks down the upcoming matchup against the Carolina Panthers.
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00:00Hey Coach, how are you?
00:01Great, good to see you guys.
00:02Good to see you as well.
00:05Any update on who's going to be starting the quarterback on Sunday?
00:08No update that I can share, and truthfully, I explained yesterday,
00:13you have to be smart about making decisions,
00:16and you've got to every day take in information.
00:18So when you say something's day-to-day, it means you're getting information daily.
00:22So we'll continue to do that, so no update just yet.
00:24I know last week we had, Jordan, you were talking about usually,
00:26actually when you finalized the game, when you said on Friday,
00:30is that kind of difficult when you've got your guys splitting ones?
00:35No, I wouldn't say it's difficult.
00:37And I say that, Randy, because so much of football, we change things on the fly.
00:43And, you know, as a player, like the misnomer of halftime adjustments,
00:47those are in-game adjustments.
00:49They're happening all the time.
00:50So our guys are used to, hey, we were calling at this, now we're going to do this.
00:53Hey, we're going to scrap that, we're going to do that.
00:54So I don't mind having a team that can adjust and can pivot on the fly
01:00and those type of things.
01:01Like I mentioned yesterday, like would you love to know early on exactly who's doing this
01:06and who's playing it?
01:06Yeah, of course you would.
01:08But it's also not training you for what happens on Sundays where things change.
01:12I mean, folks are just desperate to have any morsel of information about what's going on.
01:16I understand and respect the job to keep a lot of it behind closed doors as well.
01:22Is it fair to say that what Mike was doing at practice yesterday is different than what he was doing
01:28last week?
01:29Yes.
01:29And that's, again, there's a progression, if you will, to anybody coming off of an injury.
01:34So I think we rolled Mike out early last week.
01:37We didn't roll Mike out this week.
01:39So we're continuing to practice and progress and do different things.
01:42But I wouldn't read much into anything other than we'll be really smart about this.
01:48Mike and I talk every day.
01:49I talk to the medical staff every day.
01:52We all will be on the same – we all are on the same page.
01:55We will continue to be on the same page.
01:56Is it one of those things where when he feels right, it's like, okay, coach, I'm ready.
02:00I feel good.
02:01Because obviously, you know, it seems like, you know, like you said,
02:04y'all are all on the same page and everything like that.
02:06I know Mike said he knows his body.
02:07So when he says, hey, coach, I'm ready to roll.
02:09Is it go time then?
02:10I think it's – that's part of any guy.
02:13I think it's like Billy Bowman.
02:14I think about guys that are coming off of injuries.
02:16Like you're constantly waiting for them to say they're ready because of the work that they've gotten in.
02:22There's this thing, you know, as I've been around and you know this, you can get cleared to play,
02:27but you have to functionally be ready to play, right?
02:30Preach.
02:31Yeah, I think there's – you know, these positions, some of these are hard positions to play
02:35where you've got to make sure you've got everything ready for you.
02:38I think about, you know, I've been around offensive tackles where they get cleared,
02:41but they've got a shoulder injury.
02:42You know, punching is still not ideal.
02:44Well, that's a really important part of your job.
02:46So with any player, there's always going to be the element of like, yeah,
02:51they have to be ready because they know themselves.
02:52And I think Mike said that to everybody, and he's 100% right.
02:55They know their body better than anybody, including myself, including medical.
02:59Having said all that, that's why we talk every day.
03:01That's why we're on the same page.
03:02So if it is to be Cooper Rush again Sunday, how much would it benefit you, him,
03:09everybody, the fact that he did play last week, so you have that to look at,
03:12you have that to go off.
03:13But then also now he'll get all of what he's getting this week to get ready for the game.
03:18Yeah, I think the life of a backup quarterback.
03:23That's what it is.
03:23I mean, sometimes you get every rep, sometimes you get zero reps,
03:27and the expectations of how you perform don't change, and that's kind of how it goes.
03:32And, you know, I've been around in different stops, and then you've heard these stories.
03:35Like there's some starters over the years that will never let a backup quarterback get a rep, ever.
03:42And listen, that makes some sense because that guy who's playing needs the rep.
03:46So that backup quarterback's responsible to get himself ready via mental reps,
03:51via the scout team reps, via extra reps after practice.
03:54You know, maybe you're spotting up receivers, that type of thing.
03:56So to answer your question, of course, turns, experience, reps, all of those add up.
04:02All of those experiences can add up.
04:04Well, how are you feeling as far as Cooper?
04:07Because I know last week it was Saturday.
04:08Sure.
04:09News comes out about some tightness in the back.
04:11I just know that he's better than what we saw on Sunday.
04:15It seemed like he may have been hampered by something, but how are you feeling this week?
04:18He's doing better.
04:19Definitely doing better.
04:20Going back to one thing about last week's game,
04:23what do you and Tommy and everybody, when you're in that situation,
04:27that adjustments have to do in those situations to get work out of Kyle Drake?
04:32Sure.
04:33Zachariah, guys like that.
04:34Absolutely.
04:34I mean, for us to be at our best, you have to utilize all your guys.
04:39And we feel really strongly about all of our guys.
04:41And obviously how that game went, it was not a balanced attack.
04:45And, you know, we want to be balanced so that we can be hard to defend.
04:49And you want to be hard to defend so you can score points.
04:51So I know it's, you know, Captain Obvious here.
04:54But, like, while Bajan, and you look at the numbers and the impact, that is great.
04:58And we'd love for that to happen every game.
05:00But even for Bajan to be at his best, that's when Drake and Kyle, like you mentioned,
05:05Zachariah, Jahan, whomever it may be, that's when those guys are also available to make plays
05:10and available to get the ball in their hands.
05:12So when you design the offense, particularly in the pass game,
05:17you as a coach have an ability to say, okay, this guy's primary one,
05:22then this guy's two, then this guy's three, this guy's four, this guy's five.
05:25So that's our job to mix up who those primaries are
05:28and know that the ball on Sunday goes wherever the defense dictates that the ball goes.
05:32I don't think you can, you never want to run an offense where the ball is just force-fed to
05:36this person.
05:37But if an offense is really humming, what you're doing is the quarterback's making great decisions
05:41and getting the ball to the player based on the look that he's getting.
05:45But I go back to where it's our job as coaches to make sure that we're giving everybody equal opportunities
05:50to go be the primary.
05:51Because, you know, oftentimes the ball does go to the primary if you're doing a good job.
05:55And then you trust the quarterback to get you to two, to three, to four, to five.
05:59What was the main reason why the offense was so unbalanced on Sunday?
06:04Yeah, well, I think if you just look at the pass game, the attempts were at 24.
06:1022.
06:1122, thank you.
06:12With batted balls, with holds.
06:15So we didn't have, and then obviously the ball was coming out.
06:18They were pressuring us and doing a nice job.
06:21So if you just look at that one game sample size, we didn't do a great job in our obvious
06:28pass situations, if you will,
06:29third down and the like.
06:31So I don't know that that's going to, I don't think that's indicative of every single game in the NFL.
06:38You end up throwing the ball more, you throw the ball more in advantageous situations,
06:41a la first and 10 or second and short, whatever it might be.
06:44But when you're living versus a really good rush unit and you're living in those longer down distance
06:49or those obvious pass distances, it does make life harder.
06:52What about your defense?
06:54Because, I mean, they kept you in the game.
06:55Obviously, turnover, points off turnover, things like that.
06:58As far as like what's the Darius is, because they only play at limited place.
07:01Very impactful in those plays.
07:03But talk about your defense line and how they were able to hold up in the run game.
07:07Because Pittsburgh's offensive line is one of the better ones in the AFC.
07:10Yeah, they're big.
07:11You know, I was really proud of how we battled throughout that game.
07:15And when you're going up against Aaron Rodgers, it is a three hours of a mental chess match.
07:20And he's trying to keep your defense on the field because he may get to that quick play where they
07:26don't let you sub.
07:27So you're just playing this game where they're leaving their personnel on the field
07:31and they're waiting to see if you sub, you don't sub.
07:33Now they get on the ball.
07:34Now he's looking at your safeties and he's looking at your front and getting into different plays.
07:38So I thought the guys handled the mental side of it really well.
07:42And I give Coach Brick, our defense staff, a great job in that regard.
07:44And then battled.
07:45I mean, the run game when you're playing Pittsburgh and Coach McCarthy, it's a physical group.
07:51And I thought the guys really did a nice job.
07:53And ran into the football.
07:54There were opportunities.
07:55You know, getting the ball out was huge because that turned into points for our offense.
07:58But there was a lot of good play.
08:01And I think the thing I would highlight is our running to the ball, our perimeter defense,
08:06our ability to swarm the running backs and gang tackle.
08:10Dockens head coach Kevin Stefanski joins us here on the Midday Show with Andy and Randy.
08:15You know Zedarius Smith from your previous stop.
08:19I'm sure fans know the name.
08:21And he's obviously been very good for years.
08:22But I think we got to know him better with this introductory press conference.
08:26He was really open and honest about his journey and what happened last year.
08:31I'm sure you knew all of that.
08:32But we all got to know it.
08:34And now he's back.
08:35And he had a great first game.
08:37I mean, of course, we're all hopeful that he'll be helping the team win football games.
08:40But what's it like for you to be around a guy like that, knowing what all has gone on,
08:45and now who's able to get back in here?
08:47Yeah, Z's the man.
08:48He's the best.
08:49You hear him before you see him.
08:51He's gregarious.
08:52He'll put you in a bear hug in a second.
08:54You've got to be head on a swivel when you're around Zedarius.
08:57Great energy giver.
09:00Awesome in the building.
09:01Great on the grass.
09:02Obviously not a ton of reps in this last game with a huge impact.
09:05But he'll come on and his role will increase.
09:09But, yeah, just my past with him, being around him for a little bit,
09:12we ended up trading him and obviously missed him personally and as a team as well.
09:20But I'm so happy to see Z happy.
09:25And I think there's a joy that he brings to the football field.
09:29And I think that when he brings that to the field,
09:32that disseminates throughout your entire team.
09:34And I just think that happens on game day.
09:36That happens in the locker room.
09:37That happens in the weight room.
09:38It's just how he operates.
09:39So I'm thrilled to watch him doing what he loves.
09:44Division game this weekend, Coach.
09:46Home opener, obviously.
09:47But it's a vision match.
09:48It's like kind of one and a half sometimes.
09:50What is it about this Carolina team?
09:52Obviously, gave him some points last week to Chicago,
09:54but also scored some points against Chicago last week.
09:57Reigning champs got a ton of respect for Coach Canales, their staff.
10:00I think they do an outstanding job in their schemes.
10:03They're tough.
10:04There's a bunch of things that they do that makes life hard.
10:07You know, I know you look at that game.
10:08That game kind of got into a shootout.
10:10All these games are different.
10:12That defense, I know what they're about.
10:14I know what their coordinator's about.
10:16I know what the players are about.
10:17They got ways to rush you.
10:19They got great players along the front, as we all know.
10:23And then I think they do a really good job in their back end.
10:25It's a physical back end, but they've really mixed the picture,
10:28and they can get in so many different looks.
10:30So it's going to be a great, great challenge.
10:33You look at what they did offensively, scoring all those points.
10:35I mean, the quarterback can deal from the pocket.
10:39He can get outside the pocket, which he's very, very dangerous,
10:41has multiple guys that he can get the ball to, big wide receivers,
10:46a very physical run attack.
10:48So it's a huge challenge.
10:49And making the point to the team, and you guys know this,
10:53week to week these challenges are totally different.
10:55And you filled your bucket up with all this information in week one,
10:58and, hey, we've got to go, and then you pour that out
11:00and fill it up with all this information in week two
11:02for a completely different attack, schematically completely different personnel.
11:07But we are diving into this team, diving into this challenge,
11:12and understand it's the reigning champs division game at our place.
11:16Schedule-wise today, do you guys already have practice, or is that?
11:20Practice in about an hour.
11:21Okay, that's coming up.
11:22So obviously get a chance to look at everybody, but quarterbacks again.
11:26And just in terms of ideally, and I know not everything goes ideally,
11:30it certainly hasn't, when would you want to know who the guy is going to be for Sunday?
11:36I think –
11:37Given where we are right now.
11:38Sure, I think I'll know more today.
11:41Whether or not we make a decision today, I can't say that for sure,
11:45but I'll know more after today.
11:47Do I get to the stadium?
11:48I'm sorry?
11:48Do I get to the stadium?
11:49I do.
11:50Okay.
11:50I do.
11:51Only one preseason game.
11:53What's your protocol?
11:54How early do you get there?
11:56I'm pretty early.
11:57I'm usually the first one there.
11:58I don't – nobody beats me there.
12:00From a player and coach perspective, there's plenty of staff that beats me there.
12:04But I like to get down there and torture myself by being –
12:06just hurry up and wait, nothing to do, stare at the wall.
12:09You don't work out?
12:10I'll get a – yeah, I'll get a quick one in.
12:12But, yeah, these – it's painful.
12:15Game days are painful.
12:16So I love 1 o'clock games.
12:18It used to be 12 o'clock games when I was in Minnesota.
12:21But those 1 o'clock games, hurry up and wait.
12:23And then those night games, man, they feel like the longest day of your life.
12:26All day.
12:26Are you listening to anything when you're working out or do you –
12:29Yeah, mix it up.
12:30Former coach.
12:31Mix it up.
12:32Like books on tape.
12:32Books on tape.
12:33I don't know if I can do that.
12:35No, I don't – yeah, no books on tape.
12:37But plenty of good podcasts and plenty of good music.
12:39But usually just the sights and sounds of everyday life, I guess.
12:43Just taking it in.
12:44Okay.
12:45I like that.
12:45We appreciate it.
12:46Coach, thank you.
12:47Thank you, guys.
12:47Thank you so much.
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