What The Falcons Said After Loss
Mike Smith had no objections with final touchdown; Matt Ryan paid Joe Flacco compliments after game.
Head Coach Mike Smith
(Opening statement)
"Today we struggled the majority of the football game at getting anything going offensively. We were behind the chains throughout the entire day. We had pressure on our quarterback, and he couldn't get comfortable. It was a tough day."
(On the offensive line and the pressure from the Ravens)
"We had way too much pressure. Our quarterback was hit and sacked way too much. There were times where we really didn't have a chance to get the play off, and that's very difficult for a quarterback, and we have to do better with our protection."
(On whether they were getting beat with the Ravens' quickness or strength)
"They won the line of scrimmage with both their strength and their quickness. They beat us cleanly, off the edge, a couple of times. And Matt [Ryan] was under duress with the pass rush."
(On the final Ravens touchdown, scoring when up by 15 points with 1:46 left)
"I don't have any objections. [Head Coach] John [Harbaugh] coaches his football team. Their defense tried to stop us, and our defense tried to stop them. They called a play, we didn't stop them, and that's the end of it. That's the bottom line. Our job is to stop the opponent, and we didn't do it. It doesn't matter what the situation is or the score, that's what our job is."
QB Matt Ryan
(On facing the Ravens pass rush)
"Coming in the game we knew they had a very good defense. Their front seven is outstanding. We just didn't do a great job making plays. We had some opportunities, but we didn't make the plays we needed to make. When you're facing a defense like that you need to take advantage of your chances."
(On the Ravens defensive pressure)
"That's why they are a really good defense. They put a lot of pressure on us. They do a great job playing well within their schemes."
(On his conversations with Joe Flacco)
"I've known Joe for a long time, before the game we just said hello and talked about our families for a minute. After the game, I told him he played a really good game and is having a great season. I just wished him well as the season goes on."
WR Julio Jones
(On the Ravens*defense)
"We can't control what the Ravens *D does. It's all about what we do, and we were just inconsistent today."
LB Paul Worrilow
(On whether the Ravens offense did anything surprising)
"They did a lot of things that we expected, but they had a lot of different looks. We were prepared for them, but we didn't execute."
CB Robert Alford
(On his first interception)
"It was just a good play call by [Defensive Coordinator] [Mike] Nolan. I went out there and executed and just expected to do it before the play happened. I praise the D-line and the coaching staff on the play call for that one."
(On his second interception)
"It was man coverage. I saw him try to throw the ball to the tight end, and I came off my man and made a good catch."
RB Steven Jackson
(On today's offensive performance)
"It's frustrating. We know how talented we are. We know the potential that we can play up to. Whenever you can't get into a groove and we can't get things started, it's very frustrating."
(On the lack of third-down conversions)
"It comes down to executing and, for whatever reason, they did a really good job of stopping us, not allowing us to put together long drives. When you go three-and-out, you can't get into a groove."
