FLOWERY BRANCH – We really needed to check-in with Matt Ryan post-game on Monday, but the Falcons limit his media exposure to one-session a week.

He talked after the game, but I’m sure he had some new insight and a different perspective after reviewing film of the 30-23 loss to New England on Monday. But someone in the organization believes that talking to the media more than once-a-week is somehow a distraction.

So, we’ll get some stale quotes about his showdown with Tom Brady on Thursday.

Ryan has never been 1-3 and his leadership will be tested this week as he’ll be counted on to pull his team out of a hole. He’ll have to do it during a week with the New York media watching and the nation on “Monday Night Football.”

Center Peter Konz talked with Ryan on Monday told us what he shared with him.

“Matt is always positive,” Konz said. “He’s always about moving forward and playing hard. It’s real simple. We just have to go back to fundamentals and win games. That’s all that he ever tells us, that we have to win.”

Below are on some post-game Ryan notes and quotes from his presser at the Georgia Dome.

HERE ARE SOME POST-GAME NOTES ON RYAN:

• QB Matt Ryan threw for a career-high 421 yards, completing 34 of 54 (62.9 percent) passes with two touchdowns, one interception and a 91.7 passer rating in the loss. Ryan’s 421-yard output is the second-highest single game passing total in team history behind QB Chris Chandler’s 431-yard performance against the Buffalo Bills (12/23/01).
• Ryan also threw a career-high 54 passes, while tying his career-best of 34 completions. Additionally, Sunday night marked his 43^rd career multi-touchdown game.
• According to ESPN Stats and Information, Ryan was 12 of 13 for 149 yards and two touchdowns when targeting Gonzalez, including a perfect seven for seven for 90 yards and one touchdown in the first half.

HERE ARE SOME POST-GAME QUOTES FROM RYAN:

ON THE TEAM’S RED ZONE WOES: “Not our best effort in the red zone tonight. We had chances, we really did. We just didn’t make the plays. I guess, we’re all trying to find out what the reason is that we haven’t been as successful as we’d like to be down there. The only way I know how to fix it is to get back to work, evaluate what we’re doing, and to try and improve and bust our tails this week to try and get it better next week.”

ON THE 1-3 START:  “I think we all understand where we’re at. Obviously, it’s not where we want to be and we certainly would like to be sitting in a different position, but we are where we are. We know we’ve got a longhaul in front of us. There are 12 more games to go and a lot can happen during that time, but our mindset has to be on next week. We’ve got to try and find a way to get back to work this week to improve and to find a way to win next week and then keep that mindset week in an week out justbeing detailed and focused on that one opponent and claw ourselves back into where we want to be.It’s a long haul in front of us. We still have a long way to go.” 

ON THE FOURTH DOWN INCOMPLETION: “I just missed the throw. It was a bad throw. Roddy ran a good route and I made a poor throw.” 

ON THE FINAL PASS TO RODDY WHITE: “Just one of those situations at the end of the game where you’re trying to make a play and give your guy a chance. Roddy has made a ton of plays for us, and for me specifically since I’ve been here. It was a bang--‐bang play we just didn’t make it. We didn’t make the play when we needed to. I have to try and give them a better opportunity to make a play on that ball.”

MORE ON THE FINAL PLAY: “Just depending on, obviously, what kind of coverage they played and depending on where he’s at in the progression. With the look we had we felt like we had a decent look at it, we just didn’t make the play.”

ON IF TONY GONZALEZ WAS DOUBLE-COVERED: “They had, specifically on the fourth down, two guys on him off the line of scrimmage. Obviously that makes it difficult for him to get a release. Credit to them, they did a really good job at trying to disrupt some of our guys off the ball. I though Tony still played a tremendous game. He battled all night and played really well.”

ON LOSING CLOSE GAMES THIS SEASON:  “We just haven’t made the plays. In the past we’ve made the plays. Tonight, specifically, we had the opportunity across the board, not really even in the last couple of series in the game, for sixty minutes offensively we just didn’t get the job done. We certainly moved the ball really well. We had six opportunities in the red zone and to come away with one touchdown is not winning football.” 

ON THE RUN GAME: “Just week--‐to--‐week. New England has some stout guys in their front seven. Their linebackers are really good down hill on the run. In the second half, how the game kind of shook out, we had to throw the ball for the majority of the second half. It’s just how the game shakes out some times. Obviouslyyou would love to do both and go out there and be effective doing both but we weren’t as good as weneeded to be in the run game. Sometimes the game dictates what you need to do.”

ON FALLING BEHIND BY 17 POINTS: “I’ve played football long enough to know that it’s never over. As long as there is time on the clock, with the guys that we have in our locker room and on our football team, we always have a chance. Nobody blinked. We didn’t get the outcome that we wanted but nobody blinked. We went out there and kept playing ball. We made some plays and got ourselves back into the football game. The defense came up with the stop on fourth and one and we had a chance. We didn’t know how we were going to do it.You certainly don’t know how it’s going to shake out but you have to believe that you can do it. You justhave to keep your head down and keep playing. I thought that the guys, for the most part, did a great job of that. They fought through some adversity there in the fourth quarter. We rallied, but ultimately fell short.” 

ON FAILING TO PULL OUT A LATE WIN:  “Yeah, because I think as players you have to expect that when you get down there, you’re going to make the play that you need to make. I think that’s the mindset that we all have. So when you don’t come away with that, yeah. I don’t know if surprise is the word, but it’s certainly not the outcome that you expect. I think everybody has that positive mindset where we feel like we can make the play when we need to, we just haven’t done it.” 

IN CASE YOU MISSED  IT:

GAME STORY:  Patriots withstand rally to down Falcons, 30-23
 

REPORT CARD: Few positives in loss to the Patriots

TONY G: Falcons TE Tony Gonzalez on 1-3 start to final season: 'Not how I envisioned it at all' -- myajc.com ($)
 

AJC COLUMNIST MARK BRADLEY: When they see red, they stop  and lose
 

Falcons bench tackle Lamar Holmes for Jeremy Trueblood

Falcons quoteboard after 30-23 loss to the Patriots -- myajc.com ($)

Tom Brady, green group of receivers befuddle Falcons -- myajc.com ($)