Here’s what Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan had to say after the 23-17 win over the Bears Sunday:
On play with Austin (Hooper) for touchdown
“Yeah, just hung on long enough to be able to find him. It was great job of him of staying alive. We were working on it to start in a third-down situation trying to find him. He did a good job of keeping the man on but there was a guy inside him so I tried to move on the progression side to my left and got caught. Then I tried to move it back to the right. Luckily was able to see Hoop there make a nice run after the catch, a little stiff arm and throw the guy off of him. So, it was a great play by Austin and certainly was timely for us.”
On Hooper’s stiff arm
“It was a nice one. He had a nice one later, too, on the third down. I hadn’t seen that from him before but I liked it.”
On Hooper’s speed and strength
“I knew he had some speed. He’s sneaky with his ability to run. He’s had to work extremely hard this offseason, I’m proud of the way he handled that. Sometimes it’s tough after your rookie year, you’re tired, you’re beat up, get the right mindset to get back and work and get better and I thought Austin did a great job at that this year.”
On what’s it like as a QB seeing someone wide open
“It’s a good feeling. But, sometimes you think you’re already too late when you look up in those situation. You’re not necessarily in the timing of the play where you’re supposed to be. But when I let it go and kind of saw the periphery, too, and make sure no one is really there, it feels real good.”
On Austin saying he “blacked out” during catch, are wide open catches harder to make than in traffic
“Yeah, I mean I get it. Sometimes it’s the same thing with the throw when they’re wide open. When people are covered your brain just goes off and you throw it and cut it loose sometimes when they’re open can be the most difficult. But he got the job done. Maybe he should black out more often.”
On being frustrated with getting the offense going
“We knew coming into it, a tough front seven to go against, very difficult to run the ball against them. One of the better defenses against the run in the league, and that kind of played out that way. But we kept battling and we made plays when needed to. Ultimately, that’s what you have to do to win in this league. It’s week one, we’ve got a lot of things we can approve on, a lot of ways to get better, and when we get back to Flowery Branch, and get back to work, we have to attack those things to be the best football team we can.”
On Julio (Jones) given different look pre-snap
“Like always, there’s going to be help over the top of Julio, they account for where’s he’s at. I thought they did a nice job. But still, I’m not sure how many catches he had but had a couple nice explosives for us which is huge, critical. I think it was maybe second and 20 in that situation where he catches the ball on a shallow cross and comes across to pick up a huge first down for us. Those are things that help you win games, and he’s the best in the league at it.”
On habit rushing
“Sometimes you have to do it and it was critical for us right at that time. Man coverage, we were trailing our wide receiver on the backside and our running back kind of hanging back to the right, there was nobody left. In that situation, I think we overcame a penalty which was key.”
On disappointed not hitting high score (like last year)
“I mean we won the game. And at the end of the day, that’s why we prepare all week is to come away with a win. Can we play better? Absolutely. Are we going to try and work on that? For sure. But, we’ll take a win any day.”
On touchdown to Hooper available beforehand
“No, I was working the other side but came to it a little later. It looks like they were a little bit confused on where they were lining up to start.”
On what a Week One NFL win means on the road
“I think it’s huge. You’re one step closer to where you want to get to. Anytime you can get the job done in week one it’s pretty important. And getting it done on the road, too, is really important. I’m happy that we were able to get the job done but we’ve got a long way to go.”
On the fourth-down reaction to Brooks (Reed) come off the corner
“It felt pretty good. It felt pretty good when I saw him come off the corner and get the sack. Great play by Brooks. There’s no quit from our guys and that’s what you have to do. This league, week in and week out, it’s tough. I was proud of the way those guys competed all the way until the end. We needed every snap in that game to get the job done, so it felt pretty good when I saw Brooks get the sack.”
On feeling helpless last possession of game
“Yeah, I mean in those situations, as a competitor, you’d always rather be on the field, there’s no question about that. I think you always want the ball in your hand as a competitor. But, you got to have trust in your teammates, too, and believe that they’re going to get the job done. And I think the best teams rely on all three phases, and our defense stepped up when they needed to right at the end and we got the job done.”
On almost not wanting to watch last possession
“I watch, but I’m just kind of a pacer, I guess. I just pace, that’s what I do.”
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