Coach Quinn
Opening Statement:
"I want to give credit to the men in the locker room. They found a lot of resolve to reset and comeback out and finish like we did. Clearly we've come to the mount and we were looking to respond and certainly had a chance to by scoring 25 unanswered points at the half. That is a total team effort, and I couldn't have been more proud of the toughness. I give Dallas a lot of credit. They certainly had all the way through and we had to battle like crazy, just to get back in it. At the end I was excited to see the running game going. They ended up with over 150 yards. It was a demonstration of toughness all over the field today. That's what we are looking to be. A team that has great effort shows our toughness and knows how to finish. That style we play with certainly has come out. We have a long way to go get the corrections fixed. It was hard to get it at the first half, but having a chance to finish like that, really demonstrates what we want to be as a group. They were certainly playing for one another and with a win like that it was a total team effort."
On the performance of the defense from the first half compared to the second:
"Honestly it there was not so much big changes as we went through late, as of much as we were playing out style. We missed it on some fits and as hard as it could be like the past game, we completed just about every one. We had some subtle changes that we went through, but there was a whole set of change that determined our style, how we played… we just played it a lot better.
On what put a fire under the team:
"I do know I love going through the game with these guys. We have so many guys who are passionate. We know it's going to come down, and we talk about it as a fight. It's going to come down to the end, and we are willing to go the distance, in every fight they got and it's not going to end early its going to all the way to the end, just like it did today. It's one of the things we talk about. Being able to finish, and we were proud of the way we came back. We just didn't play like we were capable of, but I imagine it was a couple of regards to that. There were a couple of moments like that for me today, especially in the first half.
On RB Devonta Freeman, and the tough yards he was able to get:
"He's just one of those competitors that is on our club. He just wants to battle for it and the toughness just comes through. In the running game it is all leaven force, the way you come off the ball, and there were some great blocks that I saw come through by Ryan (Schraeder) that came through, key blocks, the line. For us to have the running game, go like it did, that is a good defense, so for us to demonstrate some toughness and finish, I thought Devonta really brought that out today.
On finding the balance in the running game with Devonta Freeman:
"For us to have to get the run game going today, more time together at the line, more time together with the whole group. It's a real style that I want to play, with any way of closing the circle with our own team, and one that is going to be really important. There were so many keepers in the play action and such things are a big important part of what we do and so for that to come alive today, I thought the offense just kept attacking. I thought it was a great game plan through Matt and the guys. All the way through, they battled through the game, just like we expect to every weekend. For him (Devonta), those kind of performances; he just keeps racking them up. He's a hard guy to deal with and wherever we play and wherever we go he loves to battle.
On comparison of the running game last week to this. Was there something he saw on film to have success:
"No, I think this game is different. As it goes through we actually run plays on certain looks. No it wasn't something from the previous game. We just want to be true to our style that we want to play. It's such an important part that we want to emphasize each week. So today you got to see us get off track, that was Devonta (Freeman) making some good coverage.
On what a game like this does for Devonta (Freeman):
"We have such belief in him. I think you always get good confidence when you play and we will go back and look at it tomorrow, make the corrections we want to make, put this one past us and enjoy it like heck and then we'll get right on to the next one. For him, (Devonta) that belief that we can count on him, which we totally can."
On what kind of confidence is built going into a tight game like this:
"I think that when you get into close games, it certainly builds a toughness and greater finish and a confidence that comes with that. The harder you fight the more times you go into those situations, it just feels normal. You just want have great pride and be a finishing team in all opportunities we get. We drill them in practice, and I couldn't be more pleased with the effort the toughness tonight to finish. It was as hard as it can get, like I said in the first half, so for us to come out and just keep battling back, you can feel the shift taking place. Defense had a couple of stops, offense kept attacking. It was just all these little moments that kept adding up to say, ok now it's about to flip and it did."
On his words to the offensive line:
"I just passed them. The protection on the running game, those guys you can feel how close they are getting. That is one that is important. You can walk into the room and you can feel the connection those guys are all having. That bond that takes place in that position could be important just as any in the game. So for them to have that type of connection here early on as we move forward, the toughness the finish the detail that Chris and the guys, they're off to a good start."
On Julio (Jones) making some big plays:
"I think with that kind of player you just…All the plays that he makes just feels normal to him. It's not for us that's for sure, but it's the way he attacks, the way he goes after it. He's just a really unique guy, the way he competes and goes for it. He's used to those kind of plays and he's got all the confidence in the world. I thought overall the entire receiving group, the run game, the finish, the opps they had today, it really came through for us."
On what he did different for Julio's (Jones) second half performance:
"We had more throws in the second half, than we did in the first. There was once some target that went to him, but he didn't have to catch it. So I am not sure if he was…He did have some targets in the first half, but maybe some of them were incomplete passes, so those that went to him incomplete in the first half definitely came to him in the second."
On LB Justin Durant being all over the field today and his play thus far:
"I think it's the speed and the quickness he plays with that helps us play with the style we like to. No surprise from the leading tackle inside. All the opportunities he's going to get as a hook player in the pass game, so no surprise for him being up there."
RB Devonta FreemanOn the game:
"I just believed. We all believe in each other. The whole program thing is just compete. Fight for each other. My offense linemen, man, those guys blocked their butt off tonight. I'm just so proud of them. They just created some huge holes for me, and I just used my God-given ability and just made it work."
On takeaways from the game: "It just made me more hungry. I want more. The mindset of our team is we compete. We just want more. More, more, more. We know we have to get better. We also know there isn't anything easy about the NFL. Every team is going to be a dog fight. We have to come and prepare throughout the week."
On takeaways from the game, continued:
"I couldn't have done this without the fellas. It is just one game, take it to the next game and do the same thing. We just want to get better. I feel like it is about us, we know what we have to get better at. We just have to continue to grow."
On the team confidence: "It is just how we prepare in practice. We prepare. We do halftime, we do 2-minute, 4-minute, every situation. Our coaching staff prepares so well. We just carry over to the game and make the game a lot easier."
On the offensive play: "We just want to move the ball. I don't care how we do it. Pass. Run. If we get three points on the field goal. As long as we move the ball and get points. That' all it is about, us trying to score and get points on the board. At the end of the day, it is a numbers game, and we came in and came out with a "W." I am proud of our offensive linemen, and everybody else. We just fought.
LB Justin Durant
On whether there were adjustments at halftime:
"We just had to do what we were taught to do. We weren't playing the way that we normally play. Missed reads. Missed tackles. We just got back to being us."
On playing the Cowboys:
"I didn't play too well, in my opinion. I was just happy to get a win, regardless. In this league, it is tough to get them, especially playing against a team like that. To be able to come back the way we did, I am just happy regardless.
On what this game says about future performance:
"The sky is the limit for our team. Definitely, we can't be inconsistent the way we are. This league shows that the inconsistencies will turn into losses. This is not going to happen all the time, where we win these type of games when we don't play well. We just have to be more consistent in what we are doing."
OLB Vic Beasley, Jr.On the turnaround in the second half:
"We just came in and got focused back on the fundamentals and doing what we do best, which is knocking people in the backfield."
On how to prepare for this game:
"We tried our best to get the quarterback off the spot. We knew that they had Romo out and Dez out, two of their main weapons. And we were just trying to attack Weeden in the best way we could."
On the season ahead, if they are able to minimize errors and pull together:
"We are going to be a dominant force. We try to play all four quarters. We didn't do too good in the first half, but we came in and corrected some things at halftime. Once we get things going in the first half and the second half, we will be a tough team to beat."
S Ricardo AllenOn the team mindset:
"We never doubt each other. This is football. They are going to make plays. We'll make plays. This is how the game goes. It is who makes the most plays. At the end of the day, we made the most plays. We never doubt each other. We never doubt each other. We get out there, and we are all make mistakes. It's football. That's what it's for. But we are going to keep fighting and we are going to keep bringing it whenever we can."
On whether halftime adjustments led to a tale of two halfs:
"We didn't make any adjustments. That's the crazy thing. We came in here and we took a look at ourselves and realized that everything they got, we gave it to them. We went out there and missed a tackle, that's what it was. When we first got out there, that first drive, I think I had two missed tackles. And they were busts. I am an eraser. I have to get that down. That's my job. My job is to erase all bad plays. So even when the front goes bad and everything goes bad, I am the guy who has to get it down. We just have to do that. We got out there and focused on our tackling. And once we focused on our tackling, everything was manageable.
WR Julio Jones
"Kyle (Shanahan) did a great job moving me around in the second half, putting me inside. They didn't have an answer for it. That allowed me to get open and move around a little bit. It doesn't matter who I'm going against. I just try to go out there and do my best."
"I just try to go out there and help my teammates. When my number is called, I just try to make a play. I don't look at numbers because I really just want to go out and play for my team."
On his scoring plays:
"Kyle (Shanahan), man, he's just a genius. He draws it up and we go execute. On the long one, they had #26 holding me. Just by watching film, he loves to play outside leverage. Kyle drew it up like he's going to play outside. He played me outside. I crossed his face and that was it."
On the other one:
"We run a truck. This came off another play we usually run, basically a run play…a toss play to that side. The defense is very fast. They are a fast flowing downhill defense. We just set them up like we were going to run that and we just snuck me behind the defense."
"The sky's the limit for this team. We've just got believe in this locker room. We've just got to stay together in this locker room. You said there's ninety thousand out there but those ninety thousand can't win or lose this game for us. We've just got to have the mentality we're going to play for each other until it's zero zero on the clock."
"It's just the confidence that we have in each other as a team. We have to play to the end. It doesn't matter what the score is. As long as there is time on the scoreboard, we've got an opportunity."
"If I drop a ball or something, keep throwing it. Nine times out of ten, I'm going to make it right before I do something wrong."
"Matt (Ryan) has all the faith in the world in me and I have the same in him. We're just on a team. When my number is called, I've got to step up and make those plays. Matt is just going to keep being Matt Ryan, throwing great balls and we'll see the outcome."
"We all know we're not out of it. It's a mentality. Everybody has to think that. One guy can say this or that but if you're not doing it, you're not going anywhere. Everybody is just believing that we have an opportunity. We're always in these positions. Dan Quinn does a great job with us everyday. He puts us in these situations. Here, you're down, what are you going to do?"
"We've just got to what we do as an offense. We've just got to go execute. We got off to a slow start today. But it's not how you start. It's how you finish."
