Here’s what the Falcons had to say after the 24-13 win over the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium on Thursday night:
MATT RYAN, QUARTERBACK
On the scoring on the first drive
“I thought it was good. It was obviously a good drive for us on that first one. We had some opportunities on the second and third drives, too to come up with some points, but we feel a little bit short. But I thought it was good. We ran the ball really well all night which is encouraging to see. I thought we made some plays in the pass game. I thought we were a little bit more sharp than we were the first week.”
On if that was a sample of what Mohamed Sanu can do
“Absolutely. I thought he did a nice job of making plays after the ball was in his hands. Fighting or every yard that he could get. There was one on a little short route to the right that he (caught) and battled for another 5 or 6 yards after contact. Obviously, he had the long one up the middle. I think he’s a talented guy. I think he’s a strong guy and he did a nice job for us tonight.”
On the third week of exhibition season
“The third week is usually your dress rehearsal for what the season is going to be like. We’ll have an opportunity to practice during the week the way that we will during the regular season. We’ll game plan for the first time this year. It will be a good dry run for your young guys to get a feel for what the season is going to be like and I expect us to play well.”
On Devonta Freeman’s ability to make people miss
“That’s what Devonta brings to the table. He did that all last year for us. He’s elusive after he gets the ball in his hands. It’s tough for those first guys to bring him down because he’s so smooth with the ball in his hands. He did a nice job. I thought our offensive line did a great job the entire night. Those were the guys who really got it going for us.”
On where his play and the state of the offense
“We’ve got some work to do, there is no doubt about that. We’ve got a couple of weeks to do it. You want to kind of being hitting your peak when we get to the regular season and continue to get better throughout the year. I thought we were better tonight than we were the first week. That’s going to be a challenge for us going into the third preseason game.”
On how smooth is he becoming in operating the mechanics of the offense
“I feel like our operation is really smooth. I feel we were efficient. I got in and out of the huddle really well and really fast. I felt like the tempo was really good. I’m pleased with where we are at.”
On the offensive attack
“It’s a process. You have to continue to work and be focused on the process during the (exhibition) season. The main goal is to get ready for the regular season and everything in front of it. I think I’ve had a really good approach to that the entire training camp and (exhibition) season. Now, we have two more games to go and then onto the regular season. I’ve got to keep that same approach.”
On Julio Jones:
“He looked just fine to me. That was a pretty good catch that he had over the middle.”
JULIO JONES, WIDE RECEIVER
On the offensive showing
“It was good. The hard work and preparation is paying off. Like I said before, we are not game planning but can go out here execute and score touchdowns without game-planning for people and going after their weaknesses, it shows a lot.”
On Mohamed Sanu
“He’s definitely a physical guy. He doesn’t shy a way from contact. He’s aggressive and he’s got great speed and a lot of power and he showed it tonight.”
On the next step for the offense
“We have to keep building. We have to take from this game. We have some corrections that we have to clean up. But other that than, we just have to keep moving forward. Just working off each other and feeding off of each other.”
ALEX MACK, CENTER
On his return to Cleveland
“Pretty emotional game. I was happy it was an (exhibition) season game so that I could ease into it. Coming back here to a place where I played 101 games and to not be on the Browns sideline was such a weird feeling. I showed up early to say ‘hi’ to a few people from around the building. The Browns are really a first class program.”
MOHAMED SANU, WIDE RECEIVER
On his performance
“I think I played well. (Coach Dan) Quinn told me to come out and play physical and play tough out there, so that’s what I did.”
On his stiff-arm
“If I get the opportunity to, then you most definitely will see it.
On the offense
“I think we did phenomenal. We came out, we played hard, competed and played physical. We went out there and executed the best that we could.”
DWIGHT FREENEY, DEFENSIVE END
On his play
“It’s hard to get that rust off. I got about six to eight plays. I definitely felt a little rusty, but that’s what the (exhibition) season is for.”
On the overall performance
“We’re coming along really great. We’re not exactly where we want to be, but we’re taking positive steps in the right direction. Every day with practice and these games where we can actually hit the other guys and not just run to them, it really works to our benefit. I think we definitely have some work to do, but I think we’re doing well.”
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