Here’s what the Falcons had to say after the 38-25 loss Sunday to the Seahawks:
TODD GURLEY, Running back
On how odd it was to score and not see or hear any fans: “You know, kind of treat it like practice. I don’t really hear any fans there so you know it’s just one of those unfortunate situations that everyone has to play in and you have to get used to. But it just felt good to be able to get a touchdown even though we didn’t win, but definitely a good start for me. Just got to keep getting better.”
On establishing a run presence in the first half: “I mean, just took what the defense gave us. You know, those guys up front made it. They did a great job. They held their own. And like you said we took what the defense gave us, got a couple of great runs at the beginning of the game and you know I felt like it was something for us to feed off of.”
On how he felt physically and what kind of pitch count he was on: “I felt good. You know I feel good. I don’t know how many times I carried the ball in the first half, but like I said it was just taking whatever the defense gave us. You know we had a pretty good rotation you know. B [Brian] Hill and Ito [Smith] came in and helped me out a lot. But you know I felt pretty good.”
On how the two teams came to the plan for opening kickoff and how effective it was: “It’s a start. One of those things like are we going to keep doing this or are we just doing this because of Week 1? So, I know the social justice committee talked to that team and I guess DQ [Dan Quinn] and Pete [Carroll] agreed upon something. But, it’s definitely a start. We can keep building off of stuff. Still bringing change and awareness to every situation that’s going on right now in America.”
On the level of frustration to look up after three quarters and have only 12 points: “Yeah you know, just to kind of put points on the board. Really not much to say. Like you said with the talent we have and the receivers and tight ends. With Keith [Smith] at fullback. Me, To [Ito Smith], B [Brian] Hill at running back. Touchdowns, touchdowns is what we need. We need to be able to score about 80% touchdowns. 100% in the red zone and take care of the ball and we can definitely start getting some wins.”
On the offensive line’s performance: “They were doing good. You know, they were moving Seattle’s defense and getting up to the linebackers. I was able to just press and cut and just do what I do. So credit to those guys. They did a great job of protecting Matt [Ryan] today. You know, o-line never gets talked about. That’s just how it is from football but they did their thing. They held their own. We took what the defense gave us and tried to apply pressure off of that.”
JULIO JONES, wide receiver
On his thoughts on today’s game: “We just got to do better at the end of the day. I feel like we played hard. Football comes down to inches and situations. We did not capitalize on certain situations. That determined the outcome of the game.”
On the offense scoring 12 points through the first three quarters: “We cannot just say, ’12 points in the first three quarters.' They are a good ball club. They have some good defensive players over there. I just have to look at the film to see where we made our mistakes and where we can capitalize going forward.”
On whether any of the offensive issues were similar to the challenges the offense faced last season: “It is just the first game. We just have to keep building. One game does not define us. We have to keep building and keep trusting one another.”
On the message from the demonstration during the opening kickoff: “At the end of the day the message is everybody making decisions collectively. It is not just one person making a decision, like if you are over there, ‘I want to support you, but I do not know what I am supporting.’ Once we all come together collectively, we can make something happen. It is way more positive if we do it collectively rather than one person here or one person there. The guys on our team and their team communicated. Everybody voted. We said we were going to come together as a unit. At the end of the day, collectively, we can move mountains. One person at a time, I cannot really support you because I do not what you are doing and why you are doing it.”
GRADY JARRETT, Defensive tackle
On his thoughts on Sunday’s game: “Definitely disappointed that we lost, but there are some good things to take away from this game. There is lot to improve on. Not the way we wanted to start the season. We have to keep going back to work, so we can get going on the right track.”
On what changed in the second half: “When the score gets a little hobbled some opportunities to rush do not come. They might go to the run game or play action. They make adjustments too. We need to continue to rush up front. We were able to rush a couple of bad passes in the second half too, so it was not a total fail. We definitely need to rush. If you play in the NFL, they are going to make adjustments. We have to keep hunting and make our adjustments too.”
On how the two teams came together to plan for the opening kickoff: “It was good for both organizations to come together and do something together. I am glad how it worked out. I think it will continue to spark on how we can have a better system in this country. We want to use our platform for positivity. For the two organizations to come together and for people to talk across the country to get us all on the same page was definitely good to see.”
On having 1.5 sacks in Sunday’s game: “I always want to get after the quarterback and be a constant threat as a pass rusher. At the end of the day, we want to win. Getting sacks is part of that. I want to continue to get better. I want to show that I am an elite player at my position in this league week in and week out. I want to grow as a player.”
On falling in three straight season openers: “We came back and bounced back to win the next game too. It is a new year, new team, and a new story. We are excited to get back to work.”
RICARDO ALLEN, Safety
On his thoughts on Sunday’s game: “Not the way we wanted to come out and start. It was good to see us go out and fight the whole time, but it was not the way we ever envisioned coming out. We got to go back and look at the film on this one and get back to the basics. It was good to see us fighting the whole time, but I am not trying to do this again all year.”
On the frustration level for the defense currently: “It is a little frustrating right now. We got to go back and watch the film. We were doing a pretty good job of getting pressure on the quarterback. We really made him hold it a couple times. They got a couple explosives. They kept fighting the whole night. We have to go watch the film. We have to go back to the basics. Understand we are not perfect and we need to keep going.”
On whether there were any surprises in how the defense played: “Probably just letting them keep drives going. I would like to see turnovers and to get off the field a little bit earlier.”
On the must-fix item for the defense for next week: “It is the small things. It is the details. Get on the details and get to it. We had people out there playing hard and flying around. We have to get to the details and get off the field.”
On whether he noticed not having fans in the stands for Sunday’s game: “I kind of lock-in. I do not see stuff on the outside. You could hear the other team a lot. They yell a lot. It was a little different on the big plays because you were cheering for your own team. It is all good with me. I just want to get out there and get some wins to tell you the truth.”
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
