QB Michael Vick
On going back to Atlanta again: "I think it's going to be exciting just to go back. This is a business, but from an emotional aspect, it'll be good to go back to the dome. I think we just have to focus on the game, and I think that's going to be my approach. I don't want any distractions, and I just want to go out and play the best football that I can play."
On whether he is conscious of the emotional aspects of the game: "Like I said, I think that the emotional aspect of it, I'm over. It's going to be great to go back to the dome and play against the former team and some guys that I played with. It's going to be different being a starter, but at the same time, it's going to be fun."
On how his game has changed since he played with Atlanta: "I think maturity has been the biggest reason why I've been able to accomplish the things I accomplish today. With age comes the maturation process, and everything happens in turn."
On whether rushing as much as he does is dangerous to a quarterback's health: "Absolutely not, and I'm cognizant of that. Trust me, we all know that I only give you two or three games of the year like that, and that just happened to be in the first week of the season. I know what I have to do and I watch the film. After the game, I knew that there were things I could have done better and I could have made the game a lot easier. Sometimes, you get out there and your killer instincts just kick in. Tell you what, I won't drink any energy drinks before the game."
On what kind of reception he will receive from the fans: "I don't know, and that's something I haven't thought about and don't want to get into. I still have a lot of love for the fans down there, but keep in mind that I am with the opposition now. I don't expect it to be in my favor since I'm out there for the other team but we'll see. That's the fun part of the game, and we're just going to enjoy the game."
On the opportunity to start the season 2-0: "That's a great opportunity for us to get off to a fast start. Getting ahead on our schedule is something that we want to do obviously. We just want to get off on a good start and try to put ourselves in a position where later on down the road we're satisfied. With that comes a lot of hard work and preparation, but I think we're doing a great job. The thing about our guys is that we just had a walk-through with so much confidence that I feel like we're starting to be where we need to be. There's still a lot of work to do, but seeing the guys out there very confident is a good thing."
On what he's expecting from the Falcons defense: "I expecting the blitz. I expect to see that, and that's what we're preparing and practicing for. I expect to see that until, I don't know, the fifth or sixth game of the season. Teams think that's the way to get after us, but we have so many weapons and so many ways to counter that, how much can you do?"
DT Mike Patterson
On whether he thinks the Falcons will come to play after being humbled last week: "Most definitely, I mean of course, that's every week. I just think that every team tries to go out there and play better than they did last week. So most definitely, they want to get a win underneath their belts so I'm sure they're going to try everything they can do to get that."
On whether the defensive line is still humble after the Rams victory knowing that there are still a lot of good quarterbacks to play against:"It's just the beginning of the season so we have a lot more quarterbacks to go through, and stuff like that. So we just have to be confident with ourselves but not be arrogant and not lose sight of the picture of what we're trying to do." * * DE Trent Cole
On his thoughts about Falcons QB Matt Ryan: "It's one, two, three bam, he's throwing it. So it's more of we have to get there as fast as possible and just do our jobs, hold our gaps. And then, also one thing you have to worry about is the running game, too. They have a good running game, they have a strong back, and he can be really deadly. But as long as we're holding our gaps we should be good."
On whether it is important to get off to a fast start: "Yeah, we always want to get off to a fast start. We want to get points as fast as we can. You know, they were the number one seeded team last year and they're a great team. And like I said, we have to watch out. When we go in there we have to go in there playing sound football against this team."
On his thoughts about Falcons RB Michael Turner: "I think he's a great back, you know, he's a very tough back, and like I said, he can run the ball. And like I said he's someone we have to keep control of just holding our gaps and stuff and we'll be alright."
On whether he was impressed with how good the defensive line was able to attack the quarterback: "I think we can do better. I think there's a lot more improvement, and it's just going to keep getting better from here on out. It's just breaking the ice."
TE Brent Celek
On whether he would like to be utilized more in the pass game: "You just have to go up there and do what you can do. If you try to play outside those means, you're not going to do well. I have a certain job to do on every single play, and my goal is to do that to the best of my ability. If that's blocking, I'm going to try to dominate the guy. If it's running routes, I'm going to try and get open."
On whether he expects teams to blitz like St. Louis did: "I don't know, we'll see. Sometimes they'll do what you think they're going to do and sometimes you don't. You just have to be ready for it all."
