FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- To Roddy White, the vibe feels familiar.

The Atlanta Falcons veteran wide receiver could sense the confidence in the locker room following his team's 4-0 start. It's identical to the energy he felt when the team started 4-0 back in 2012 and ended up in the NFC Championship Game.

"It's the exact same feeling now, with guys just anxious to be back out there," White said. "And that's what you want as a team. Everybody's waiting for the next Sunday. Everybody's preparing and getting themselves and their minds ready for Sunday. It's kind of like an [adrenaline] rush, for all the players in our locker room.

"If we can keep that edge going, we could be good. We could be ready to play every Sunday. And I feel like, except for last week in Dallas, where we came out kind of slow, other than that, I feel like tempo was on fire and everybody was ready to play."

That's not to say White is looking ahead to the postseason or to the Falcons' first NFC South game against the New Orleans Saints in Week 6. The Falcons can't look ahead to their two showdowns with 4-0 Carolina, either. Those matchups against the Panthers don't take place until December.

"We're taking this thing one game at a time," he said. "It's the NFL. You turn over the ball three times, and you're beat. We're three turnovers from being beat. You've got to be consistent. You can't get in over your head. You can't think that we can just show up and beat people."

Roddy White said the vibe around the 4-0 Falcons is similar to the feeling on the 2012 Atlanta team that started the season 8-0. Dale Zanine/USA TODAY Sports

After going 10-22 the past two seasons and missing the playoffs each year, it should be easy for the Falcons to guard against overconfidence. Then again, first-year coach Dan Quinn has instilled a renewed energy and enthusiasm that has the team believing it can take on anyone. Sunday's 48-21 thumping of the Houston Texans was just another message to the league that the Falcons should be taken seriously.

The offensive balance Quinn and his staff sought to begin the season has been achieved. When Julio Jones catches just four passes for 38 yards without a touchdown and the offense still puts up 35 points, something's going right.

Running back Devonta Freeman's three rushing touchdowns of 23, 16 and 6 yards -- scores he attributed to wide-open holes cleared by the offensive line -- coupled with backup Terron Ward's 8-yard run and Leonard Hankerson 3-yard touchdown catch more than compensated for Jones' not being a major factor.

Then the defense, with two scores of its own off fumble-return touchdowns by Desmond Trufant (24 yards) and Nate Stupar (84 yards), made remaining undefeated that much easier.

No one doubted the Falcons could have success on offense, even without an established running game. The biggest concern leading into the season was how the defense would hold up. So far, the fast and physical theme Quinn preached from the outset seems to be working, and the Falcons have learned how to finish.

But they're not done, by any means.

"We're going out there, we're imposing our will, and we're playing our style of ball," Jones said. "We're creating a new identity moving forward. Dan Quinn is a great coach. I'm not even thinking about the old stuff. This is a whole new season.

"Last year, we didn't do well. It's a different ballclub, different people around. There are different mindsets."

The 2012 team started the season 8-0 before losing at New Orleans in Week 10. Could this Falcons team duplicate the feat with an 8-0 start before the bye week? Upcoming matchups with the Redskins, Saints, Titans and Buccaneers make it a possibility. None of those teams have looked overly impressive to start the season.

But again, the Falcons aren't getting ahead of themselves.

"You know, like I know, that any given week, a team can show up," strong safety William Moore said. "Especially right now because we're the hunted. We're 4-0. Teams are looking at us like, 'If we can come in and knock Atlanta off,' that could give them some motivation.

"We've got to come out next week like we're 0-0."