FLOWERY BRANCH — Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, coming off the upset of the previously undefeated Carolina Panthers, was still in a pretty good mood on his weekly radio show on Tuesday.
He admitted to doing the dabbing in the locker room, but didn’t after the game.
He was interviewed by former teammate Ovie Mughelli and Steak Shapiro on 680 The Fan.
Here are eight things we learned from Ryan on The Matt Ryan Show:
1. WHAT CHANGED IN TWO WEEKS: "The last two weeks we've had really productive practices. Guys have been really locked in. For us, it came down to staying in that game early and being able to stay balance. The first time that we played them it got away from us too quickly and we just weren't able to stay balanced the way that we needed to on offense. This past week, with our defense playing great and us able to continue to run the ball and keep that balance, get those linebackers sucked up with the play action and distribute the ball behind them…I think that was the key. That's what we weren't able to do the first time against them."
2. ON THE FILM REVIEW AFTER THE 38-0 LOSS: "We definitely watched it. Went through it and talked about areas that we did some good things and areas where we needed to be a lot better. We also got a feel for how they wanted to defend us. There was a lot of focus and correcting when we watched that film about where we were at and what we needed to do. But then we had to put it behind us, get on to the practice field and try to correct those things.
3. ON THE FALCONS' OPENING DRIVE: "The difference in how games shake out can be something as small as that penalty. Carolina starts with a great drive on their offensive side and go down the field. Then we have three ugly plays, but were able to get the penalty after the play on the third down and then get ourselves going on that drive. To me, that was really a change in the momentum of the game and allowed us to get onto that field and get into a rhythm offensively. After that, I felt like we never looked back."
4. ON GETTING RODDY WHITE INVOLVED: "It was huge. For us, obviously, we felt like Roddy was a key factor us in terms of being productive. Josh Norman is a very good corner, but we felt like on the other side we could create some separation in what we wanted to do. Roddy came through. He was clutch for us in a number of situations. He started off with a couple of key catches on the first drive. Then really late in the game, on a huge third and long he was able to come up with the slant route which he's done a million times in his career. That was key for us to keep that drive rolling and to keep burning time off that clock. He was a really important factor for us."
5. ON THE HEAVE TO JULIO: "To me, it was worth it because there's nobody better in the league at going and high-pointing the ball than Julio. I felt like when I got outside the pocket and I saw him in that position, that was better than 50-50 chance with Julio. I felt he had a really good chance of making that play. I just let it go and tried to put it in a place where he could make a play on it. Then it's all him. For him to be able to up and be able to take that ball, basically it looked like he was playing basketball, taking the ball right off the rim like a rebound. Being able to stay on his feet and finish in the end zone is a pretty special play. But that's who he is, he's made unbelievable plays for us throughout his career. We're fortunate to have him because he's one of the best players in the league."
6. ON FIRST YEAR COACH DAN QUINN: "He's been awesome all year through the ups and the downs. He's incredibly consistent week-in and week-out. He comes in with unbelievable energy all the time. He's really, really clear in his communications and with what he expects from us. I think guys really respect him. He'd done an awesome job and I've had a lot of fun playing for him this year. I think we have, we've all kind of learned each other. Players and coaches. Offense and defense. We've all kind of learned a lot about each other over the course of the year. I think we've improved and have gotten better and have become a better football team here in the last couple of weeks than we were at the beginning of the year."
7. ON ALL THE DABBING: "No at the end of the game. In the dark moments in our locker room at some point throughout the year guys have seen me do that. It wasn't anything like that after the game. I was excited to get the win. The celebration was a lot of fun, but it was pretty good to see Arthur dabbing. I've seen the vines and the videos. He was excited after the game."
8. ON CAM NEWTON POST-GAME: "Cam has always been really professional with me throughout both of our careers. I feel like I have a good relationship with him. To me, I think it's important always after a game, whether if you win or lose, to display the best sportsmanship that you can. That's part of it. That's what I try and do very week."
