Falcons’ quoteboard after loss to Ravens

HEAD COACH MIKE SMITH

Opening statement

“Today we struggled the majority of the football game to get anything going offensively. We were behind the chains throughout the entire day. We had pressure on our quarterback. He was not able to ever get comfortable. It was tough day. Consequently, we never really got in to a rhythm.”

On losing Peter Konz

“No excuses. You can talk about losing players. Everybody loses players, but it’s got to be the next men up mentality. That is one thing you’ll never hear and that’s an excuse. These guys are accountable. The next guy up has to step in there and do the job. We’ve got to step up and make those plays and protect the quarterback.”

On if they could helped the line more

“There were times when we were helping. You can’t help everybody. There was times when we were helping one or the other (tackle), but it’s difficult in most situations unless you just want to sit there and have two-man routes. We can’t do that. We’ve got to be able to operate. They physically won the line of scrimmage today. There’s no two ways about it.”

DEFENSIVE END JONATHAN MASSAQUOI

On the defense

“I think the defense played together. I feel collectively as a group, we did some great things. But a couple tweaks here and there, and we’ll be back on pace and winning. I think the defense played great today. I feel as though we executed a lot of things. I feel that we can ascend as a group and become better.”

WIDE RECEIVER JULIO JONES

On the Ravens

“We can’t control what the Ravens’ D does. It’s all about what we do, and we were just inconsistent today.”

On his touches

“Yes, I’m getting enough touches. We’re just taking what the defense gives us. Today, Baltimore was just a better team than us. We didn’t execute in certain situations, and they got the best of us today.”

QUARTERBACK MATT RYAN

On playing near his hometown

“It’s just a short ride down the turnpike from Philadelphia. So I had a bunch of family and friends here routing for us.”

On his pre-game chat with Joe Flacco

“I’ve known Joe for a long time, before the game we just said hello and talked about our families for a minute. After the game, I told him he played a really good game and is having a great season. I just wished him well as the season goes on.”

LINEBACKER PAUL WORRILOW

On playing near Delaware

“I had tons of people in the stands and it was great to see them.”

On the future of the defense

“We will learn from this game and get better. We have a very short week because we’re going to London to play Detroit. Hopefully we will learn from this game and get better.”

CORNERBACK ROBERT ALFORD

On his first interception

“It was just a good play call by [defensive coordinator] coach [Mike] Nolan. I went out there and executed and just expected to do it before the play happened. I praise the D-line and the coaching staff on the play call for that one.”

On his second interception

“It was a man coverage. I saw him try to throw the ball to the tight end, and I came off my man and made a good catch.”

CENTER JAMES STONE

On his performance

“There are definitely going to be some things I can do better. I just need to make sure we’re on the same page. I can learn from this.”

On taking over at center

“It was time to get out there [and] do my job. That’s why we’re all out here, to play football, go out there with those guys, and play at the highest level I can.”

On the Ravens’ front seven

“They’ve got a very tough and talented front seven. So, it was good to have experienced guys next to me and try to work through it.”

RUNNING BACK STEVEN JACKSON

On the offense

“It’s frustrating. We know how talented we are. We know the potential that we can play up to. Whenever you can’t get into a groove and we can’t get things started, it’s very frustrating.”

On third down woes

“It comes down to executing and, for whatever reason, they did a really good job of stopping us, not allowing us to put together long drives. When you go three-and-out, you can’t get into a groove.”

On fixing the offense

“There’s only one way to put it back together, and that’s to stick together. All the men in the locker room – coaches and players – need to stick together, remain positive, and trust that we’ll get out of this rut.”

WIDE RECEIVER RODDY WHITE

On the offense

“We have to play more consistent on offense. We’ve got to get off to faster starts. We’re not playing efficient football, and it’s costing us right now. I’ve got to fix my problem right now. I’m dropping way too many passes. We’re not a team that can play behind the sticks and convert on third-and-longs. We’ve got to play ahead of the sticks, and we’re not doing that right now. It’s frustrating because we’re going out there and digging holes for ourselves, and we’re not getting out of them. It’s hurting our defense, and it’s hurting our team.”