NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Postgame quotes from both the Falcons' and Titans' locker rooms...
Head Coach Bobby Petrino
(opening statement)
That’s a tough loss for us. Our defense, I thought, played extremely well. (They) scored a touchdown, gave us all types of opportunities to score points and we couldn’t get it done offensively. In the kicking game, we made some plays. We gave up a few plays. The bottom line is their defensive front controlled the line of scrimmage and we couldn’t make plays when they were there.
(on the quarterback change)
I thought Joey (Harrington) got hit a lot and I thought there were some plays there that he didn’t make late in the third quarter and that maybe a change would give us a spark and give us some energy and I made the decision to put Byron (Leftwich) in.
(on if Byron Leftwich is the starter now)
This was a change that we made in the middle of the game. We haven’t made any decisions on where we go from here. We certainly have a lot of video to look at and take a good hard look at it. Any time you are not executing like we were offensively, its certainly not one guy’s fault. Sometimes you try to give a spark when you make a change. We had Byron in as the third quarterback mainly because Chris (Redman) was the holder for our long field goals. Byron knew that if we put him in he had to finish the game unless it ended up being in the fourth quarter and that’s what happened.
(on the concerns of the offensive tackles)
I’m very concerned. Very concerned about Wayne (Gandy). It didn’t look good. It didn’t look good when they carried him off. (Todd) Weiner is, kind of injury he’s had and been playing through. I think he will be back but how soon, I don’t know. It’s kind of a knee that he is playing with right now. With Wayne, it too early to tell exactly what it is but it doesn’t look good.
(on the fourth quarter first and goal play)
We were running a toss play. I think we had it. I think we had it blocked. They had a guy leapfrog our offensive guard and center and got a hold of Byron before he could get around to make the pitch. So we were trying to pitch the ball to Warrick (Dunn) and lead block with Ovie (Mughelli) and run the ball in the gap there. We had the play. When the guy [Albert Haynesworth] leapfrogged and got a hold of his jersey, he really wasn’t able to get around for the pitch. I’ve never really seen that done before.
(on the Titans front four penetrations)
We knew going in that they were good on the defensive front. (Albert) Haynesworth’s been playing very good all year long. We tried to slide the protection to him. Just about every time we threw the ball he caused us a lot of problems. They have got two defensive ends that are very good, very fast up the field and they controlled the line of scrimmage. We were unable to establish anything running the ball. When we did throw the ball we were under duress most of the day.
(on how well the defense played)
The defense did an outstanding job. They stopped the run, which was huge. We needed to stop those two big backs, put the pressure on Vince Young to make plays. We got a lot of pressure on him. When he did get outside the pocket, I thought we were very discipline in staying with our man. So when we did give up some yards, it was him running but he never did get the long throw off the scrambles. They had a good game plan and they executed it well. It’s just a shame we couldn’t get it done.
(on the special team’s performance)
I kind of felt like it was a wash early in the first half that we gave up a long return and gave up a long punt return. Particularly when we are trying to punt the ball and end the half and gave them good field position. But then we got it back in the second half with the returns by Jerious (Norwood). The fake punt was nice in the first half but you need to get a touchdown off of it. Our ability to score touchdowns is something we must improve on.
Quarterback Byron Leftwich
(on when he found out he was coming into the game)
I was happy I was put in. A little whisper told me to start getting warm. I started warming up and then didn’t go in on the series I thought I was going in on. It was the next series I went in on. For me personally it was good to be in having that opportunity to come back and score to tie that football game up. As a quarterback you live for those moments. We just came up short today.
(on coming into the game)
It was a situation where that was the first time I was in there with the first team offense ever as an Atlanta Falcon. It was great to be out there. You would just love to hopefully have that week to go out there to prepare to play. We will have to wait until next week to see what happens. Hopefully I can get out there and play some football. I would be lying to you if I told you I didn’t want to be out there. I want to have the opportunity to get out there and play. Hopefully I get the opportunity.
(on having time to prepare)
Any quarterback would like to have a week to prepare. You don’t want to just go out there during the games. That is too hard to do. Hopefully I will have that opportunity and we will see what happens.
(on if he felt rusty)
Anytime you miss as much time away from an actual game as I have it is tough, but I have played enough football so all it takes is one or two plays to get into your rhythm.
(on the Titans defense)
This is the best these guys have played. Those guys are playing real good football right now upfront. I had a lot of experience playing against these guys.
(on competing for starting quarterback job)
I just want to compete. I have been a Falcon for two and half weeks now. To have an opportunity to play this soon is great. That is all you ask for as a player is an opportunity to compete.
Quarterback Joey Harrington
(on the flow of the game)
There wasn’t a whole lot of flow on offense. The defense and special teams kept putting us in great positions from the start of the game to the very last snap. We didn’t take advantage of it.
(on the frustration of getting pulled)
Anytime you get pulled it is frustrating. It is not something you enjoy. I have been through worse than this before. This was a frustrating game, because offensively we didn’t help our defense out. There are no individual stories here. Individually I feel awful, because I didn’t help out our defense today. They gave us so many opportunities and we didn’t take advantage of it. It is our job to hold up our end of the bargain.
(on who is going to be the starting quarterback)
It hasn’t been discussed. Obviously, I want to be this team’s starter. If Coach makes the decision the other way I am going to support this team. I have been through these situations before. I think I have played well enough up to this point to deserve a shot at it.
(on the offense)
We definitely took a step backwards offensively this week. With the progress we had made up to this point I feel very confident that we can get right back on track next week.
(on the Titans’ defense)
They did a very good job up front. They deserve a lot of the credit. They disrupted us from the very beginning and we never really got on track. It doesn’t matter how well they are playing and how much they are disrupting us, we need to be able to get a few yard in those situations and we didn’t.
Running back Warrick Dunn
(on Albert Haynesworth)
Haynesworth is just playing great football right now. We had to help the guy that was blocking him and we didn’t do a good job today. Over the last few years people said he didn’t play up to his potential, but over the last few weeks he is playing dominant football. He is dominating the line of scrimmage and causing a lot of havoc. They are going to be a good defensive front and he is a big reason for that.
(on the first and goal from the one at the end of the game)
I thought it would be a walk in. We did so much running inside all day, that I just felt they thought we were going to run inside. If we can do a better job of maintaining the line of scrimmage I think it is a touchdown. We felt confident that we could score on that play. That is why we called it.
Tight end Alge Crumpler
(on the game)
How great can our defense play? How much better can our special teams play? We had a couple of missed field goals, but they were from long distance. From the returns we had to the block punt and a turnover at the end of the game and we still can’t put points on the board. This is terrible. This is the worst that I have been around.
(on the offenses struggles)
I am not questioning the calls because they keep telling us to trust them, but right now we are 1-4. Hopefully this week we will figure it out, because I am tired of waiting.
Linebacker Demorrio Williams
(on putting pressure on Tennessee’s offense)
It was a team effort. I think everybody worked together. The whole week we talked about putting pressure on the center.
(on being motivated after sitting on the bench during a portion of the game)
It’s hard to stand around and watch your teammates play. It’s always motivation, because I want to get on the field and prove people wrong.
(on his interception)
We didn’t have a defensive call. It was a cover two drop for me. I dropped back and I thought he [Vince Young] was just looking me off and he threw it right to me.
(on the back and forth play of both teams)
It’s been a while since it’s been that way. The defense made a lot of big plays today to put the offense in great situations. It’s been a while since I have seen a game like this. A team that makes the most turnovers usually losses the game and today we struggled a bit.
Cornerback DeAngelo Hall
(on having a chance to win today’s game)
In every game, we’ve had a chance to win. Our ultimate goal is to be in the game and finish it in the fourth quarter. Obviously, today we couldn’t finish.
(on his thoughts on the final drive for the Falcons)
He [Warrick Dunn] put on a monstrous run. I told him I hadn’t seen that since his days in Tampa. He said he wanted the ball and he got a chance to make a play. When you get on the one-yard line you assume that your team is going to put the ball in for seven.
(on pressuring the offense)
We made adjustments and we were able to get to them. We were able to blitz the gaps and keep them contained as much as possible and Vince [Young] didn’t beat us.
Linebacker Michael Boley
(on pressuring Vince Young)
We didn’t want to let him into a comfort zone. When you let a guy like that get comfortable, he can beat you in several different ways and today we didn’t let him get into that zone.
(on the ability to win the game)
We just didn’t make enough plays in all phases. It’s one of those things where we must play four quarters as an entire team. There are some things we need to do better as a defense. There are a lot of different things that we can do better.
Titans head coach Jeff Fisher
(opening statements)
Just moments ago in the locker room, the solemn attitude of the players in the locker room when the players came in, that is a real good sign – players not being particularly pleased with how they played, yet still win the ballgame. That is a good sign because their expectation level is so high.
Now, we have a lot of work to do. I don’t know what I can attribute that to, whether it was the layoff. Usually you don’t win games like that when you turn it over as many times as we did and you have the difficulties that we did on special teams. (The) obvious (reason) we won this game today was because of the performance, the consistent performance and the never-say-die attitude that the defense took throughout the game. So, I am very, very pleased with the defense.
We have work to do and we are going to keep working at it. But, it has been a while that I have been able to say that we are 3-1 after the first quarter of the season. We are and this counts as a win. We must improve overall as a football team. There are no injuries to speak of which is a good sign for us.
(on Craig Henrich’s decision not punt)
Yes, that was a smart play. When you punt the ball away like that, when there is leakage and miscommunication inside, it can result in a huge play. What if he punted and they blocked it and scored a touchdown. It was a good head’s up play by Craig and fortunately that last defensive stand was spectacular.
(on offense’s play)
Just an off day per se, it happens, as we all know, the defense carried us today and the offense is going to carry us at some time as well. I still say this is a team win although we didn’t play particularly well in a couple of phases.
(on Vince Fuller’s reaction on interception)
Vinnie’s playing very well. The whole defense is playing well. The secondary was sticking the routes very well and very aggressive. I thought they tackled well today. The total defensive pass rush, the linebackers, and an overall great effort by the defense.
(on if he expected Byron Leftwich to play in second half)
He has been there for a while now. And apparently in their mind, he has a pretty good understanding of what they are doing. It would have been hard on anybody to play quarterback today the way our defense was playing.
(on Albert Haynesworth’s play on goal line stand)
I think you could go through and pick out plays by everyone on the defense at some point in the game.
(on concern of offsides calls)
I am concerned about it, we will get it fixed. Sometimes their tackle lined up a little back and they were lined up on the tackle, so we will have to make our adjustments.
(on winning a game such as today’s)
We don’t go out to play out there to play a perfect game. We go out there to try to improve every week and try to execute. We didn’t execute on a number of occasions today, but we still found a way to win it. Again, a win like this carries you along. You can have a tough day and still win a football game and put it behind you and correct your mistakes and move on. Certainly that’s what we want to do.
(on heat being a factor)
The heat was a factor. This was not ordinary for an October afternoon.
Quarterback Vince Young
(on how he would characterize today’s win)
Great win as a team, but overall our defense as well as our fans did a great job. The screaming and shouting getting the guys going and motivated like that. I know they we’re tired. As an offense I think the guys played good, myself I played real bad, but you know it happens as a quarterback. I got to get ready for Tampa Bay, a good team.
(on why he didn’t play well)
Just making bad decisions. Like I said, forcing things instead of taking what the defense gives you.
(on if the Atlanta defense showed something different)
The defense didn’t do anything. It was forcing the ball, guys make plays when you force the ball instead of just taking what the defense gives you.
(on the locker room after the win)
We have a great football team overall. Special teams, offense, and defense we play together well. Our defense saved this game. That’s the good thing about it – we still won. With the turnovers we had, different things we had out there and the defense still came together and won the ballgame for us.
(on if the defensive effort today surprised him)
We are in shape. Like we said, in the off-season there were a lot of workouts. We work out all the time. That showed right there in the fourth Quarter that our defense is in shape. Not just our defense, but also our whole team is in shape. Hats off to the team for how we did in the off-season by working out and getting ourselves prepared for these types of games.
(on if he would take one of the Interceptions back)
Not really, it’s life period. You learn by mistakes. I know you all want me to go out there and throw for this and have a perfect game, but it happens. Deal with it, I’ve got to deal with it, and you all gotta deal with it with me. Let’s move on and get ready for a great football team, Tampa Bay. They are 3-1. I don’t know if they won today. We’ve got to get ready and we are going to their home so we have a big game coming up. As well as myself and the offense we have to get ready and get ourselves prepared to play and get ready for this next week and put this game in the past. Like I said, hats off to our fans and our defense right now for what they did today.
(on if the bye week affected their effort today)
Not at all. I just explained to you what happened.
(on if he is satisfied with being 3-1 at this point in the season)
It’s beautiful to be 3-1. It’s been a long time since we’ve been that around here. The fans I hope they are happy, the whole community, I hope everybody’s is happy with how we have started off right now. As a team, we have to be happy as well because, we’ve been working hard each week at practice. We’ve been getting after each other and it shows out there on the football field. Like I said before, hats off to our defense and fans right now.
Tight end Bo Scaife
(on Titans offensive performance)
We’ve got to come back with our offense and play better next week. We came out on the first drive today and moved the ball and on our second drive we scored. After that, we just didn’t execute like we wanted to. We’ll go back and watch film and see what we need to correct.
Sometimes it is going to be like today when the defense needs to step up and sometimes we’ll need to help them out. We rely on each other and we help each other out.
(on Titans five turnovers)
The defense of Atlanta played good, but we could have done most anything we wanted to on them. We just didn’t execute the way we wanted. As for the heat, well we are used to it so we have no excuses. We just need to play better. We’re not happy with our offense today and we’re not happy with ourselves as a team.
Running back Chris Brown
(on his touchdown)
It definitely feels good to score a touchdown. It’s been a long time for me since I did that. But the main thing is we got the win and we’re now 3-1. All I do know is we need to check the film and work harder.
(on Titans effort)
You only get to play like we did today on offense about once a season. Maybe once every two seasons. But our defense played lights out and that’s what we needed them to do. We’ve got a great defense and we know that. We can depend on them. We know what our defense can do because we played against them in training camp. They are tough against the run.
But we can’t keep putting them in bad situations like we did today. The Falcons didn’t earn any points out there today. We gave them everything they got. The Falcons defense really didn’t do too much against us. Every thing we did bad out there today was self-inflicted and we can’t give their offense short fields, where they are automatically in field goal range.
Defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch
(on his key play at the end of the game to tackle Warrick Dunn on the one-yard line)
That’s what I’m here for. I’m a high-motor guy. I’m going to chase down plays regardless of where they go. It ended up being a huge play. You never know, because it looked like a few guys had [Dunn]. He broke a couple tackles. You never know – in this game you’ve got to keep coming. They ended up getting him down at the one-yard line and it ended up being huge for us.
(on how his sack felt)
It felt great. That’s why I keep myself in shape. That’s the second game this year that I’ve had a sack on the last play of the game. When our defense needs a huge play, I feel like the playmakers have to step up. The playmakers on this team, especially today, have done it over and over.
(on dealing with the heat today)
We had a tough training camp. We had a hot training camp. It hasn’t been cool here at all. We felt like we were prepared for games like this. We worked hard and we didn’t back off any. Coach Fisher ran a good camp and we feel like we’re a well-conditioned team. We work hard in practice for this exact reason.
(on the long third quarter)
Yeah, that was a long third quarter. This game was similar to several of our earlier games – we had six plays in the first quarter. We’re on the bench saying ‘We want some action, we want to get out there.’ Then we got our wish. That happened the exact same way in a couple other games where we hardly got any action the first quarter and then we were out there a lot in the third quarter. But like I said, this defense is a well-conditioned defense and we’re going to bring it every play. That’s what we did today.
(on what was said in the huddle when the Falcons got the ball back in the red zone in the second half)
We just talked about, this is what we play football for. We thrive on these pressure-type situations. As a defense we had our backs against the wall most of the day and we stepped up and responded.
(on what it says about the Titans that they still came out with a win despite five turnovers)
I think the things we went through last season prepared us for games like this. We kept finding different ways to win. Last year, it felt like everybody was saying we won despite our defense. This year, people are saying we’re winning because of our defense. That’s a good feeling. It’s fun to be a part of a really good defense and a part of a fast, aggressive defensive line.
Free safety Vincent Fuller
(on Titans defense)
Football has its ups and downs and in my career, I’ve been on the down slide. But this defense and our team are on an up thing and it is a great ride. Yeah, it was a hot day today and we had been on the field for awhile. But our leaders willed us to put the game away and now we are 3-1. Our pass rush is incredible right now. That’s our strongest point and it has been that was for our first four games this season. We just have to keep that up.
(on his interception)
From my perspective it was just an out route and I had inside leverage and I was driving out to make the tackle. The throw was behind the reciever so it kind of bounced off his inside arm and I grabbed it and took off.
Linebacker Keith Bulluck
(on Titans defensive line play)
That’s kind of been our M.O. all year. The D-line has been getting after anyone they see back there. I don’t think it is going to stop. We practice hard and practice getting after it at game time. But they have been playing great since the preseason. We talked as a defense about moving up twenty-two spots in the NFL stats for total defense. And those guys are finally gelling having played together at least three or four years. The defensive line has pride in their whole unit and it comes from their coach who gets on them all the time.
(on stopping Falcons on first and goal at game‘s end)
We were not really worried about it. We knew something had to give. Us or them. And then Albert (Haynesworth) made a tremendous play. You don’t see 330-pound lineman making that play, ever. He made a tremendous play with the sack and then it’s second and six or seven. Then it’s a whole different situation for us.
(on the win)
It’s early in the season, so a win is a win and we’ll take it. But we weren’t supposed to win that game at all. We gave them every opportunity in football to win that game and yet we came out on top. This is a team sport and we preach ‘team’ around here. As a team we didn’t play well at all, but we’ll take the win.
MORE FROM THE FALCONS-TITANS GAME:
- GAMEDAY: All the coverage from the Titans-Falcons game
- STATS AND PLAY-BY-PLAY: NFL.com Game Center
- GAME NOTES: Updates and injury news from the LP Field press box
- INACTIVES: Inactives and starters from Week 5
- QUOTABLE: Thoughts on the game from Falcons players and coaches
- VIDEO: Head Coach Bobby Petrino
- VIDEO: Quarterback Joey Harrington
- VIDEO: Quarterback Byron Leftwich
- HIGHLIGHTS: Game highlights from NFL Network
