Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy met with the media on Thursday, following the first day of practice of the week.

The following are select comments from his press conference in advance of the upcoming match-up with the Atlanta Falcons:

• On Mike Daniels' injury: We held himout of practice today with some back soreness.
• On Daniels' prognosis: We'll see how he is tomorrow. It's a day to day thing.
• On Sam Shields' injury: He's part of the concussion protocol, and he has to go through that process.
• On Davon House and Casey Hayward replacing Shields: Davon has done a good job. They've both done lot of good things. We have a lot of depth in our secondary. It's good to get everyone involved.
• On the Falcons defense: I think we have to take a look at the whole thing. … You talk about their defense under Mike Nolan ... three turnovers against Arizona. … That's definitely a focus for us. Mike is extremely creative. He's coached in this league for decades.
• On the win in 2011 at Atlanta in the playoffs: It was an excellent win. Obviously a great year. To go down in that environment and win, it was a good memory. But that's all is was a memory.
• On practice after an extra day off: I thought it started a little slow. The outside work was very good. We've had a productive day so far. We've still got more to do.
• On the Falcons wide receivers: Their receiver group may be the best personnel on their team. It's very productive, talented. ... Any time you have two unique threats like that, it's definitely a challenge.
• On the difference from the Falcons from last year: You have a formula of how you break each opponent down. I think you have to take a hard look at the last four or five games.
• On Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan: I think Matt Ryan is an excellent quarterback, extremely productive. … I thought Matt accomplished that in an very early part of his career.
• On coming off a big win: Last week was a good experience. We need to beat the Atlanta Falcons and that's really what we're focused on.
• On leadership: Better leadership is one of the biggest keys to your culture. We have a player council made up of veteran players. … These are all things you do and are part of your program.
• On the improvement by the defense: I think since the bye week, I think we've improved on most areas on defense. We're getting better … we're going to have to do a heckuva job this week.