EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Here’s what Falcons coach Arthur Smith had to say about the 13-8 win over the New York Jets on Sunday:
On the struggle moving the ball today…
“Yeah, obviously we want to score 100 points, we want to score every drive. That’s a good defense, they threw everything they had at us and there’s a lot of things going on. At the end of the day, the positive side, when we needed to make some plays, we did. What the game came down to (was) a low scoring game, some of those redzone – the one that (Bud) Dupree as good of a catch I’ve seen in a while, flooded over to Kyle (Pitts) and Desmond (Ridder) made a heck of a throw to Kyle to keep that drive alive. The end of the half, if you don’t take advantage of those situations, it’s going to sound boring but if you find a way to win, things get ugly, guys are coming in and out, storm, continues to be the second time he has to come in there and thought he played well offensively. Injuries especially on the defensive side, Clark Phillips, obviously Mike Hughes couldn’t go, Clark’s got to roll, and the AJ (Terrell Jr.) got concussed, Clark went in there and played outside corner. That’s a credit to Clark and the way he prepared all year. And there were other guys, Tre Flowers stepped in there that drive when Jess (Jessie Bates III) goes out, and it was all day. Andre (Smith Jr) going in there with (Nate) Landman. Guys playing multiple spots on punt, when Bradley Pinion, didn’t play that much, but you have to find a way to win and thankfully we did.”
On what they saw from the review upstairs…
“On the communication, you have to have it calm upstairs because there was emotions on the sideline. You know what you see live, it’s as quick as a bullet, you thought, ‘All right, you thought it was incomplete,’ and then you get another look upstairs, you ask and you get it confirmed, ‘Hey, it’s worth it.’ And I thought the situation, the way the game was being played, I thought why not. Thought it was too big of a moment in the game and I was pretty sure what I saw and then obviously confirmed upstairs.”
On the win giving them some room in the division…
“You know, those things, we have to focus on ourselves. It’s the way it goes, right, you guys have covered this League a long time. You have to find a way to win, you’re in-playoff chase, you’re trying to win a division, sometimes the game can get ugly in the elements and turn on you, whatever happens you adjust. At the end of the day, you just have to find the way to win. We’ll go back to work in Atlanta, and we’ll focus on us, we have to correct things that didn’t work this week that may have worked a week ago or whatever, and that’s what we’ll do. A lot of practice and we’re thankful to get that win.”
On injury updates…
“Yeah, so some of those, we’re optimistic in the grand scheme of things, but until we obviously get the MRIs, you don’t know. It doesn’t mean you don’t know about the next week, but we just have to see on the imaging about Nate, Caleb. With AJ obviously with the concussion and the protocol there. Jeff (Okudah), it was late, but think he’s OK, but we’ll have to see. We’ll know more tomorrow.”
On Kyle Pitts…
“He was involved, we just have to continue to work through it. I give Kyle a lot of credit, he really works extremely hard, and I’ve been saying it. Some people kind of look at you like –you guys talk to Kyle and that’s why I enjoy coaching him. You want to get to the point where they can’t, they concentrated a lot on Drake today. There was some optimism there and then Kyle took advantage of it. Credit to Des, tried to take some shots as low as they were playing. Didn’t hit as many as we wanted to, some we got moved off the spot, but there were some critical third downs in a low scoring game that Kyle was picked on more.”
On if the weather was an advantage for their play style…
“We thought so, but we knew what we were going to get. They were going to throw everything they could at us. They had turned the ball over, that was the biggest thing, that the game became a field position game and obviously we were trying to inaudible but not being reckless because the way the defense was playing. Sometimes, people may think you get too conservative, but all you care about is winning that game. Those guys, I mean the energy was great, we came up here and we said we’re going to bring our own energy. Those guys on the sideline were fantastic and they found a way.”
On OLB Arnold Ebiketie’s progression over the last few weeks…
“Just another guy that keeps working extremely hard to develop. He’s coming a long way, that’s why we drafted him. I think his confidence is building too, you see the efficiency of the rush. I think between Jerry Gray and Frank Bush deserve a lot of credit. In Frank’s room, all year and in the grand scheme of things, AK taking a step in year two, very, very positive for AK.”
On the defense having not given up a touchdown in two games and how they’ve changed their mindset coming out of the bye week…
“It’s just the way you continue to work, there’s some things schematically we did today that change week to week. Whatever our third down plan is, you’re trying to take away, where you’re giving help to, mixing and matching. A lot of it’s being in tune. They made some plays, they hit a flea flicker, just blowing up and making them kick goals. That’s the thing everyone wants – this is the NFL, people are going to make plans but don’t give up, turn those into disasters and let them get momentum. That’s a credit to mindset, but a lot of things we’ve been trying to work on week to week, certainly coming out of the bye, and we’ll continue to try to do that.”
On if there’s things they’ve seen that would make them better defensively in the redzone…
“Certainly, and some of it too is the other side has a say sometimes. Guys make great plays, and so yeah you want to change up a call. Sometimes it’s winning on a rush, maybe it’s the same coverage call but a guy ended up winning on the pass rush. Or, a little more discipline, don’t get moved off the spot on a play extension, don’t get baited into something, being disciplined down there. Little things add up. Same things offensively, you feel like hey you got a great call. They have some pretty good players up front. You get moved off the spot, you don’t make it, or they make a play in the air, and we continue to work. These guys, they have such a really positive mindset. They enjoy the practice, getting into the meetings, that’s why it’s such a fun group to coach.”
On the development of CB Clark Phillips III and how he played today…
“Yeah, because his number was called. You just never know, but it’s really all the DBs. The practices, how competitive it is and Clark, his mindset, why we liked him so much when we drafted him. These are moments, he didn’t play a lot, he’s played a little bit but not a lot, but he’s kept working, he’s kept – Jerry and Steve (Jackson) have done a good job. And Clark, credit to him, he competes and that’s why we love him. His role changed not only twice today but going in whether it’s (Mike) Hughes or him. He’s got a slot role, then AJ goes out, he has an outside role. NCB and S more, then we played Richie (Grant) a little bit at an inside spot too, so that was cool to see.”
On seeing how QB Desmond Ritter performed versus the Jets defense…
“Yeah, that’s what I mean about the other side has a say. We want to score 100 points, trust me, that’s our intent. But the reality of the NFL sometimes, they put a lot of capital up front, draft, everything, they have good players upfront and it was Matt Bergeron’s biggest challenges, draw cup and hey you got Quinnen Williams this week. I mean, that’s the NFL right. Caleb goes out, Storm goes in there, so you want to maybe change some of your protections, not leave him because they’re going to try to adjust over there. That’s the game you’re playing, play to play and series to series. Yeah, it’s an aggressive front, two styles, aggressive styles and thankfully we did enough to win.”
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