BALTIMORE -- What the Falcons had to say after the 17-9 loss to the Ravens on Saturday:
S RICHIE GRANT
On being eliminated from the playoffs: “I didn’t know that until you just told me that. That hurt. But we have to finish our schedule. That’s what’s most important right now. The loss is a disappointing thing, but like I said, we have more games on the schedule. It’s all about the finish.”
On how he feels the team played today defensively: “I feel like it was a pretty solid D. There were a couple of plays they bested us, but we were able to hold them to field goals for the most part. I think it was a pretty solid day, and we just need to keep improving each week.”
On if the weather was affecting him: “I don’t think it did. I think God had a right mindset today. Everybody came in with the right attitude. We knew it was going to be cold, and there wasn’t anything we could do about it. Just go out and play ball.”
On how you deal with the big plays: “It’s all about the response. We’re not worried about the big plays; we’re worried about the response to it.”
On where the team is mentally: “We’re fighting. Like I said, there’s games on the schedule. No matter how you look at it, we’re fighting. I’m not with that quitting stuff. We got two games left. Playoffs or not, we’re going to keep fighting until the season is over.”
On how much this play will carry over into next season: “Obviously, the schedule is not going how we intended to this year, but we’re doing a hell of a lot better than people thought we would. And at the end of the day, we still have something to prove. There’s still a lot of year left, and that gives you hope to build the defense that we want to be.”
On the Ravens’ rushing offense: “Oh yeah, they definitely have one of the top rushing teams in the league. They do a good job of utilizing the quarterback, and we prepared for it, and a couple of plays did get out on us. But I think we did do a good job of rallying, and we tackled pretty well. And, you know, we just didn’t get it done at the end.”
ILB TROY ANDERSEN
On facing the Ravens’ rushing offense: “There were some things we’d like to do over again. Some of their gap-scheme stuff was really effective. The quarterback run-game is really a challenge. We’ll watch the film and learn from it.”
On the need to start faster: “Obviously, only 17 points (allowed). They got 14 of them fairly early. If we go out there and start faster, that’s been kind of our thing the past couple of weeks, is we need to start faster.”
On the recent losing streak: “I mean, it’s been a grind. That’s how the NFL is. It’s hard every week. Every team is talented. We’re just trying to get over that hump and get back in the win column.”
DL GRADY JARRETT
On the loss to the Ravens: “Disappointed. ... We’ve got to keep fighting, win some games. We’ve got to finish as strong as we can. But, to not even have a chance to be in the postseason, we messed that up. It’s frustrating.”
On where the Falcons can go from here: “I’ve got a positive outlook, but I am also a realist as well. I always keep it real. We have two more games. (We’ve) got to finish the best you can, but I don’t think there is (any) excuse for whatever nobody is going to say or what (they were) going to say. I’ve been here day in and day out, you know, seeing how it is. There is no excuse. I’m not going to give you one.”
On the outlook for the final two games of the season: “You know, you have to put your best foot forward. Every time you play the game, you play the game to win. It will be encouraging to see everybody put their best foot forward and get a win, especially to close out at home strong. One thing you do is take a lesson that you learned in the past and try to apply them. You don’t let circumstances dictate the effort and ‘the want to’ and ‘the will’ and the passion that you play with. If that is a determining factor in how hard somebody is going to go, that isn’t the right person or right whatever it may be.”
On being eliminated from the playoffs: “It hit me. It bothers me very much. We’ll see how everything else shakes out.”
WR DRAKE LONDON
On what happened on his fumble: “I mean, I thought I did everything I could possibly do to secure the catch. That is one of the better cornerbacks in the league, and he just punched it out and made a better play.”
On if taking his sleeves off had anything to do with the fumble: “I think that was just the last straw with the sleeves. I did everything I possibly could and it still slipped out, so I’ve just got to take some time. I didn’t fumble the rest of the game, and that’s a positive sign.”
On getting comfortable with QB Desmond Ridder: “We’re just getting comfortable with each other. I don’t think we’ve figured each other out at all yet. I’ll say we’ve figured each other out when we get wins.”
On how he felt he did the rest of the game: “I think I had a solid game. It wasn’t anything spectacular. Obviously, the fumble kind of erases everything I could have possibly done to help the team win. But if we’re looking at the positive things, I think I had a decent game. I wouldn’t say it’s the best.”
On not getting wins: “I’m shooting my team in the foot, it’s as simple as that. I’m the one ... who keeps putting the ball on the floor, and that shouldn’t be the case. I want to make sure that this team knows I’m sure-handed, and right now, I’m not doing that. It definitely hurts me and kills me. All I can do is just learn from this. I know I keep on saying that, but just take the next step forward and keep on going.”
On if the cold bothered him: “It’s the coldest game I’ve ever been in. Being from southern California, you know I don’t see any of this stuff. Playing out there in southern Cal, I don’t really travel to a cold location. Coldest it’s been was Utah, and it was 30-something. This was a different type of atmosphere and different weather, so it was tough, but I think I managed well.
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter/AJC
RB TYLER ALLGEIER
On if the weather bothered him: “This was the coldest game I’ve played in, for sure. It was fun. Obviously, we didn’t get the result we wanted, but it was good. I think everyone had their mindset right to just get a win, but we came up short.”
On what’s been going well for him: “I think it’s just trusting the coaching points. The O-line is blocking their tails off. I’m trying to make them look better and get through the right read.”
On what happened on the goal-line play where he tripped: “I was licking my chops to be honest, but I don’t know. I think I ended up tripping over Desmond’s foot. Like what are the odds? I think I need to watch the film and see if the aiming point and all that was tight or not. It’s kind of stuck in my head, you know? I just need to watch it, correct it, and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
On being out of the playoff picture: “I think it’s really just finishing. Everyone’s mindset, obviously, was to win this game to keep us in the playoff hunt. We need to finish this season, finish it strong. I think these two games will for sure be a challenge for us, but we’ve just got to be ready for it. Be ready for it and get back to work.”
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Atlanta Falcons 2022 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 Falcons 28, 49ers 14
Oct. 23 Bengals 35, Falcons 17
Oct. 30 Falcons 37, Panthers 34 OT
Nov. 6 Chargers 20, Falcons 17
Nov. 10 Panthers 25, Falcons 15
Nov. 20 Falcons 27, Bears 24
Nov. 27 Commanders 19, Falcons 13
Dec. 4 Steelers 19, Falcons 16
BYE WEEK
Dec. 18 Saints 21, Falcons 18
Dec. 24 Ravens 17, Falcons 9
Jan. 1 vs. Arizona, 1 p.m.
Jan. 8 vs. Tampa Bay, TBD
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