LONDON -- Here’s what the Falcons had to say to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution after the 23-7 loss to the Jaguars on Sunday at Wembley Stadium:
BUD DUPREE, Outside linebacker
On the morale of the team: “Yeah, we just have to stay the course. Everything is going to get better with time. We’ve got to keep going, making sure to come out here next week at practice and continue to work hard. Look forward. Take the mistakes from today, fix them and keep moving forward. Connect the dots later.”
On facing a playoff team: “Yeah, man. We have to rally back and make sure we keep out composure in big moments. Stop key plays. Football is football. We have to eliminate big plays and that will help us on the backside.”
MACK HOLLINS, wide receiver
On the offense: “I’m not really sure. Fortunately, we over with the first quarter of the season and we have some time to evaluate that. But it’s the NFL. It’s little things. It can go one way or it can go the other. It shows in the win and losses.”
On his snub of Desmond on the sidelines: “I had an emotional moment, but not with Desmond.”
After being pressed further: “I put a lot of passion into this game. Like you said, we have a lot of talent on offense, defense and special teams on this team. To play at a level that is not our standard is frustrating. I let that frustration out anytime that it comes to me. It’s 2023 and that kind of stuff is looked at as out of control or overly emotional. I play the game because I love it. I’ll compare it to family and if somebody was doing something wrong to your family and you spazzed out are you looked at as some weirdo now? Whatever people are going to write. I’m going to hold our team to a high standard. If that standard is not met, if that’s something I’ll do, that’s something I’ll do.”
CHRIS LINDSTROM, right guard
On the drive to start the third quarter: “It just speak to my mindset, that we’re not going to quit and that we’re not out of it. Obviously, you have to focus and do your job. Bijan made a great play and then Desmond and Drake (London) did, too. It was great to come out and get points to start the second half and kind of set the tone and use our energy.”
On the starting faster: “My job as a player is that I have to have the most energy and highest effort and focus on my job to start the game. Be the best that I can be. Have energy for everybody, just focus and learn. Make the corrections, but just …we just have to go.”
On what’s wrong with the offense: “I’m not quite sure right now postgame. Some of it’s going to be we’ll learn from on Monday. Just the mindset that I have coming out of this, just try and learn and have a growth mindset and really come in the next couple of days and learn. How can I be the best right guard for this team. This just the mindset going forward. You have to come out with great energy and doing your job.”
On facing a playoff team: “They are a great team. Great program. We knew that going in. That’s the beautiful thing about the NFL is that there is great competition every week. You’re going to get everybody’s best shot. That’s what makes it so special. Obviously, credit to them, they came out ready to go and got the win. We just have to learn and be ready to go.”
BIJAN ROBINSON, running back
On how he feels: “First off, I just want to give honor to God. I want to go out there and play for him every Sunday. It was tough, but he still blesses us to do it. Obviously, it was a tough loss, another one that we just didn’t want. But for me, I just take it as another lesson. We can’t come out there starting slow as an offense. We need to get it together so that we can help our defense and help this team. Play complimentary football because if we don’t it’s going to end up in these results that we don’t want. I think we going to be good though coming into it. We just have to go out there next week and fire off as a team.”
GRADY JARRETT, defensive tackle
On the tough loss: “It was tough loss for sure. We definitely didn’t come over here for this. We learned some tough lessons today that will make us better. We just have to press harder and be better.”
On building on the loss: “Just review the film. Find out where we came up short. Everybody just look in the mirror and be better. There are definitely some things we can be better at. I’m encouraged. I believe in this team. I believe in what we’ve got going on. I know our best football is ahead of us. This will sting, but it’s going to make us better at the end of the day.”
On the fourth down stop: “It’s felt good to go out there and get a stop and try to do what we can. Control what we can. But at the end of the day, we came up short. I think everybody has something where we can go back and work on and just better for the whole team.”
On staying positive: “That’s all you can do it keep your head up and keep working. It was fortunate for us this is early in the season. Our best football is still ahead of us. It’s easy to see the darkness in things, but at the end of the day. It’s going to make us better and I’m excited for what that is going to look like.”
On Bijan Robinson: “He’s a special talent. I told y’all in the beginning that you could just see in the way he moves and the way he carries himself. He’s a dog competitor. This is just the start of a great career for him. On top of that, he’s a better dude. As spectacular of an athlete as he is, he’s a better dude. He’s going to be great for this team, this city and this whole organization.”
The Bow Tie Chronicles
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