Freeney: Let’s just play already
HOUSTON — As the Falcons prep for tomorrow’s Super Bowl LI against the Patriots, part of the experience has begun to wear on some of them.
Defensive end Dwight Freeney was the most outspoken about it.
“I think the process honestly sucks, because you’re waiting two weeks,” Freeney said Thursday. “It’s not like a bye week where you get to take your mind off of football for just a second, do whatever you want to do. No, it’s like you’re focusing on the game for two weeks straight. You just can’t wait until it gets here, partially just so you can stop talking about it and just do it.
“I think that’s the agonizing part about this whole entire process. It’s just that wait until the Super Bowl. That’s the pain, the pain is the wait until you get there.”
Freeney, though, has gone through it before when he was with the Indianapolis Colts. Younger players like wide receiver Mohamed Sanu are new to the overwhelming aspects of it.
“Yeah, how much media we do (is a surprise), honestly,” Sanu said. “I didn’t know it was like this. I really thought it was like a one media day, I don’t know, but we wake up early to do media. It’s pretty cool though. You get to meet all you guys and talk about a lot of different things so it’s pretty cool.”
Tight end Austin Hooper echoed the early times for the daily media availability was a strain, as the Falcons talked at 8 a.m. local time the majority of the week.
“I don’t want to say tired,” Hooper said. “But, I would like to sleep in one morning. I will say that.”
Running back Devonta Freeman, though, has not been thrown off at all.
“None of this stuff bothers me,” Freeman said. “A lot of players have anxiety or whatever, but thankfully I’ve been in situations where I have to control what I can control and it prepared me for moments like this where I can just focus and treat it like a regular day.”
Mack attack
As tomorrow’s game approaches, the Falcons find themselves staring down a potentially disruptive injury along the offensive line.
Center Alex Mack, who came over from the Cleveland Browns during the offseason, has stepped in and provided an immediate boost to the Falcons’ front. However, he has been dealing with an injury to his left fibula that has not gone away since he sustained it in the NFC Championship Game against the Green Bay Packers.
All week, Mack has been limited in practice. Although he will likely play tomorrow, Mack’s effectiveness could be hindered by the nagging injury.
However, coach Dan Quinn seemed positive about Mack’s progress after watching the film of Thursday’s practice.
“I felt good after watching Alex (Thursday) night,’’ Quinn said yesterday in an NFL pool report, “because I felt good about what he was able to do on the things we’re going to ask him to do in the game. It’s going to hurt, but a lot of guys are playing through stuff. The important thing is Alex’ mind is clear. He needed to test it and have guys go on him full speed, and he was able to do that Wednesday and Thursday.”
Cut from same cloth
Many of the same compliments the Falcons have thrown Pats quarterback Tom Brady’s way this week fall in line with what they say about their own signalcaller, Matt Ryan.
According to safety Ricardo Allen, the two share the same qualities.
“(Brady) has his preparation down so well, he knows where to look, he knows where to go with the ball,” Allen said. “Essentially, to me, he compares to Matt Ryan a lot. They are the same kind of quarterback. Matt Ryan did run for a touchdown last week, but they are hitting their spots, hitting their targets, and helping their guys make plays.”