The Nate Stupar Mailbag: on the team's mindset, preparation, and more

Falcons linebacker and special teamer extraordinaire answers your questions each week about the Falcons, life in general, and his exceptional season so far. You can follow Nate on Twitter @thenastynate54, like him on Facebook, and check out his website, StupLyfe.com.

Fans and media have coined the term winning "ugly." How does the team feel about the way we've been winning?

Nate Stupar: Winning in the NFL isn't easy. No matter a team's record, you can lose at any moment when you let your guard down. The way we see it, a win is a win! No matter how it looks.

As a fan I'm happy to be 6-1, but as a competitor is there a slight level of frustration knowing that despite winning you guys still haven't played your best football?

Nate Stupar: Yes, it can be a little frustrating as a competitor knowing that we all collectively haven't played our best ball yet, but at the same time its exciting because when we do play our best ball collectively, we are going to be very hard to beat.

I read that DQ told the team not to settle for what we already are but to find out what we can be. We know this game can take a toll on the body and the mind. How are you guys doing mentally? Is the fight and the hunger to be champions still there? I know you may think it's a silly question but hey sometimes I have to pump myself up to go to work. I know you guys must do the same. Work is work no matter what you do.

Nate Stupar: I believe we are doing great mentally. We continue to battle day in and day out to become the best versions our ourselves. It gets difficult sometimes just like any job and you have to self-motivate yourself, but thats the beauty of this team. The team does an amazing job of bringing juice every day at practice. No matter what kind of mood you come into work with, once you hit that practice field the juice starts to spread.

Call of Duty Black Ops 3 or Star Wars Battlefront? Which one do you recommend?

Nate Stupar: Call of Duty all day. Especially on Xbox One! But having a little baby girl definitely changes how much time I can play video games.

What is your favorite place to eat in Atlanta?

Nate Stupar: My favorite place to eat? We live in Flowery Branch so we rarely go into the city to eat, but around here we enjoy going to Buford and eating at the Cheesecake Factory. I love their Red Velvet cheesecake.

What does the defense do going up against the offense in practice to help them prepare for game day and vice versa?

Nate Stupar: The scout team defense works hard to make the looks like the team we are going up against that week. We try to emulate their style to help the offense with their reads and blocking schemes. Other than that we work hard to give the offense good looks. We never just take the period off. We especially like to use that opportunity to work on our own skills whether it be working on shredding blockers or dropping in coverage.

If you didn't become an NFL player, what was the plan?

Nate Stupar: If I didn't pursue the NFL, I would probably be doing something with videography, whether it be filming weddings or making highlight tapes for high school kids for college. But definitely something with videography. I actually have my own business, which hasn't been much since the NFL kind of takes up all my time. I have my own production company called Stephen Nathan Productions. I try to do some weddings in the off season, but sometimes it doesn't work out because of my busy schedule.