“When you’re a football team there are a lot of factors in a play. There are 11 guys that have to do their job. There are a number of plays where we did not execute it, and our players did not do the things they needed to do on those specific plays. Until I watch the tape, I’m not going to point to any one player, or any one side of the ball in terms of the outcome of the game. We’ve got to be better in the red zone that is obvious.”
—Falcons coach Mike Smith would say if Matt Ryan was a little off his game.
“I don’t believe it is a mental thing. I wish I could give you a concrete answer. I can’t at this point in time. It’s poor execution. We’ve got to look at everything we do down there, not only from the execution point but schematically as well. As I said last week, I’m responsible for the way the team plays. We are 1-3, we’ve earned it.”
—Smith on if execution is a mental issue for the Falcons.
“Once again 60 minutes that’s the way that it is in the NFL. I’m really proud of the way our team played today. We had a good second half against a good football team. As usual, they fought right to the end today. …they fought us hard straight to the end and fortunately we were able to make a couple more plays.”
—New England coach Bill Belichick on the game.
“Aqib played well for us all the way back to the spring and training camp. He played well. He played the ball well against good receivers. He tackled well. He’s done a good job for us cine he has been here.”
—Belichick on cornerback Aqib Talib, who knocked down Ryan’s last pass intended for Roddy White.
“We only had the ball times in the first half and scored twice. They had the ball a lot longer than us in the first half so we weren’t able to do anything with it.”
—New England wide receiver Julian Edelman
“It’s just another win. It was a good win and a good road victory. We’ll take it and enjoy it tonight and then move on To Cincinnati.”
—Edelman on the victory.
“I’m just playing football and trusting the older guys to put me in the right spot for the plays that are being called. I’m just trying to go out there and make a play for my team.”
—New England wide receiver Kenbrell Thompkins.
“We’ll we ran it pretty good. I think there was a lot of efficiency in the run game. All the backs ran hard. That’s a real strength for us. The backs and the offensive line played really well. It was really good to see. We got some long runs and really important runs when we needed it. It’s nice to be able to do that.”
—New England quarterback Tom Brady on the Patriots rushing attack.
“ You always want to score touchdowns. Points in general are good, but touchdowns are great. And it puts you in situation at the end of the game where you’re going to be smiling and you’re going to be happy. We have a great field goal kicker, Matt Bryant, who does an exceptional job, but we got to score touchdowns; and that’s all 11 guys focusing on what they have to do to get it done.”
—Falcons wide receiver Harry Douglas on the loss.
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