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Quoteboard: Falcons vs. Buccaneers

Coach Dan Quinn

Opening Statement:
"The issue for us came down to the ball. Not creating any takeaways defensively, and then finishing in a minus four turnover ratio. We've got a really tough outfit, and I think that showed the fact that we're in this game and taking it into overtime, and having a chance to go win it when you're in minus four. That part is tough. The penalties were certainly a factor. I believe we had 11 for the game, and part of our motto as finishing is doing right longer and that caught up to us today. We weren't able to do that, and we'll give credit to Tampa Bay in this case for them being plus four. That's what it was for us, the issue came down to the ball."

On getting into third down three times during the overtime drive:
"It wasn't the same coverage on each one, but I'm going to have to tip my hat to them. We battled for it back-and-forth just like they all are."

On how limited he was with three of his four starters in the secondary injured:
"Well, it's a challenge for sure. It comes up in lots of NFL games. We have such confidence in the guys. It was a matter of just getting the pieces in the right spots going into it, but we have all of the confidence in the world for the guys that go in. We wouldn't put them up and active if we didn't believe in them, and we certainly do. For us, the real issue tonight really came down to the football."

On the turnovers:
"It was disappointing. The main thing for us is the ball. For us not to have that connection today was hard on us. It was a hard lesson for us. Knowing we're at our best when we're taking care of the ball, and also creating takeaways too. It goes both sides with that. It's not just offense. We didn't create any defensively. That's when we're at our best when we're able to give the ball to the offense. That whole mix together is what makes us unique. For us not to do that today was hard."

On Matt Ryan being really frustrated:
"The thing I want to make sure that we all know is what a top flight elite competitor he is. There were some great plays made out there by a number of guys. One of the cases is us not being able to move the ball. There were certainly opportunities for everybody. The mistakes cost us today. The penalties and the turnovers were a real factor in the game."

On the pass interference:
"I didn't get a great shot of it. I was on the far side away from him. We knew this crew was one of the tops in it. The call didn't have a question on it. We'll go back and look at it, but I didn't have a good sight at it to really know."

On any updates on the guys who were injured:
"I'll have a better feel for those guys tomorrow and see where we're at. Some of the guys who did get banged up came back out. Justin Durant and Mike Person came back. The corners did not, but I'll have a better feel for them tomorrow."

On 6-2 overall but 0-2 in the division:
"Number one, this team is really connected. That part I know is there. Our toughness, the way we like to finish is there. We didn't execute as well as we would today, so I feel like we've got a long way to go. We'll improve in a number of areas as we're going forward. That's kind of our theme each week, in terms of how we can keep getting better and keep going forward. From the toughness standpoint and where we want to be, there's a lot of work for us to do but I have all of the faith in these guys and belief in them to take it as far as we can."

On the overtime:
"When that momentum takes place that's really the shift of the game. As a competitor, recognizing that time to finish is a real trait that you have. We have a number of guys that can do that. We're a really good finishing team. For tonight, when we didn't do as well as we'd like that's still hard on us."

On Jalen Collins:
"Number one, in terms of the development he's had, we knew this was coming, in terms of the length and the speed that he plays with outside. Robert Alford's ability to go inside and play nickel was a factor as well. We have lots of belief and confidence in Jalen moving forward."

QB Matt Ryan

On the turnovers:
"Three of our four turnovers were on the plus-side of the 50. That's directly taking points off the board. I thought we battled. We did kind of everything we wanted to offensively, other than protect the football. I think we had a few too many penalties as well."

On whether he finds solace in the comeback:
"We dug ourselves too deep of a hole. I expect nothing less than us to continue to compete for however long we need to play. I don't think that's ever going to change. I think we have the right guys in the right mindset that regardless of the situation, we're going to battle. However, we can't dig ourselves that hole and expect consistently to get out of it."

On the frustration shown after the turnovers:
"That happens. Guys are going to get upset, frustrated. That's part of the game. We're all so competitive that we want to do it right every time."

On having difficulty scoring in the red zone:
"When it comes to the red zone, your execution has to be very, very precise. I don't think we've been as precise as we've needed to be."

On how he assesses the team midway through the season:
"We're in the mix, that's for sure. We've got a long way to go. I don't think we've played our best football. I think that's in front of us. That's going to be the challenge to everybody, to get back to work tomorrow and make sure that we've got the best week of preparation that we've had all year, this week. That's where everybody's mindset needs to be."

On Jacob Tamme:
"Jacob's [Tamme] has done a great job for us this entire year. He's quietly been a huge addition to our roster. He's a pro's pro. He's well-prepared every week. He knows exactly what he needs to do and he makes plays when you give him the opportunity."

WR Roddy White

On turnovers in the red zone:
"We put ourselves in a tough situation today with turnovers down in the red zone. It was unfortunate that we couldn't get them back. I thought we had a chance to get at least one of them back, but we didn't. Matt [Ryan] and [Devonta] Freeman were kind of fighting over the ball, so that was unfortunate. I felt like we could have gone down there and scored, but you just can't turn over the ball. We're doing a bad job right now of just leaving our defense out there too long. On the offensive side we have to fix some things and just try to hold on to the ball, and keep it away from the other team to give ourselves a chance to win."

On if he believed the offense had fixed turnover issues headed into this week:
"Yes, but it's tough to fix fumbles. It's just a tough situation when you're trying to do something on offense.

On assessing the team after falling to 0-2 in the division:
"We're doing ok, 6-2 isn't too bad. We should be better than that, we can play better on the offensive side of the ball, but we'll continue to get better. Like coach says, we're going to go out there and grind, and continue to get better."

NT Paul Soliai

On the defense's effectiveness:
"We came back hard as you can see on the scoreboard. On the defensive side, we just have to create turnovers and help our offense out."

DE Adrian Clayborn

On the game:
"It is just another game, and we lost. The good thing is that we can come back next week and play again."

On committing costly turnovers:
"We kicked ourselves in the butt. That is something to learn from, and we can do it next week."

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