Atlanta Falcons

Fox Sports' Peter Schrager on how Dan Quinn stokes the Falcons' competitive fire

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

Sports Illustrated, Extra Mustard/Sports Illustrated

While it shouldn't be difficult to get fired up for the Super Bowl, Falcons coach Dan Quinn likes to keep his team's competitive juices flowing at all times.

According to Fox Sports' Peter Schrager, the Falcons blast Rage Against The Machine at 7:30 a.m. every morning. And he pits his offense against his defense in a unique way before each practice.

"They've got a meeting room, and (Quinn) brings the entire team in the meeting room, every single morning," Schrager says. "They've got a basketball net, and he brings one guy from the offense, one guy from the defense, at random, brings them out and they shoot free throws. And if the losing guy is on the offense, the offense is running gassers to start practice. And the defense, if they lose, they're the ones running gassers."

No matter how extreme the tactics may seem, they've worked. The Falcons outscored opponents by a combined 39 points in two playoff games to reach the Super Bowl and are playing their best football of the year.

The Falcons take on the Patriots in Super Bowl LI on Sunday at NRG Stadium in Houston.