EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Here’s what Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder had to say after the 13-8 win over the Jets on Sunday:
On the offense’s performance in the rain today…
“Yeah, I mean obviously we prepared all week for a rain game. Obviously, starting off first play, you’ve got to narrow down to me and (Atlanta Falcons OL) Drew (Dalman), but that’s all on me. Got to be able to get the ball out. Got a big play there, but there were times later on in the game where (Atlanta Falcons RB Cordarrelle Patterson) CP had one where he put it on the ground, but he did a great job of batting it out of bounds. But, just between all of us, got to be better at ball security. We knew it was going to be a crappy day and when weather comes, but we’ve got to be able to push the ball down the field. We’ve got to be able to run the ball. We’ve got to be able to get first downs and we’ve got to be able to get points.”
On what it takes to start a good drive…
“It’s obviously tough. You obviously want to have a positive play on that first play just to get the drive going and then see that first down. We talked about momentum all year. We talked about how to get the offense going and that’s what it is. It’s staying in a rhythm and staying in the motion in which, let’s get positive plays, first downs, first play, positive yards, let’s just get positive yards at the end of the day.”
On if the New York Jets defense’s focus on Atlanta Falcons WR Drake London opened up opportunities for Atlanta Falcons TE Kyle Pitts…
“Yeah, I mean like I said we always have weapons all over the field, so you can’t just hone in on one guy or else someone else is going to become open.”
On the touchdown pass to Atlanta Falcons TE MyCole Pruitt (Pru)…
“Yeah, they ended up being in the cover three, almost in matches, they carried that seam with Pru, it was going to go to Kyle, but Kyle had his guy way off and so I saw Pru kind of had a step on three, and so I just gave him a ball to go get. Like we say all the time, you can find 85 and he’ll do well for you.”
On the team’s two game winning streak…
“Yeah, I think at the end of the day, we’re just ready to go back to work and get better. We haven’t stacked three wins in a row this year. We’ve stacked two twice now. So, we’ve got to be able to keep our head, come back home, and be able to go out and get a third win.”
On today’s game production…
“Yeah, like I said, there’s a couple ball placement things from my end that could have been better. The one late there to Kyle, left it a little inside. You put it outside, he goes and get it. You put the little one to (Atlanta Falcons WR) Drake (London) on their sideline, a little more inside. He’s able to toe touch and get it. And then you know, obviously in the run game, we just got to be able to get things going and get first downs. Like I said, right there towards the end, if we’re going to keep the ball on the ground, we’ve got to be able to move it, got to be able to get those first downs, keep the clock running and then we’ll be able to be good with everything. But, like I said, at the end of the day, we came out here with a win, with a great team win, and we’re going to go back to work and just keep continuing to get better.”
On if the offense was successful given the weather…
“Yeah, I mean we didn’t really let the weather affect us. Like I said, there’s obviously passes I could have done better, could have put better ball placement in, but at the end of the day, we’re going to do what we do. We’re not going to let weather or anyone else affect what we’re doing. At the end of the day, we’ve got to be able to go out there and execute.”
On stopping runs after last week…
“I mean, yeah. Obviously, after last week, if you’re a defensive coordinator and you’re not trying to stop the run after last week, then probably got something going on. But obviously, they did a great job of fielding the box up, stopping the run but again, we have to adjust for that extra hitter. Be able to make that one guy miss.”
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