SEATTLE -- Atlanta coach Dan Quinn views having the Falcons practice in the Pacific Northwest as an opportunity to maximize preparation for Sundays game against the Seattle Seahawks and bring his team closer together.Atlanta extended its winning streak to four with a 23-16 road victory over the Denver Broncos last week. Rather than return home between games, the Falcons are practicing this week at the University of Washington.We thought it would be a unique time for our team to have that week together, and as well as the players not to battle back and forth through some time zones and some long flights, said Quinn , who was the defensive coordinator in Seattle during the 2013 and 2014 Super Bowl seasons prior to taking the Atlanta job. It just so happened this is how the schedule worked out. Were fortunate we have an opportunity to practice out here.Quinn said the makeup of the current team also contributed to the decision to practice in Seattle.Not every team, I think you would bring out here to have the right mindset to reset and go right to it, Quinn said. This is that team. Theyve got a great standard about how they want to prepare.The matchup features Atlantas top-ranked offense against Seattles No. 1-ranked defense. The Falcons are first in total offense at 457.4 yards per game and first in passing yards per game at 333.4. The Seahawks are allowing 264 yards per game and are second in passing defense.Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan leads the NFL in passing yards with 1,740 and has thrown 12 touchdowns with two interceptions.Ryan wasnt concerned about the prospect of inclement weather slowing down the Falcons offense.It doesnt bother me too much, Ryan said. I played in some pretty nasty weather growing up and Boston can tend to have some pretty ugly weather, as well. Ill be ready for it and I know our guys will be ready for it, as well.Linebackers Deion Jones (ankle), DeVondre Campbell (ankle), and Paul Worrilow (groin), who did not play against Denver, were limited Wednesday at practice, as were wide receiver Julio Jones (knee/shin) and guard Andy Levitre (knee).Quinn said Jones issue was not serious.The exciting thing is we could have every player back practicing tomorrow, Quinn said.The game is a homecoming for Falcons cornerback Desmond Trufant, a Tacoma native who played at the University of Washington. His older brother, Marcus, spent most of his NFL career as a cornerback with the Seahawks.Im actually going to see him tonight, Desmond Trufant said. So, Im going to see what hes got to say. But, its all love. He had his time and it was great to watch him, but I think hes on my side of the fence now.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Jim McMahon Jersey . 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Gerald Green and Miles Plumlee? Green had bounced around the NBA when he wasnt playing overseas. The Pacers gave up on Plumlee after just one season. Now Green and Plumlee are key cogs in the Suns surprising breakout season. NEW YORK -- For the second time in one of the more intriguing careers in pro tennis, US Open finalist and No. 2 seed Angelique Kerber has people asking, Whered she come from?Kerber, who will play Karolina Pliskova for the singles title at the US Open on Saturday (4 p.m. ET, ESPN2 and WatchESPN), will wake up Monday morning as the oldest player to debut at No. 1 since the computer rankings were created. The 28-year old German is just the fifth woman in tennis history to make her first three Grand Slam final appearances in the same year. This is a woman who, at the outset of 2016, was ranked a solid but unthreatening No. 10.The element of surprise just might be Kerbers best weapon.The first time Kerber had people scrambling to search her name was in 2012, when she made a probing foray into the upper echelon of the game. Kerber was almost 24 and languishing outside the top 30 on Jan. 1. Then she reached the quarters at the French Open, the semis at Wimbledon and the fourth round at the US Open. She finished the year ranked No. 5.Kerbers game is based on creative, aggressive counterpunching, with plenty of classic lefty chicanery. Those who watched her closely suggest that her rise to the elite level was slowed by two factors: lack of confidence and a longstanding reluctance to assert her game. Kerber rarely took advantage of chances to win points, lapsing to passive tennis instead of pressing the attack when her opponent was on the ropes. She hoped her opponent would make mistakes rather than taking the initiative and going for winners or forcing mistakes.On Thursday, after easily eliminating a resurgent Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets in the semifinals, Kerber acknowledged the basic accuracy of that analysis. I lost a lot of matches with this [negativity] stuff, because I was frustrated, she said. When I missed one shot I was like thinking about the shot the next few minutes and few shots. But in this moment [when I lose a point] Im really trying to be mentally strong and not showing my opponent that Im inside actually a little bit more negative and nervous. Im trying to stay positive.This was a big step for Kerber. The new attitude ensured that from 2013 onward she would always be in the mix in the top 10, a perennial contender if nobodys pick to win at major events. Had someone run a survey a year ago asking fans to pick the player most likely to succeed Serena Williams as No. 1 in the WTA, its highly unlikely that many would have chosen Kerber.Thats where the other major criticism of Kerbers pre-2012 makeup came into play. It was a more difficult fix, but Kerber finally cleared the hurdle thhis year with help from Germanys last No.dddddddddddd 1, the iconic 22-time Grand Slam champion Steffi Graf.Kerber visited and practiced with Graf and her husband, Andre Agassi, in Las Vegas before the Australian Open this year. She left them inspired and finally cemented all the pieces of her bewitching, seditious game together. The glue: the aggression she previously lacked. I changed my game, she said Thursday. In that I believe more, and [am] going for it when I have the chance and not waiting for the mistakes from my opponent.Its unlikely Kerber will have the option to await mistakes in the final from Pliskova. The 6-foot-1 Czech is a slugger; waiting her out will not be an option. Pliskova will probably leave Kerber no choice but to adopt an aggressive posture. Kerber surely knows this and will be thinking less of wearing down her opponent than getting one more ball back in short rallies of four or five shots.This could be a terrific final if big-stage nerves dont get in the way. The crowd will probably be divided, which usually means it will come to the aid of whomever is trailing at any given time.Kerber leads the head-to-head series 4-3, but she helped let the Pliskova genie out of the bottle just three weeks ago in Cincinnati. At that important US Open tune-up, Pliskova defeated No. 3 Garbine Muguruza and No. 2 Kerber in succession for the title.Kerber knew going into that title match that the No. 1 ranking was hers with a win. Instead of asserting herself, she absorbed a painful 6-3, 6-1 beating. The loss ensured that Williams would tie Grafs record for most consecutive weeks at No. 1 (186). It also empowered Pliskova, who defeated both Williams sisters at this US Open. Pliskova attributed her success here partly to the confidence she derived from winning at Cincinnati.The caveat: Pliskova made a strategic decision to skip the Olympic Games in order to train for the big summer tour events. Kerber played in Rio and took the silver medal in singles. Kerber said her lopsided loss to Pliskova in Cincy was due more to fatigue than the pressure she felt playing for the No. 1 ranking. I had a lot of tough matches in Rio, she said.Although Kerber is a southpaw, the one vulnerable part of her game has been her serve, particularly the second delivery. Pliskova returned Williams formidable serve with verve for most of their semifinal match, which will undoubtedly worry Kerber. Not much else will, or ought to, in what has been a year of wonderful, satisfying surprises. ' ' '
