Q. Shane, when you take over an offense, do you have to kind of take from the previous staff's offensive play calling?
Shane Steichen: I don't think so. I think more so than anything, we're just adapting to what we do offensively, you know, and we just teach the guys how we want to run it and from a technique and fundamental standpoint.
I think that's the biggest thing and it starts in the meetings. And carries over to the practice field.
Q. When you have coaches sticking around, is it a bit of an adjustment to kind of get them to focus on the way you guys call plays?
Shane Steichen: You know, those guys have been great. They're great coaches and teachers. And they've adapted to the way we want to do things.
Q. (Question concerning running backs and adapting to run-blocking.)
Shane Steichen: They've done a great job. Jemal, our running back coach, has done a heck of a job. And we have a lot of times we go over pressure meetings.
We do that every day at practice, walk-throughs, and reps. And the more reps we get at those, the better we're getting. So it's been good.
Q. How much did you know about Quez Watkins before he got here?
Shane Steichen: I didn't know a lot. I know he made a huge play against Arizona the year before I got here on the screen. But what he's been able to do in training camp, it's been exciting. So looking forward to seeing him play.
Q. Hey, Shane, what's your philosophy in terms of being on the field versus the box?
Shane Steichen: That's a good question. I thought a lot about going up. Last year, we didn't have a preseason and I stayed down.
I think it's a preference for each guy. I was down as a quarterback coach and so I stayed down as the coordinator to call it.
And I think down there, when you're talking to the guys, you get a feel for how they're feeling on the sidelines and the momentum of the game. I think it's big to be down there to talk to the guys. So I like being down.
Q. So is there a guy, then, with your eyes up top?
Shane Steichen: Yeah, we got a couple coaches up there. A few. So they do a good job up there.
Q. Shane, what are some challenges the Falcons' defense has at different levels?
Shane Steichen: Yeah, no, that's a good question. Obviously, Dean Pees, he's been doing this for a long time. His defense has always been very solid.
And, you know, inside, it starts with Garrett inside. He's a good football play. And then 45 and 54, their linebackers, those guys can run.
Obviously, we played against them last year in LA. So they got some speed and it's gonna be a challenge.
Q. There's been a lot of conversation around the jersey changes and how it affects quarterbacks, centers. What's your perspective on it?
Shane Steichen: That's a really good question. I think once you get a feel for it and you know it and you see it on film a few times, then you'll start to feel it.
But I think just when you see it's, like, a DB number playing linebacker, that's going to be unique to start. But I think once we get used to it and adapt to it, we'll adjust fine.
Q. How do you coach that?
Shane Steichen: I think you show them on field and you have the practice jerseys on the field. Hey, Now, No. 6 is a defensive end. So you got to talk them through it and walk through it.
Q. Have the quarterbacks kind of mentioned that or have they not noticed that?
Shane Steichen: We haven't had very many conversations about that, to be honest.
Q. What's your opinion on your team's speed, specifically, the skilled positions?
Shane Steichen: As far as theirs?
Q. As far as the overall --
Shane Steichen: Yeah, no, I think they get good speed. They can fly, make tackles, they can cover.
Like I said, every week in the NFL, it's a heck of a challenge. Every team is good. So we got to fight our buts off on Sunday.
Q. Where the offense is now, is that something that you guys did when you first started installing it or did it pan out differently the more you went along here based upon Jalen and the guys, what you saw they can do?
Shane Steichen: Yeah, I like where we're at. Obviously, as the season goes, we'll continue to go on as an offense. But I like where we're at.
I like the preparation we've had going into this week. And I know the guys are excited for this Sunday and the coaches are. And we're fired up and ready to go.
Q. You guys ended up keeping Whiteside. What did he show you during camp that made you want to keep him?
Shane Steichen: You know what, he's done a heck of a job. This guy's tough. Now, he's tough, he blocked his butt off, he did everything we asked him to do on special teams. And he just kept improving every day, every day, and doing what we asked to do.
He's smart. And he just wants to get better every day. And we love that about him.
Q. As far as growing goes, your three wide receivers; Quez, DeVonta, Jalen, how have they grown through camp getting to this point through today?
Shane Steichen: I think it's just the repetition. I keep going back to that, it's the fundamentals and details that coach Moorehead and Sirianni, and Kevin Patullo, our pass game coordinator, those guys do a heck of a job of teaching the fundamental and details of how we want the route run.
And you can see it. Every day in practice, there's certain routes that come up. You know, it might be three days ago in practice and the same route comes up and the correction's made.
You know, so it's been really good to see. So I'm excited about the wide receiver group.
Q. I asked Jalen Reagor on this. Is there something to the chemistry of the players and the quarterback that came in the same draft class? Do we overrate that or is there something to that?
Shane Steichen: No, I think there's definitely something to that once they keep going over years and year and you get that nucleus, right, and those guys stay together for a while -- it's just all those teams, right?
All the really good ones that have been together for a while, you can see that chemistry. So I think that's big, those guys keep growing together and creating that chemistry.
Q. (Question concerning the size of a player.)
Shane Steichen: No, he's the biggest human being I've ever seen. He's a big man.
Q. He's a giant.
Shane Steichen: Yeah.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports