The Aftermath: What the players were saying . . .
101024 Atlanta - ONE HANDED CATCH - Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Roddy White makes a one handed catch against Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Adam Jones for a 1st down during 2nd quarter action at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta on Sunday, Oct. 24 , 2010. Curtis Compton ccompton@ajc.com
Falcons linebacker Mike Peterson gave the media a little tip in the post-game locker room session.
“Just listen,” Peterson said. “You
hear all of the chatter. Guys are upbeat. We could easily be 2-5 vs. 5-2.
“We just have take this momentum and good spirit and try to carry it with us to the end of the season.”
The Falcons were giddy after beating the Bengals 39-32 and heading into the bye week.
Here’s what the players were talking about after the game:
JOHN ABRAHAM, defensive end
ON OCHOCINCO AND T.O.: “I don’t pay any attention to them. I was talking trash myself, just to the offensive lineman. My thing is to get to the quarterback.”
BRIAN FINNERAN, wide receiver
ON HIS TD CATCH: “A lot of guys jump Tony (Gonzalez) down there. That’s what they did, the linebackers jumped Tony and I came open in the back of the endzone. Matt did a good job of putting it on me.”
ON THE BYE WEEK: “It gives you a little bit of momentum. In this league, we pride ourselves in not losing two games in a row.”
ON OFFENSE, BEST SHOWING OF SEASON?: “Probably, the first half, for sure. There is always stuff that we can correct. In the first half, we were just about where we want to be. . . In the first half, we were rolling.”
WHAT HAPPENED IN THE THIRD QUARTER: “In this league, you can’t turn the ball over because it usually turns into points. That was our biggest issue.”
DUNTA ROBINSON, cornerback
ON THE LEAGUE’S CRACKDOWN ON DANGEROUS HITS: “I think it will definitely settle down. It was just one week where guys got hit hard. You probably won’t have another week like that for a long time. It does happen. This is what comes with these games. It’s a violent sport. This is what happens sometimes in this game.”
MATT RYAN, quarterback
ON THE BYE: “We get a chance to have two extra practices, but also we get a chance to rest. Also everybody gets an opportunity to take a deep breathe and re-charge their batteries and come out firing when we start the stretch run.”
ON THIRD QUARTER: “The best part about our football team is the mental toughness. Understanding that there are going to be some ups and downs throughout the game. There are going to be plays that don’t go our way. You need to respond to those. We did that today and we were able to come away with the win.”
FAST START: The big thing is that we converted our first third down. We were able to move the ball on our first third down. . . from there we felt like we had a little bit of a rhythm and we went down and scored.
ON SMITH CALLING OUT THE O-LINE: “I don’t think he called them out. (But) I like when Coach has my back like that. I thought they did really well today. We had a great pocket to throw from and that enabled us to take some chances down the field. We were also able to run the ball really effectively. That’s completely due to the physicalness of our offensive line. I thought they played great. They’ve done a great job all year.”
TONY GONZALEZ, tight end
ON THE OFFENSE: “It felt good to be able to attack them a little bit more. It’s something that we need. (It’s) something that we are capable of. We can put up some big numbers with the talent that we have on this team. We just have to keep it up. Keep the pedal to the metal.”
JUSTIN BLALOCK, guard
ON THE BLOCKING: “We blocked pretty well for most of the evening. We were able to get off to a good start.”
SCORING ON THE OPENING DRIVE: “That really helped us build some momentum and it carried us through the first half at least. We had a little dry stretch in the third quarter.”
AFTER THE BENGALS WENT UP 25-24: “It was a really quick turn of events that led to a big point swing. No one panicked. No one really pressed. We just went about our business. Let’s take our time, get down the field and get our points and it worked out.”
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109 comments Add your comment
SeenThisLoserB4
October 25th, 2010
2:11 pm
BROWNS!!!!!!
FrontRow
October 25th, 2010
2:23 pm
@B4 – Superior because u can post 2 times in one minute? It’s called “tabbed browsing” and my 10 y.o. already figured it out.
Now I understand why you think the Taints are so good. You’re Stupid with a capital S.
Oh and was that rain yesterday or just another rash of Chuck & Duck turnovers?
SeenThisB4
October 25th, 2010
2:38 pm
I’m stupid!
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA
FrontRow
October 25th, 2010
2:41 pm
You call that garbage against the Browns “football”?
Frank Wilson
October 26th, 2010
12:42 am
Good news; The Cowboys just lost to the Giants. I don’t want to see anybody get hurt but in the process, they lost Romo to a broken clavicle.
Can’t wait to hear Keith Brooking’s take on the latest loss.
I always liked Brooking but when he ran down Atlanta and did the “Dirty Bird”…….. that was it for me.
Wonder what he thinks of the Falcons now.
Typically, the guy reporting on the game said: “The Giants are now alone atop the NFC”.
There will be a team from the NFC in Dallas in January alright…….. it just won’t be the Giants. Hope they can spell our name right.
I imagine in 3 or 4 more weeks……. they’ll know how.
Brian
October 26th, 2010
4:09 am
Gartrelle Johnson looked great in there.
T
October 26th, 2010
9:29 am
Imagine how good we would be if Jenkins or Douglas would show up. Jenkins had a few decent catches a few weeks ago but nothing since.
mo's gator s'wich ta geaux
October 26th, 2010
9:34 am
wher seenthisb4? he be me boyfreind.
fansince66
October 27th, 2010
3:40 pm
Mid season analysis:
At this point in the season it is evident that the Falcons have improved their defensive backfield. William Moore is an improvement, but he is still raw. Dunta Robinson is an improvement, but he is not a shut down corner. Brent Grimes is adequate, but not big enough to be physical. Overall, the defensive back field is barely above average (which is still a big improvement over last year). The linebakcer corp is good. The defensive line, although it does play the run fairly well, still does not provide the type of pass rush necessary to be a great defense. This shortcoming, with the back field that we have, will keep the defense from becoming a top defense. But they should be adequate to win most games, especially if they can continue to cause turnovers.
On the offensive side, the lack of a speedy running back to change things up occasionally and the lack of a consistant deep threat at wide receiver keeps the offense from being among the elite. White is an excellent receiver, but is not a consistant deep threat and actually seems to have trouble seeing the ball on deep throws. Douglas and Jenkins probably have more deep speed, but are inconsistant in catching the ball. Ryan is a fine quarterback,but seems to have a weakness in throwing deep accurately with any consistantly. Also, Last year and this year he missed open receivers in the end zone several times. These deficiencies keep the Falcons from making long scoring plays. Offensive coordinator Mularky’s play calling in the red zone is very bad. It seems that almost any time the Falcons get a first down in or near the red zone, he will call a play that results in a loss on first down, which kills the drive. (usually, it is some bizarre play or formation that fails to work). This, together with the lack of quick strike ability, result in having to settle for a field goal instead of a touchdown too many times.
Over all, the biggest needs are improved pass rush and more speed on offense to enable long scoring plays occassionally so we don’t have to always depend on long drives and so we can come back late in the game, if necessary. Lack of depth on the offensive line is also a potential worry.
Special teams play has been below average and has resulted in several big plays against us. The number of failures in all aspects of special teams play raises the question of adequate coaching.
Barring injury, If the Falcons can beat the Bucs and the Panthers both times they play them, they should probably win the division considering their schedule. Lack of speed in the back field and at wide receiver and the pass rush are the biggest problems at present, but even with those shortcommings this should be a playoff team, at least.