What Falcons coach Dan Quinn had to say after the 42-14 rout of the Rams:
(Opening remarks)
“Earlier this week, I said to you we had a chance to put our resiliency on display in this game after a difficult performance, last week. We did that. We had different players step up when their opportunity was called. I was pleased to see that. Some of the things I wanted to see from practice – our focus, our mindset, our attitude in practice – we saw that – everyone battling for one another. We said that this game was going to come down to the ball and it did, so for us to be on the plus side in the turnover margin, that was clearly the key to this game, and then adding the points off of those. Very good team performance. We knew it was going to be a battle with their front and how they were, and it certainly was. It definitely came down to the ball for us. Good display of our resiliency, our toughness, of and what we stand for as a team.”
(On if OLB Vic Beasley Jr.’s dominance on defense is something he has come to expect or hopes to get more of, in the future)
“I’d say ‘hope to get’ would be more, but he had a terrific game, and if you ask him, a lot of that comes from his belief, but a lot of that comes from the work he puts in in practice. He looks great on his get-off, and that’s really where his game starts. He’s got terrific quickness off the ball, and now he’s got some other things that he’ll do in terms of setting up a tackle to beat them. He’s improved in the run game – I told you guys that in the media, last week – and then today, just for him to have the ability to finish, get the sack, and score with it, that’s what we’re looking for. It was a great performance by him.”
(On the importance of coming out and establishing dominance following a tough loss)
“That’s what I’m talking about – the resiliency part. It was very important for us, coming out here – tough place, tough environment, good crowd, the defense was going to be into it. We had some guys down, so for us to battle, we knew that was going to take place – how tight they are, the work that they put in during the week, so I was very pleased with the effort, today.”
(On who stepped up on offense in WR Julio Jones’ absence)
“’Gabe’ (WR Taylor Gabriel) had a bigger role and ‘Al’ (WR Aldrick Robinson) had a bigger role, for sure. We were leaning on the running backs, although the numbers didn’t show it in terms of the length. There were some tough runs by (RB Tevin) Coleman as we got down towards the goal line. When he gets his pads down, he’s a difficult guy to tackle down there, so it’s good to see him do that, again.
(On scoring just seconds into the game)
“That was a great start for us – to have the turnover on the very first play of the game, and then on the second play to get a score. One of the terms we use is ‘set it off,’ and those two plays really set it off for us.”
(On if he was expecting to score 42 points)
“No. Certainly not. We knew it was going to be a battle, so for us to get points like we did, causing the turnover on special teams and creating a short field, and then scoring twice on defense was certainly a factor in that. We knew it was going to be tough, but we’ve got some guys that are ready to battle, too. We know when our opportunities are there, we’ve got to take advantage of it. We got better from last week to this week in terms of our practice, so we’re looking for that again, this week.”
(On how his team builds off of this momentum)
“Well, the momentum part is just the one spot, but we’re going right back into it again. The next team we play, we’re going to pour it all in to that. We don’t look too far down the road. We’re going to pour everything we’ve got into this week and this performance, coming up.”
(On what he makes of Tampa Bay’s success and the playoff race)
“I don’t concern myself with other teams to get ourselves ready. We concern ourselves with our own club, our fight, our intensity. We don’t look outside for anybody else.”
(On his level of concern of a hangover following last week’s game and the long trip this week)
“I didn’t have concerns of a hangover, because the practice part was right when it turned into Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, but anytime you have to travel out all the way (here), new team – they have explosive guys – they have a heck of a defensive front, so I wouldn’t say I was concerned, but I recognize they’ve got playmakers and they know how to feature their guys in certain ways. As I was looking at the game, I knew it was going to be a hard fight, but I wasn’t worried as much about a hangover, based on practice from Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.”
(On how comforting it is to have players like WR Nick Williams and WR Justin Hardy make plays when the team is down its top two receivers)
“Nick and Justin are some of the guys that have won the black shirts for us on Fridays on multiple occasions. They’re loaded with grit and toughness and they completely embody our style of what we like to do. Those two also made plays on (special) teams, as well. Nick did a good job as a gunner, had a big first down – he had a couple of them – to convert, so he was ready for his opportunity, today. We though that there was a chance that he’d be up when ‘Mo’ (WR Mohamed Sanu) went down, and he certainly took advantage of his opportunity, today.”
(On the decision not to play Julio Jones)
“His intent all through the week was that he was planning to play, and as he got closer and closer, he kept feeling that intent of (being) ready to play, but if he wasn’t able to do the things that make him so unique, we weren’t going to put him out there. He definitely wanted to and it was today that I had to say, ‘Don’t step in to it.’”
(On S Ricardo Allen getting off to a quick start)
“It’s funny that you bring his name up. During pregame, you could feel our intent of being ready to play, and he was right at the forefront of that. We rely on him a lot – not just with his communication, but with all that he brings to our team. He was going to take it personally to make sure that he started better, today, and he for sure did.”
(On Beasley Jr.’s strip sack in the third quarter)
“He has a real awareness for the ball. I don’t know where he’s at on forced fumbles, but that’s one of the byproducts – when you can get to the quarterback, you can force some of these turnovers. So for him, at six or whatever it is from a forced fumbles standpoint, there’s an art to that – having an awareness for where the football is and when to reach and go for it – and he’s captured that. It’s very good to see”
(On how important scoring just seconds into the game was to set the tone for the entire game)
“It was important, right off the bat, to create a turnover, and then to go and attack right off the bat in terms of taking a shot right in the end zone. It was a terrific catch, too, in terms of where the ball was placed by (QB) Matt (Ryan) and (WR Justin Hardy) turning and rotating to go get it. It’s one we practice quite a bit, on Fridays and it was good to see that practice carry over into here, on Sunday.”
(On his vantage point for the 64-yard touchdown pass from QB Matt Ryan to WR Taylor Gabriel)
“I had a pretty good shot at it, and we were calling for it. Once you see a coverage open up, where it’s there, you get ready for the guys to take a shot and Matt did. I thought Matt had real aggressiveness in his play, today, and real intent about him, and for him to go, ‘Okay, I have different targets to go to,’ his approach didn’t change one bit and I really respect that about him.”
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