Q: Devin Suau, 6, passed away this morning. I know you know Devin from riding along with him during the duck boat parade - great family, a lot of heart, a lot of determination. What can you say at a time like this?
TB: Yeah, I'd say I was lucky to be in that boat with him and it's obviously going through a lot. I've been fortunate to meet a lot of really brave, courageous people over the years. It's a very tough situation. I hope the family is doing okay.
Q: You've faced Dan Quinn's defenses in the past. How does the addition of guys like Brandin Cooks and a healthy Rob Gronkowski change the approach this time?
TB: Every year is a little bit different with the different players. Facing that defense it's a tough scheme. They certainly make you work for everything and both of those games they seemed to go down to the end. We're battling, they're battling and we make a couple plays at the end or they do and it's different. It's going to be a very tough, physical game. We're going to have to play well for 60 minutes. We've been talking all week about playing well from the start, playing well through the game and right through the fourth quarter because it's going to take everything that we've got.
Q: How would you describe what it's been like working with Brandin Cooks?
TB: It's been great. Yeah, it's been great. He's just done such a great job and I just can't say enough good things about him and his work ethic and his ability and his character and his intensity and his attitude. It's all positive. He's just fun to be out there with. I've played with a lot of great receivers over the years and he just shows up and does everything you ask him to do. I wish I could get him the ball more often. You watch the tape after the game and go "man, I should've worked him on that play", "should've got it to him on that one too". He just keeps getting more opportunity because of how well he's doing with the ones he gets. It's been a lot of fun.
Q: Does going against an excellent quarterback do anything to change your offense's urgency because you know how many points they're capable of putting up?
TB: Yeah, that's the thing. You play these good teams, they have good quarterbacks and Matt [Ryan] is one of the best. He played so well all last season. He played well in the Super Bowl. I mean you have to do a great job. You can't give them any extra opportunities. Turnovers I think are going to be big in this game. We can't give them many short fields. They're very dangerous on offense and I think it starts with his ability to get the open guy the ball. They've got a great run game. They do a good job with their scheme. So it's a big challenge for our defense, big challenge for our offense. The best thing you can do is convert on third down and stay on the field because you can't lose the time of possession and give them a bunch of extra plays or else they really capitalize. But Matt does a great job.
Q: How is your physical health this week? How are you feeling?
TB: Good. Good. I'm not on the injury report right?
Q: Not today.
TB: Not today? I hope not. Not that I would know of. But I feel good. I feel really good.
Q: Your accuracy has always been a strength of yours. How do you feel that you've been performing in that area in the past few weeks?
TB: Well I've got to hit the open - if the throws are there I've got to be able to make them. It's disappointing when I don't. To me it just comes back to technique and fundamentals and making sure everything is working and that's the consistent daily thing that you're working on. I'm always working on my accuracy. I wish I hit them all. I'm capable of hitting them all and I need to be able to do that. I said last week that some of these games wouldn't be as close if I was playing better in the red area. I think some of those missed opportunities in the pass game with me hitting guys would really help our team. Hopefully I can do a better job for this team.
Q: Aaron Rodgers and Gordon Hayward have suffered significant injuries in the past week. Having been through the injured reserve process once yourself, what can you say about the mental challenge of maybe being away from the team and dealing with the frustration of being off the field?
TB: Yeah, it's just a big reality check, I think for all of us, because we all think we're invincible to some degree. Then you go and you have this really tough injury that just happens and it is tough. Everyone probably goes through a little something a little different or it hits them at different times. I feel bad for both of those guys but I'm sure they'll both come back stronger and better than ever. That's what you have to do as an athlete. You're always faced with adversities and you've got to overcome them and mental toughness is a big part of that. I know both those players have a lot of that.
Q: The last time you played the Falcons was kind of a big win. Is there any added significance to this game?
TB: This is a big one for us. I know they're going to want to bring it. I think they've got good football team first of all and really well coached. They're good on offense, defense and in the kicking game. Sunday Night Football, it's big for both teams. They're coming off of a loss. It's an important game for us. We've got to do a great job at home. We've got to play for 60 minutes. We've got to do a lot of things that we keep talking about with our consistency and so forth that needs to show up in all four quarters of the game. It's a big game. It's a great football team. We feel like we can hang in there with everybody. We'll just see where we match up against a great team.
Q: James White had a big game in the Super Bowl. How do you anticipate he'll been utilized in the rematch this weekend?
TB: I hope he has a big game. That would be fun to do that. I mean we're going to throw where they're not. If they cover him, great. If they don't we'll throw it to him. I'm just trying to find the open guy. James always comes through when we need him to. He's done a great job since he's been here. All the guys, they're all working hard and trying to do the right thing. Offensively we're just trying to build week to week and see if we can be better. I think there's always room for improvement from all of us and it starts with yourself and [we'll] try to make this a great week.
Q: How much has the productivity of the running game taken the pressure off of you and the passing game?
TB: It's great. I mean to be able to run the ball consistently in the NFL is important for every offense. It does take a lot of, I wouldn't say pressure, it's just production. If 400 yards of offense is what you're looking for and you can get 150 from your running game, the 250 has got to come in the passing game. If you're getting 50 yards in the rushing game then it means you've got to throw for more. I don't think it's pressure it's just overall you're going to get production in different areas and the backs are a big part of our offense and handing the ball off to them is an easy way for us to gain yards if we're all coordinated and doing the right thing. But those guys are running hard. The line is doing a great job up front finishing blocks and so forth. This team presents some challenges in the run game and we're going to have to really stand up to.
Q: Do you ever just stand back there and get amazed at the tackles that Dion Lewis is able to evade?
TB: I know. Yeah, his quickness and speed is really top notch. He's got all the ability and he just keeps getting more opportunities doing a great job for us. He's been really consistent. He had a tough injury, talk about mental toughness and coming back from that, and he's definitely done a great job. Every time he gets the ball something good is happening for us so we've got to keep it going.
