Falcons tour NRG Stadium

Saturday Pool Report

Atlanta Falcons practice

February 4, 2017

By Jenny Vrentas

Pro Football Writers of America

HOUSTON—During their final day of preparation for Super Bowl LI, the Falcons took a brief late-morning trip to NRG Stadium. Team buses pulled in around 11:30 a.m. Saturday, and Falcons players and coaches spent the next 15 minutes walking around the field where they’ll play the biggest game of their lives.

Head coach Dan Quinn was instructed not to walk on the freshly painted Super Bowl logo on the 25-yard line, and starting quarterback Matt Ryan posed for a picture with back-up Matt Schaub and practice-squad QB Matt Simms. “Well, it looks like a football field,” Simms said to the two other QBs. “Smells like it.” Players gazed up at the banners decorating the stadium under the closed roof, which included a picture of Ryan throwing, next to another banner with Atlanta’s team motto: “In brotherhood we rise.”

From there, the Falcons followed a police escort for the quick, 3-mile drive to Rice University, their practice site all week.  They held a very light, 35-minute walk-through on the turf field of Rice Stadium, site of Super Bowl VIII. Earlier Saturday morning, they had held their standard day-before-game walk-through in a ballroom of their team hotel, going over situational plays and decision-making. The portion at Rice, in front of a couple hundred family members and friends seated in the stands, was “just having fun,” Quinn said afterward, and a way for the team to spend time with loved ones before retreating to their own hotel for the rest of the day. The offense and defense walked through a few dozen snaps against scout-team looks on opposite ends of the field, and then they did roll calls for each of the special-teams units.

“We needed all this time to prepare. (The Patriots) have a terrific team in all phases,” said Quinn, who was wearing a shirt with “BROTHERHOOD” written across the back. “Today was kind of our final rehearsal from a communication standpoint. That’s when I know we are at our best, when I hear what I call full-speed communication. I want to hear it loud and proud.”

About 29 hours before kickoff of Super Bowl LI, Quinn was not worried about the availability of the three players listed on this week’s Falcons injury report: center Alex Mack (fibula), receiver Julio Jones (sprained toe) and defensive end Dwight Freeney (calf). “All three are doing well and pumped to go,” Quinn said.

Quinn said that Mack, who sat out practice last week and was limited this week after injuring his left fibula in the NFC Championship Game, executed all of the snaps with the starting offense during the morning walk-through at their hotel. In the session for the families at Rice, they didn’t want Mack’s leg to get sore, so both Mack and back-up Ben Garland snapped the ball to Ryan. Asked if he believes Mack will play the full game on Sunday, Quinn did not hesitate to say yes.

“I do. And the reason I do is because I knew he would have to go full speed on Wednesday and Thursday and stick his foot in the ground and go,” Quinn said. “The fact that he was able to do that, and then I went back to watch the (practice) tape and communicated with him, and honestly, he said (his leg) felt better than it did in the NFC Championship Game. That made me feel a lot better, and when I watched him, it looked like him. We know he is ready.”

As for Jones, Quinn said, “he looks great.” At the end of the session at Rice, Quinn called the team together at midfield and asked Jones to break down the huddle. Jones called out, “Brotherhood on 3!” The players then dispersed to mingle with their families. Quinn has about 20 family members in for the game. He was also greeted by a “Rise Up!” cheer from owner Arthur Blank’s extended family.

The Falcons will follow their regular routine for the night before games, including a special-teams meeting, offense and defensive reminder sessions, and a 10 p.m. curfew. “It’s not the time to make anything up,” Quinn said. That’s a big part of the message he will present to his team on Saturday night, too.

“Now that all the preparation is done for two weeks on New England, today the shift happens where it becomes about us. That’s what tonight is about,” Quinn said. “We have a real style and attitude of how we play, and we want to make sure every time we play, we have that identity come out--our toughness, our speed, our ability to finish. Stay true to who we are. Don’t make it up.”

WFXT