Quotable: Head Coach Mike Smith

Head Coach Mike Smith

Opening Remarks:
“After watching the tape, I thought there were a lot of good things in the game yesterday that we really liked. I really liked our effort. I like the way the guys fought and I liked our resiliency. Like I said yesterday, it was a great game for the fans. Those five false starts were huge. It ended up being 25 yards in penalties. I have to give Coach (Jon) Gruden and his team credit. It was a hard fought game. There were two really good football teams going after each other.”

Q: What is the status of (David) Irons and the overall health of (Brent) Grimes and (Laurent) Robinson?
A: “David is getting checked out today. The preliminary report is his knee. We will know more very soon. We don’t a definitive answer right now. Laurent Robinson’s hamstring has not been getting a whole lot better. He had a setback last week in practice and we ended up having to take him out of practice.”

Q: If (David) Irons and (Brent) Grimes are down, aren’t you getting slim at the cornerback position?
A: “We felt like Brent went through last week’s practices without any setbacks. That is encouraging for us right now. Brent has been battling two leg injuries in the past five or six weeks. We were encouraged for him to make it through practice last week.”

Q: What did you see when you were watching tape today? It was evident that they came after the ball.
A: “It was a great play by them at the goal line. They were able to knock the ball out. That Tampa Bay defense has historically been a team that attacks the football. It was an outstanding play by them to knock the ball out at the goal line.”

Q: Did you think that (Michael) Koenen was a little bit low on the punt?
A: “Actually, there were a number of factors involved in that. I don’t really think it had anything to do with the kick. It is something that Keith (Armstrong) is going to address. We played very, very good special teams up until that point in the game. We have talked about how we have got to finish in all phases. This is another game in which we were minus three in the turnover ratio and still won the football game. Usually, if you are minus three, you are only going to win 15 percent of the time.”

Q: Is the (Coy) Wire and (Michael) Boley switch permanent?
A: “I don’t see it as a switch. I consider it as we are always evaluating how we are doing things. We felt like we wanted to get Coy in there to be more of a specialized player playing against certain personnel groupings. Michael will get in there under other personnel groupings. It is what we do with our tight ends and receivers.”

Q: What did you like about Coy’s energy yesterday?
A: “I thought Coy played very well in his first opportunity with a large amount of playing time. He was very active. He had eight hits on defense and three hits on special teams. Like always, there are some things that he would like to do better and we would like for him to do better. He has done a nice job stepping up. It is really the second time this season that he has had significant playing time. The other time was against the Kansas City Chiefs.”

Q: Do you think his playing time will increase next week?
A: “That will really be based on the personnel grouping that the Vikings present. Again, it is very similar to what we do with our tight ends and our third receivers. It is just a matter of what kind of groupings there are. We have a plan in place that Coy will play in certain instances and Michael (Boley) will play in the others. They should get equal time.”

Q: Was it a gamble to go after Coy since he had surgery recently?
A: “The doctors felt very comfortable with Coy and the procedure that he had done. It was a long road back for him. He has worked very hard to get back in the league. He has done a very good job for us in everything that we have asked him to do. Through all of our games, he has the most snaps of any player on special teams.”

Q: Do you think the playoffs start this week for you guys?
A: “The Vikings are a very good football team. We have the top two running backs in the NFC going against each other. When you get in the middle of December, all of these games are important. We are pleased that we are in the position that we are in now. We know it will be an electric atmosphere up there. It will be similar to the atmosphere that we had here in the (Georgia) Dome this past weekend except we will be the visiting team. It will be a challenge for our offense because the Metrodome is one of the loudest venues in the country.”

Q: What do you think about the scenario that you could go 11-5 and still not make the playoffs?
A: “I haven’t really thought about the scenarios. I am looking through my microscope instead of my telescope this week. We can’t concern ourselves with the different scenarios. We just need to go out and play well. At the end of it, the league will tell 12 teams that they will get an opportunity to continue playing. That is how we have to look at it. I don’t think we need to concern ourselves with any of the scenarios. There is going to be 16 games played this weekend and the following weekend. I think there are going to be many things that will transpire on the football field that will affect the outcome.”

MORE FROM THE FALCONS-BUCS GAME:

• GAME CENTER: Stats and more on the game from NFL.com
• GAME RECAP: Turner, defensive stops key in overtime victory
• GAME NOTES: Falcons and Bucs game notes straight from the Georgia Dome press box
• GAME BLOG: Notes on the Falcons victory over the Bucs on FalconsLIFE
• J. MIKE'S MISSIVES: News and comment from the managing editor
• VIDEO: Head Coach Mike Smith | Ryan | White | Foxworth | Turner | Elam | Abraham
• NFL NETWORK: Falcons-Bucs Game Highlights
• TRANSCRIPTS: Head Coach Mike Smith | Falcons | Bucs
• INACTIVES: Inactives and starters from the Falcons-Bucs game
• FORUMS: Talk about the game with other fans on FalconsLIFE