Here’s what Falcons coach Dan Quinn had to say after the 23-7 loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday night:
Opening statement: "The real story of the game was our situational football on both sides tonight. On third down, we didn't play up to our standard, then our struggles in the red zone of not scoring. We were 1 of 4 in scoring. We had a field goal blocked, we missed a field goal, went for it on downs and lost. That is where part of this came about. I believe in the team like crazy. We've got work to do to get to our standard of ball. We'll work like crazy to do that. But we are certainly disappointed in tonight and that we didn't execute and nail our opportunities when they came about."
On what's wrong with offense (90:20 scoring drought): "I think our red zone, it certainly was not just the offense. We missed a field goal. We also had a field goal blocked. Third down on both sides of the ball costs us. The red zone was certainly a factor in tonight's score. The was the potential of 13 points that we didn't have."
On run defense: "I thought early on, I felt particularly good we were tackling right. That part of our game was on point. But to hold that, to that score, going in, I was pleased with that. That their quarterback, wide receiver and tight end didn't get off. The numbers are high for us and that extended the time of possession. Their ability to convert on third down and our inability to convert on third down was the real strong."
On fourth-and-1 play: "We thought there, they had all of the big guys inside and we thought we had a chance to get the ball outside on the edge. We had a difficult time with all of the big guys inside with getting movement. We took a shot to get the ball out on the perimeter. For them, they made a better play that we did. But that was our chance and thought it was the right thing to do, be aggressive and get back in the game."
On defense: "This is really a connected group offensively, defensively and on (special) teams. For them, they certainly, we're disappointed in the opportunity. We had a turnover tonight which was going to be a big one down in the red zone for them. The frustration is in not executing in all three phases together. They are all really an extension of each other. We don't really subscribe to … it's not an offense, a defense or special teams separately. We play going back down or the next guy comes back and play. The ball, we thought would be a factor tonight. I thought we had a chance at one and it got called back."
On being worried about team: "No. 1, they are really a resilient group. Of course, like any competitor, they're (ticked) because we know we have a higher standard that we want to play to. So when you don't attain that, you get disappointed. The preparation and the process, that they go through to get ready has been on point, but we are not executing at the level that we can. That's what we are going to work (on) like crazy to get right. They do recognize that they are their own extension of each other. We had some (opportunities) in the red zone. We missed on one and one blocked on special teams. We had the chance to create a turnover, we didn't get it so, they are disappointed, but at the same time they are a very resilient group of men who are 100 percent committed to each other. That part of it, we'll work like crazy to get right."
On making changes: "For us, the main thing is that we have to go right back to work. In terms of getting the specific parts of the situational game right. We've had some things that crept up early on. We had some turnovers, but that was not the case tonight. It was our inability to convert on some third downs. we didn't run the ball like we are capable of. I thought defensively we allowed too many yards especially when they were able to extend some drives. That part for sure is a factor for us, but no means are we changing things. What we'll do, we'll do better."
On being aggressive: "We were clear about how we wanted to go and attack. The coaches had a clear understanding of how we wanted to go and play. We did take some chances on some fourth down (opportunities). We felt that was the right thing to do. In the first half, made one and missed one. I wanted to make sure that we were going to continue to give our guys opportunities to play. As it turned out the second one didn't work and they went down and got a field goal out of it. I thought we had a call on that we thought was going to be the right one for the situation."
On whether Falcons play with confidence: "That's a fair question and I recognize it. I've gotten comments about the team from last year to this year, and we have to make sure this team can play as good as it can. I'm not going to keep looking back into last year, but there were some times when I found out a lot about some guys, and they showed some real toughness today. Executing and resiliency are important to me and we can do those jobs better and that's what we plan on doing."
On whether Falcons' preparations are off: "No. I'll go back and look at the tape tonight, but for me, I think the process of getting ready to play was on point and for us not to nail the opportunities that we had tonight; that speaks to our issue. I know the competitors we have coming up, and anticipate that changing."
On Matt Ryan and Julio Jones being frustrated: "I definitely did (see it). With the competitors that they are, you should anticipate the frustration when the result is not getting there. They talked on the sideline, at the half and in the locker room now. Those conversations are generally geared to what's going to change. Those guys specifically were very frustrated."
On whether Jones was interfered with on deep pass: "I'll have to take another look at it. I saw the play but I didn't see the foul. My eyes weren't to him after the ball was thrown, so I'll have to take another look at it. It was certainly a costly penalty for us. Any time you have a chance to take points off the board with a turnover, that's a big one. When they put it back on and it extends the drive, it's definitely a part of the game that's disappointing. That part of our game situationally was not up to standard."
On running backs: "Yeah (Tevin Coleman) still has a big role. I recognize that sometimes the stats don't go your way, but he's still a really big factor. What we do is utilize him with (Devonta) Freeman in the backfield and we will continue to do that because of Tevin's explosiveness."
On fourth downs: "No, it's really just the belief I have in our guys. For me, historically I've been known to be aggressive with the opportunities we have. I'd say it boils down to the belief we have in the team, and belief in what we can be. I believed we could execute in that time, and we nailed it."
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