TAMPA -- Here’s what the Falcons had to say after the 21-15 loss to the Buccaneers on Sunday:
MYKAL WALKER, LINEBACKER
On the team fighting back
“If you watch our schedule, every week is like this. We know it’s going to be like this every single week. Obviously, we had some questionable calls, but at the end of the day we can’t put in in the refs hands. We are going to go back and look at the tape. See what we could have fix in the beginning of the game so that we are not in that situation.”
On his groin injury
“I’m going to get that checked tomorrow. Right now, I’m feeling good. I’ll get that check out tomorrow. Right now I’m feeling good. I should be ready to play next week.”
On the defense’s fourth-down stop
“It was big. We just feed off that. We had one last week. Got another one this week. We’re a bend, but not break team. So, that’s just what we are preaching. We are a tough team. We are able to fight.”
On missing some action
“I feel like I was having a good game and coming through. Not being able to go out there and finish and fight, especially coming back from the deficit. Not being to be out there to fight with my (unit) was bad.”
On Rashaad Evans taking over the play-calling helmet
“He did great. We always talk. I’ve got my money on five-four all the time. As soon as I went down, I knew Rashaad was going to pick up the slack. We got a great kid, Troy Andersen, to run in there too and help take over. We have a really good linebacker room. I knew as if I couldn’t go in there that those guys would be able to hold it down.”
CORNERBACK CASEY HAYWARD JR.
On the roughing the passer penalty on final defensive drive of the game
“It’s frustrating but at the end of the day, (we’ve) got to put ourselves in better positions to go out there and win those games without those calls. Definitely have to put ourselves in better situations to start - we started too slow. Obviously from my vantage point, it looked like it was a bad call. But that’s why you put the refs out there to make these calls. They pay these guys to make those calls. It looked bad (from) my standpoint – but like I said – I was on the backend. They put these guys there to make those calls.”
On when he saw the flag thrown on final roughing the passer penalty
“I (saw) it late. I (saw) it late. I thought they called it on one of those guys. I thought it was something on them, for sure, because it wasn’t on the backend. When it’s normally back there, it’s normally a holding or something like that. Obviously, they called what they called.”
On what caused the slow start
“Just as a team, we have to play fast as a team. Start fast in all the cores – offense, defense, and special teams. Try not to put ourselves being down 21 (points). Obviously even if we the stop, we’d still have to go down and score. I thought we put ourselves in a chance to at least do that.”
RUNNING BACK CALEB HUNTLEY
On frustrations within the locker room
“It’s frustrating. At the end of the day it doesn’t ruin the rest of the season. We have some really tough guys. I know we will get back to work since we are a battle tested team. The next game we will be ready to go!”
On his own success in today’s game
“I feel like I did okay. I can always do better. That is what practice is for. I can get back to the basics and the fundamentals. Continue to find a way to win and elevate my game to the next level”
On the conjunction of players in the defensive box in the first half
“At the end of the day we still must find a way to run the ball no matter who is in front of us. We have to trust our techniques and find a way to get vertical. We found success in the second half which resulted us to getting in the endzone. We have to keep doing what we do and get to the basics which will result in a successful run game.
WIDE RECEIVER DRAKE LONDON
On the offense’s ability to run the football while rotating backfield
“I think we just have faith in all of our running backs, at the end of the day. We talk about our brand of football, and that’s physical football. No matter who’s back there, we’re going to try and run it down their throat.”
On if Tampa Bay’s defense was paying more attention to him than other players
“Honestly, nah. I didn’t really sense that at all. Just went out there and tried to play my best.”
On losing game to divisional opponent
“Yeah, it’s frustrating. We want to win every game we possibly can, especially in our division. This one stings a little bit, but we just have to get back in the lab and keep on going.”
TACKLE JAKE MATTHEWS
On what Tampa’s defensive lines success
“It is hard to say exactly. I will have to go a look back at the film for the specifics. It just felt like we weren’t executing, and it was frustrating. The biggest flaw is that we must be all on the same page and play with a sense of urgency. We must know what to do, how to do it, and play with a sense of urgency.
On offensive success at towards the end of the game
“We still lost. We need to find a better way to play at our best at the beginning of the game. We will get back to it tomorrow and this upcoming week.”
On thoughts on what the team could have done better
“Everything. Protection, holding the ball, and penalties forced us in to some bad scenarios offensively. We have to be able to execute, it’s frustrating because it took us way too long to find a way to get the job done.”
On what he has learned about the team
“I always know we have had a fight and that we will never quit. Also, this is a good group of guys. Nobody on this team is out for themselves. Everyone is bought in on what we are doing. We are not turning backs on each other or pointing fingers at each other. We made sure we had to fix what we had to fix. Which we did, but it wasn’t enough.”
On how the offensive adjusted with Kyle Pitts and Cordarrelle Patterson
“We expect that we can adjust from it. We started showing some moments later in the game, but we expect us the be our best out there with talented players. We can learn from this so we can find a way to get better at it.
On the Buccaneers defense forcing the Falcons offense to throw the ball
“It is hard to say exactly what they are doing because I have had the chance to see it on film yet. From my point of view, I saw that we weren’t executing. It’s frustrating because things like that we can control. You must give them credit because they beat us today.
CORNERBACK A.J. TERRELL
On the roughing the passer penalty on the final defensive drive of the game
“Big games just get a little emotional, but like I said, it’s just something that – we can’t control the calls. (We) just (have to) try to come back and play the next snap.”
On what he learned about the team today despite today’s loss
“That’s our identity – we’re just going to fight all the way to the end. Every snap – for four quarters. We’re always going to fight all the way to the end. It just goes to show the identity of our team.”
On the mood of the locker room postgame
“You know, of course, not the best energy. But, we’ll bounce back (and) watch the film just (for) things we could have done better early in the game. And just be able to not get into those situations in the fourth quarter and just close games out.”
On why his defensive holding penalty while guarding Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans in the fourth quarter was called
“I don’t know, man. Like I said, it was third-and-7 – just trying to get off the field. (The officials) called what they called, and it’s something I can’t control. Just ‘next play’ mentality. You know, we had another opportunity and we put it in the refs’ hands again. Just get back to the drawing board next week.”
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The Bow Tie Chronicles
Atlanta Falcons 2022 NFL schedule
Sept. 11: Saints 27, Falcons 26
Sept. 18: Rams 31, Falcons 27
Sept. 25 Falcons 27, Seahawks 23
Oct. 2 Falcons 23, Browns 20
Oct. 9 Buccaneers 21, Falcons 15
Oct. 16 vs. San Francisco, 1 p.m.
Oct. 23 at Cincinnati, 1 p.m.
Oct. 30 vs. Carolina, 1 p.m.
Nov. 6 vs. Los Angeles Chargers, 1 p.m.
Nov. 10 at Carolina, 8:15 p.m.
Nov. 20 vs. Chicago, 1 p.m.
Nov. 27 at Washington, 1 p.m.
Dec. 4 vs. Pittsburgh, 1 p.m.
BYE WEEK
Dec. 18 at New Orleans, TBD
Dec. 24 at Baltimore, 1 p.m.
Jan. 1 vs. Arizona, 1 p.m.
Jan. 8 vs. Tampa Bay, TBD
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