FALCONS 22, CHARGERS 16: Q&A / MIKE SMITH, Falcons head coach: ‘They were able to fight through’ gaffes

Here’s a snippet of Falcons coach Mike Smith’s postgame news conference after the Falcons’ 22-16 victory over San Diego.

Opening statement:

“I’d like to say that in this league, you’ve got to win games like this. When things don’t always go your way, you don’t play your best. But it felt like our guys fought very, very hard for 60 minutes. It was a testament to them to have all of those turnovers, to be minus-four in the turnover ratio on the road, and be able to continue to play hard and hang in there for 60 minutes. I felt like our intensity was outstanding. I am personally, and I know that our football team is thrilled to be 8-4. What we are going to do is pack up, get back to Atlanta and get prepared for a big test for us next week back in our division.

Q. Could you talk about the play of Michael Turner today?

A. I thought Michael ran the ball extremely well today. I know that he finished with 120 yards. I thought that he ran very hard. I felt our offensive line did a outstanding job blocking. They really loaded the box and were going to try to make us be one-dimensional and have our quarterback throw the football. I felt Michael did a great job of running the football, and it was a good job blocking up front.

Q. What does it say about him with him being able to produce in a big game where he was coming to see his old teammates and LaDainian [Tomlinson]?

A. I think a lot more was made of that. Michael Turner, I think, is a very task-oriented football player. I think he’s a very mature player. He knew he was going to be facing an outstanding football team today. It was the first time that we really faced a 3-4 [defense], and I thought he did a good job running the football.

Q. How tough was it to come back from that goal-line stand [by the Chargers]?

A. The one thing that helped us was that it was right before halftime. We were able to get in there and get in the locker room and talk about it. We were also going to have the ball back with the opening possession there in the second half. This is a resilient football team. This is a group of men that enjoy being around each other. They fight hard every single day since we’ve been together. I’m very proud of them and this coaching staff to keep the guys on task and doing what we’re supposed to do. … The decision I thought was easy. I have a lot of confidence in us getting a fourth-and-1.

Q. How big of a concern was it that your turnovers led to all of their points?

A. Anytime that you lose the turnover ratio, statistically you’re not going to win those games. I think what our football team did was they were able to fight through it. They fought through it the entire game because we were minus-four. I thought that we bounced back. Some individuals bounced back from the negative plays like Harry Douglas. He made a decision and he learned from that decision. He came back and the next time he had a opportunity he returned the punt inside the 50, which put us in great field position.