Opening Statement:
“I thought today was a really clear demonstration of our toughness, grit, and a mindset to finish today. I’m so glad that came through. For our team, I know we want to give Washington a lot of credit. They played extremely tough, and we knew this fight would go the distance. We were totally expecting that. In fact, we even talked about it last night. If we have to go extra, then we’ll go extra. We’re always prepared to go as long as we to have to. I think we’ve developed a lot of grit and toughness with our group. They just won’t stop backing off and competing. It’s one of the things that I love most about our team.”
On Robert Alford’s plays today:
“For the defensive backs, we knew it was going to be a matter of time before we got our hands on a couple of footballs. No surprise that Robert [Alford] has gotten the ball the last couple of weeks. It’s just been alive for him. He had a bunch of pass break-ups last week, then on the tip that he got today, and of course, the one to finish. We couldn’t be more thrilled for him.”
On Matt Ryan:
“I think that’s another guy that you just never count out. I think everybody here knows that because of the competitor that he is. I think we have to give Washington a lot of credit. They played extremely hard, and performed exactly like we thought they would. We have belief through the roof with Matt [Ryan].”
On the run game:
“For us, that balance is really important. The fact that we’re able to run it, and have success that way opens up so much of the play action and the keepers that we like to feature. Having that balance there is a really important part of what we like to do.”
On the clock management to end the first half:
“In the end of the first half, we thought we had a chance to go and get the points out of it. I could’ve taken one earlier, but I felt like we were pressing to get going, and they looked like they were gassed. Sometimes that’s just my call to say let’s just keep the gas on them. We’re ripping, so let’s just keep going as opposed to giving them an opportunity to go. As far as the end, as we’re going down, we’re prepared at the end of regulation to take a timeout if we need it after the fourth down. We ended up scoring on it as we went through.”
On Devonta Freeman not taking it to the ground for the touchdown:
“Yes, it’s totally accurate. You’ve got to complete the act of the catch, after the catch happens. When the ball came loose on the ground, it just didn’t complete the act of the catch, so it’s really clear for us. We knew when that happened that may be the case. That’s one we can for sure learn from, and one that we’ll watch tomorrow just to re-emphasize that when it’s there you have to complete the act of the catch all the way through the ground.”
On what it means to be 5-0:
“Well I think for us, it’s just a real clear demonstration of how hard the guys all want to play for one another. We try to stay in the present moment as often as we can so we’ll get right back to it tomorrow. I think it shows a lot of the character, and the toughness of the men in the room. I know they want to keep battling for it. We feel like we’ve got a long way to go, in terms of how good we’ll get. It’s just early for us still and we recognize that. The next challenge will be right at hand again. It’s not something that we’ll spend a lot of time talking about.”
On taking any positives from having a tough game:
“Well I think there are some positives that do come out of it when you go through the tough time, and push yourself to a new threshold. When it happens, you’ve been through it, and you know you’re ready to battle for it again. Fortunately, for us, we’ve been through a couple, but when you’re in that locker room, and you’re exhausted and knowing that you pushed yourself to a new spot to go fight, I think you do gain something from that. Hopefully, we won’t have to go through that experience every week, but there is plenty of stuff to be gained from that for sure.”
On whether he wanted to get WR Roddy White back in there by design:
“He’s a really important part of what we’re doing. He’s a really important factor for us, has been for a really long time, and will continue to be. He’s just as tough as they get, and somebody that you can totally count on especially when the game is on the line.”
On Devonta Freeman having most of the carries despite Tevin Coleman being 100 percent healthy:
“It was really the hot hand. I thought Devonta just kept battling for it. He felt fresh going through, so sometimes that’ll happen too. We’re excited about where Tevin’s headed. Although he didn’t get the touches that we maybe thought going in, sometimes the game just works out that way. When you’re feeling it, you just have to keep going in that way.”
On who got the game ball:
“We didn’t give one out today. Those are some special times. There were a number of guys who would’ve been candidates for that for sure. The group is so stuff. They just want to keep battling for one another. There would’ve been a lot of candidates all the way through. None bigger than Robert [Alford] at the end of the game where he stepped up to end the game. All around there were plays all over the place. We’ve got a long way to go, but there’s a lot we can take from this game. There are things we can learn from, and things we can get better at. We’re going to continue to do that.”
On Matt Bryant missing two field goals:
“For us, that looks like a fluke. I’d say for him to have a couple where he hit it off of the rim, look out because he’s about to get hot again. It doesn’t happen very often, and he’s somebody that we totally 100 percent count on. He’s a true pro, in terms of the way he prepares and goes forward, so we have tons of confidence in him. It was a tough afternoon for him.”
On an update on C Mike Person:
“We don’t have an update on Mike [Person] yet, but we’ll able to follow up on that tomorrow. He did sprain his ankle but I’m not sure of the severity or length of it. He was not able to return for us today. We don’t know his availability for this week’s game.”
On Matt Ryan lowering his shoulder:
“I’ve said all along that I’ve had great respect for how good Matt was, but until you’re around somebody I don’t know if you sense the competitor. He demonstrates that for our team game-after-game. We always want them to say, ‘Man do these guys play hard, and they play with toughness and they know how to finish.’”
On how Marquand Manuel sparked energy in Robert Alford for that play:
“I think Marquand is so uniquely qualified because he’s been in Robert’s situation, where he’s had so much experience playing in the NFL. Their relationship is close enough to say, ‘Hey man, its right back at hand.’ We knew Rob was such an important guy, keeps his poise and goes right back to it. He certainly did that. Credit to both guys there for recognizing a moment that I can teach from. I guess one of the things we talked about on the sidelines with the team is how much fun it is to compete when you get into these game and these moments. I’m glad we’re able to experience that, and didn’t have to go into overtime all the way through. But sometimes that’s what it takes.”
(Transcript provided by Falcons PR)
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