Head Coach Jon Gruden
Opening remarks:
“I can’t say enough about our team. It was a tough loss. We had some tough circumstances as well. We had some key players that weren’t able to go. Field position was also a big part of this game. I will say that I am very proud of our team.”
Q: You had two offensive possessions in the fourth quarter and one in overtime. You only came away from that with three points. Could you address why you weren’t able to score today?
A: “We got sacked. One of those possessions was second and seven and we got sacked. We lost some yardage and that had a lot to do with our faltering. When we had a third and inches play, we jumped offsides. We didn’t convert on a third and five. We kicked a field goal and didn’t make it. We will have to look at the tape. We tried to make some plays, but we just didn’t hit it today.”
Q: What did you think about the performance of Brian Griese today?
A: “It was a very tough agenda for him today. I was very proud of what he was able to do. He made some very tough throws. He has been inactive for two months. I commend him for giving our guys a chance. I am sure when he looks at the tape he will see some things that he could have done differently. He really stepped up for our team today and I commend him greatly for that.”
Q: That blocked punt seemed to turn the tide for you...
A: “It was a big play for us. We wished that we could have capitalized with a touchdown. That was one of the sack plays. That really hurt us. We played hard the entire day. Again, I credit our players for their hard work.”
Q: Could you talk about John Abraham?
A: “He’s a great player, particularly on this surface in that noise. We sent help there several times. There are some situations in which you have got to let some people out. He made some big plays in some tough situations and that is a credit to him.”
Running Back Carnell Williams
Q: How did you feel you played today?
A: “I got some good looks. I feel like I am coming back around. I need to put my foot down and go north and south. I have to keep running hard.”
Q: How frustrating is this loss?
A: “It’s tough. As an offense we have to make our mind that we are going to play ball and make plays. There was an opportunity there for us to win the game. There is no way that we should have lost this ball game. Our offense didn’t put in our best effort. At the end of the day we still had a chance to win.”
Running Back Warrick Dunn
Q: How much did the tough start today affect the game?
A: I think that we stayed in the game and made some plays defensively. We made a big play on special teams. We weren’t able to just put the ball in the end zone. We had our opportunities but we didn’t take advantage of it. It’s definitely frustrating. Every guy in this locker room wants to do everything that they can to get a win. It’s frustrating when you can’t do that.”
On losing two division games this week:
A: “It’s a part of professional sports that you are going to have some times where you play well and some times when you don’t play as well. I think as professionals we need to figure out ways to turn things around. And that’s doing the little things. We’ve probably gotten away from that. We need to be a lot sharper, starting the game and finishing drives. I know that we will get back to the basics next weekend. We need a win bad.”
Wide Receiver Antonio Bryant
On not getting a shot at the end zone at the end of the game:
A: “We had a lot of shots. Like I said we didn’t get it done. We just have to make plays. Guys did their part. I’m not going to take any credit away from Atlanta, but I don’t feel like they were the better team. I can’t even say that I feel that they were the better team today. You just can’t play that type of football with penalties. I don’t know what was going on with that (the penalties). I’m not going to speak on the refs as they like to penalize you on that, but like I said, you can’t have most of those penalties and just have to make plays.”
Safety Will Allen
Q: Losing two in a row is unlike Bucs football...
A: “We don’t lose games consecutively. We expect our team to play better. We expect to play with a high level of accountability. We’ve got to bounce back, swallow our medicine and come back ready to win next week.”
Q: What if any difference did you see in the play of Matt Ryan between this game and the first one?
A: “He’s throwing a cleaner ball and making clearer decisions. He basically did the same thing today as he did in the first game, and we should have won both.”
Q: Most teams would expect to win with three turnovers...
A: “Man, we expect to win with two turnovers. That’s just how it goes sometimes.”
Defensive End Kevin Carter
Q: You played bend but not break defense today, and snagged a handful of turnovers...
A: “The Falcons have done a good job all year being one of the top offenses in the league. Ryan has gotten better as the season has progressed. We played them tough and tried to give
ourselves a chance to win at the end of the game. And we were in a position to do so, but it just didn’t swing our way. Hat’s off to them.”
Q: You seemed to have a ton of swagger at the beginning of the contest...
A: “There’s no other way to approach this game. You must bring a certain attitude to the very end. We’ve resolved to keep fighting, today and in the immediate future.”
Q: What’s next? Not more of the same, not with the competitors on this squad.
A: “It’s back to the drawing board. We’ve got no choice. Time and the competition won’t wait while we fix our problems. We’ve got to get healthy and go forward. The playoffs are steadily approaching and we better do something about these next two games if we want to get in.”
Defensive End Greg White
Q: What was your opinion of the evolution of Falcons rookie quarterback, Matt Ryan?
A: “He’s a great player and he’s going to be an even better player. He did well today and he got a win. We don’t have any excuses. We didn’t get it done. That’s that.”
Q: It’s not typical of a Jon Gruden team to drop two in a row...
A: “Hey man, that’s the NFL. You better bring it every week. We need to look in the mirror at ourselves and figure out what went wrong. I’m confident we’ll do just that and we will get better.”
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
- PHOTOS: Images from Falcons-Bucs games present and past
