Here's what Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan had to say after the 35-22 loss Sunday to the Buccaneers:
On Tampa Bay's pass rush: "They did an excellent job today getting after us. We weren't able to get into any rhythm. We had some opportunities to … good start for us creating an explosive play, second play of the game. Disappointing to not come away with a touchdown there. Short field opportunity after that, disappointing to not come away with points there. We had our chances early in that game to make it a different type of game, and we weren't able to do that. Then, obviously, struggled really through the second half of the game. All of us across the board need to do a better job. We've got to be able to flush this one out pretty quick. Turnaround is quick. Got to get back to work and try to be better Thursday."
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On whether or not playing again in four days will be helpful: "I hope it's helpful. We've got to be able to move on and get into the game plan for Thursday night tomorrow. Get some rest tonight and try and recover quickly, but get back to work tomorrow and start game planning and putting together our plan to get after it. The turnaround is quick. We've done this before. You've got to bring the young guys along and make sure they're ready to go on Thursday, but the turnaround on the front end is very quick."
On failing to finish their drives with touchdowns: "I can only speak for today. Today we had a chance on the first drive of the game. They did a nice job of changing things up and kind of catching us off guard. We had two — we had a pressure off the right where we were rolling out to try and get on the edge and had to throw that ball away. It's just — you know, it's execution. When we get down there, we've got to tighten up our scheme and our ability to make plays when we get our chances. So that's it. I mean, I'll have to take a look at this film too to kind of give you a better answer."
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On encouraging the offensive line while simultaneously being 'stern': "Yeah, for sure. We all need to play better, and I think everybody when you look in the mirror, you know that. Our guys up front know that. I know that. In the pass protection portion of it, there's running backs. There's the offensive line. There's quarterbacks, and then there's getting the ball out and trying to not let them go home. I think across the board, certainly, today was not good enough, and I think everybody knows that, but I'm going to continue to encourage our guys. Upfront, Kaleb [McGary], young guy, he's going to continue to get better week in and week out for us. Every experience that he has in that first year is going to help him. Same thing for our young backs. This is their first time going through that, being in that role to be counted on play in and play out. They're going to continue to improve. Today wasn't good enough. We all know that. We've got to find a way to get back to work tomorrow and be better."
On whether or not he will be ready to play again in four days: "I'll be ready to go. I think some games are like that. That's part of playing in this league. Sometimes they get after you, and today was like that. I'll be sore tomorrow for sure, but I recover quickly, and I have a good plan for Thursday night games to get myself ready and back ready to play. I'll be ready to go on Thursday."
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On the scoreless drives: "I agree with you. To come away from those first two drives with three points was disappointing. In this league, you have to capitalize on your opportunities. We didn't do a good enough job of that today. The first drive of the game just stalled out when we got to the red zone, and then the second drive after the short field opportunity, we just weren't able to put really anything together. If you're going to play complementary football when the other phases are giving you chances and when you create explosive plays, you've got to score touchdowns. We did not do a good job of that in the red area today."
On playing offense while the run game is struggling: "Well, obviously, staying balanced, staying in front of the chains, staying in front of the scoreboard too helps you to do those things. All of that stuff goes hand in hand, but regardless of how a game shakes out, we've got to perform what we're asked to do regardless of the competitive circumstances, and we didn't do a good enough job of that."
On Julio Jones returning after an injury: "He's the ultimate teammate and competitor. Julio''s been that the entire time I've played with him. I have so much respect for him and the toughness that it takes to put himself out there week in and week out. People are going — I mean, he takes shots week in and week out, and people are physical with him. His willingness to go out there and compete when he's banged up is as good as anybody I've ever been around. Today, obviously, he was hurting. There's no getting around it. When he goes out there, he gives it everything he has regardless of what he's going through. I've always been incredibly impressed with his toughness and his competitiveness."
On what he is playing for at this point in the season: "We're professionals. Any chance we get to go out there and compete and play the way the game's supposed to be played and the way that we're capable of, to me, that's part of being in this league, and having that professional pride and a mindset to go out there and deliver your best performance week in and week out regardless of what's going on is the mindset that I have. I go out there to play to win, and I know that it doesn't look good for us right now, but at the same time, it doesn't make a difference. When you line up and they blow the whistle and you've got to go, you've got to play to win and play the way you're capable of playing regardless of what's going on."
On Qadree Ollison: "Fired up for Q [Qadree Ollison] to get his situation. Scored for us last week in a short-yardage situation on the goal line, did a nice job again today. Two touchdowns in two games, that's good stuff for him. This is an opportunity for him to get some experience, to get a feeling for what it's like to play week in and week out, and I think that's going to serve him well moving forward."
On Russell Gage: "He's continued to improve. I think in four weeks his development has been exponential. When guys like him get their opportunity to play, sometimes playing brings out the best in guys, and when they're involved in a game the way you can feature them the way you want to use them, it allows for their development to kind of expedite. He's done a great job for us. He's been consistent. He's played tough. He's made people miss. He was reliable for us in third and fourth down situations. Really nice route for him on a fourth down fourth and four for us today to convert. I've been impressed with what Russ [Russell Gage] has done the last couple of weeks."
