Here’s what Falcons players had to say after the 22-10 exhibition loss to the Jets on Thursday night:
SAFETY KEANU NEAL
On how it felt returning to the field: "It's been a journey to get back, but it's definitely been a blessing and I'm excited to be here."
On whether there was a moment where he realized he was back: "It was actually before the game. I'm sitting there and I'm kind of like, 'Aw.' It fell on me. I was like, 'Dang, I can play.' Like I said, it's been a journey, but we're back."
On returning with Ricardo Allen, who also suffered a season-ending injury last year: "It's great, man. We competed with each other going through the rehab over at the facility [in Flowery Branch] and everything. Going out there and getting back to where we were, it's awesome. It's a great feeling."
SAFETY RICARDO ALLEN
On what was going through his mind in warm-ups: "It's been a long journey just to get back on that field. It was just cool to go back and walk into the facility [in Flowery Branch] and then walking back in here (Mercedes-Benz Stadium) for the first time and actually get to go play the game instead of last year, I had to watch a lot of football. It was cool to be able to get ready to go through the same routine and get myself back to it."
On anything a fan or teammate said that resonated with him: "Nah, man. It was just cool to see my boys run out and just be able to know that this ain't like another time where I had to watch. I actually get to go play with them. It was cool to just do it for the first time again. I made it out of the first game healthy. We just have to keep continuing to do that over and over."
DT GRADY JARRETT
On Vic Beasley's performance: "He's good at what he does. It was good. That's what he does. I'm happy to see it. It was good seeing him get a sack. I expect a lot more."
On the importance of the pass rush: "It's very important for us. Everybody up front has to work together so we can help be a successful unit. It's important for everybody to do their part and show up."
C ALEX MACK
On the offensive line's performance: "We'll have to see what's going on in the film. You definitely want to keep your quarterback clean and comfortable so he can throw the ball whenever he wants to. They blitzed a fair amount. I think that's good. It gives us a lot of practice at that. This is a practice game. To be able to learn and grow from that and take it in to the season will benefit us."
On the outlook of the rest of the preseason: "I think we can always get better. I think there's a lot to learn from every game. To be the best team we can, each game you want to build on the last. We'll go in and watch film and see where we can improve."
K GIORGIO TAVECCHIO
On tonight's performance:"There's always something to learn from it. I think it was very positive overall with how I dealt with it on the sideline. To get the game reps and what that entails, you just have to move on and keep growing."
On missing back-to-back field goals: "Honestly, when you go out there I don't remember where the last kick was or where the ball was. I'm just locked in on Matt Bosher's two fingers, so I don't have an answer. I just go through the same process and try to hit the ball the same way. Sometimes it goes in and sometimes it doesn't. I struck the second one the way I wanted to. Most of the time when you look up it's going down the middle. On that one I looked up and it just stayed down the hash. That's how it goes sometimes."
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