Falcons at Redskins Gamecenter Falcons Postgame Quotes Redskins Postgame Quotes - Sunday, December 3, 2006:
HEAD COACH JOE GIBBS On today's game "We started off the game doing some real good things. Game plan-wise it was what we like to do. Somewhere in there, we quit making plays and then we made a couple of bad ones and they picked up momentum. I think our guys fought hard but we didn't make enough plays. Throughout the game we lost our momentum and quit making plays which is what it really amounts to. We have stuff that we believe in. When we stick with it, I think we can win football games. It's a tough time we're going through. Each one of these games from here on out is precious. We're going to fight our guts out. We have something we believe in. We are going to practice that way and continue to stick with it." On losing a 14-0 lead "We'll take a look at it. We made some mistakes in there, of course. We just lost momentum. That's what happened. Even in the second half, we came out there and set our goal to play hard and go all the way down the field. That was a frustrating drive for us as an example. We get down there and then get the ball batted into someone else's hands. We got real pressure in the red zone. That's an example of us starting out the way we wanted to start the third quarter and then not making a play and giving the ball up." On the performance of Jason Campbell "Certainly, there are a lot of things in there that Jason would like to have back. It was a learning experience for him. He's a young guy. It was a tough day for him. That's a process they have to go through sometimes. You hope it wouldn't happen but I'm sure when we look at the film it will be a very good learning experience for Jason. It will be something he takes a look at and will be a better player because of it." On clock management at the end of the game "We took our shot where we felt like huddling up would give us a better play. Again, we weren't very smooth there. Again, I think it's a learning experience. It's not all Jason's fault there. Certainly, there were some things we could have done more smoothly in that situation. Two minute drives are tough. You have a lot of pressure and we didn't handle that the way we would have liked to." "Sometimes it's a communication thing too. Jason's out there going through some of this for the first time I'm not putting it all on Jason. I don't think we all handled it the way we should have." On the stalled offensive production after the first two series "We set out our goals for the game and when we started out, we were operating about as good as we've operated all year. Then we just couldn't sustain our momentum. We didn't make plays. We put a play in their hands. We had a game plan set but we just couldn't stick with it." On Atlanta blitzing during third downs "Certainly, pass protection is a big deal and there's a lot involved with it. Sometimes it's sight adjustments and sometimes it's not getting a block properly. I think pass pro up here is the key in the passing game and they did get pressure on us today." On Shawn Springs being inactive for today's game "That was a real disappointment for us. It came down towards the end of the week and Shawn said he had something slight on the bottom of his hamstring is where he described it. We felt like he was going to be fine. We brought him over here and worked him out and he said he could still feel it. We don't want somebody playing like that. It was a tough decision for us. Shawn played great for us last week. He's one of our leaders and we lost him right before the game." On the kicking situation "It's something we'll still talk about. We had a game plan there. What I wanted to do is let Shaun (Suisham) kick and see what he did but I also wanted to keep Nick (Novak). The fact is we have to be more accurate on field goals and we need more distance on kickoffs." "I thought Shaun hit it well (on kickoffs). On the field goal, he gives us distance. It was left but I think it was long enough. That's something we'll just have to work our way through."
QB JASON CAMPBELL On losing the 14-point lead "It's a tough situation when you're trying to throw the ball down the field and all that you get is short passes. You have to keep your head up. I guarantee I will fight to the end." On learning from today's game compared to the past two "There are certain situations in each game. You try to take something from it. Overall, you've got to keep fighting." On the questionable fumble "I tried to shake him. He grabbed the back of my jersey. I tried to throw it away to set up good field goal position." On the touchdown pass to Santana Moss "He did a good job of keeping the corner and in the end he got the ball." On his passing style "You don't want to turn into a running quarterback. You want to get pocket passes. Sometimes when you take off and run, you miss the other players that are already down the field."
RB LADELL BETTS On his career best day running the football "I would trade in all those yards for a 'W'. I rushed for all those yards but it's all for not when we don't win." On the performance of the offense today "I'm not going to question the play-calling right now. We were effective at running the ball when we did run the ball. Unfortunately we got behind in the fourth quarter and had to go to the air so we really couldn't stick with it." "It's a tough loss because we can't cash it in but the same time that loss didn't help us as far as the wild-card race goes so we just have to go back to the drawing board and keep fighting. We have four games left and nobody is going to quit."
WR BRANDON LLOYD On the performance of the offense today "It's frustrating when so many guys are doing things well and we aren't able to capitalize on it. With the defense playing as well as they have played the last two games, with Ladell (Betts, RB, #46) running like he has been running the past two games, and just unable to capitalize on it (it's tough)." On the failure to execute plays on offense "As players, it's our job to execute. It's our job to run the plays that are called. We have to make good with what is called in the huddle." On the development of QB Jason Campbell "It's going to take some time. I said when he first got the job that people need to go easy on him if he starts out great, don't label him the next Joe Namath, and if he starts out tough don't label him the next bust. Just give the kid a shot." On the mindset the rest of the season "We are not going to give up. There are many more opportunities to get better, so many more opportunities to develop. We still have a young quarterback out there with a bright future that we have to develop. It's our job as veterans to raise him and give him a fair shot in this league. We have veterans out there who deserve nothing less from the young guys." On the focus the rest of the season "This season will end on a high note. We will play hard. We will fight for this city. We will play for this team."
RB ROCK CARTWRIGHT On the performance of the running game today "Ladell ran the ball real hard, T.J. [Duckett] ran the ball good and I thought we should have stayed with those guys but instead we got away from it. So it's something we need to learn from." On the mindset of the team after the loss today "A lot of guys are down because we worked so hard and came away with a result like this. The guys have a job to do and that's go out and play football. Some way we just have to finish the season out."
