What Falcons players said after a 38-14 win over the Redskins on Sunday:
GRADY JARRETT, defensive tackle
On Redskins injuries: "Whether if they are lacking or not, it was unfortunate for their team, you never want to see guys go down. Whether if they were there or not, the mindset was the same."
On the defense: "We helped to get the win and we had a good performance. There is a lot more out there for us to focus on."
On stopping Adrian Peterson: "Just being physical up front and guys making good tackles and being gap sound."
On his play: "I felt good today. I definitely felt like there were some more plays out there today. I now there was one sack that I literally let go out of my hands. That's going to haunt me tonight, but I'm going to go back to work."
On the overall play of the defense: "If felt good (to put their foot down.) But there is still a lot there out there for us."
On the defense coming together: "With guys having more experience they are stating to play a lot better. You can see it and it was exciting, too."
FOYE OLUOKUN, linebacker
On stopping Peterson: "It was about getting back to .500 today. It was a must win today. We were able to execute the game plan and get the win."
On stepping up: "That happens over time. You get a lot of guys playing on the field together at the same. It takes time to get used to everybody. Just getting out there and getting experience together has been a help."
On the key for the defense: "It's been the same for the past couple of weeks. We have an elite running back. ... Get to the ball and get as many (players) to the ball as possible."
JULIO JONES, wide receiver
On the play of Matt Ryan: "Just consistency. That's the biggest thing. We get so much (criticism) as ball players from people. We are not scoring in the red zone. This and that. Matt is just being consistent. We don't have bad games. We do have things like that and Matt has been doing a great job. I've been here eight years with him. A phenomenal leader. Everything about him is great."
On Calvin Ridley's touchdown right before half: "That was big. Great job by Calvin. The safety took a bad angle on him and the rest is history. Great job by him of taking advantage of his opportunity."
On getting back to .500: "It was a great win. A great win all the way around the board. Offense, defense and special teams. My thing is that it's good to be 4-4 and at .500, but I never look at the record. Control what you can control. Me just going out there to try to be my best. Be the best team mate that I can possibly be to get us going on to the next game and the next game."
On the his touchdown catch: "When I'm in that situation. I have to take full advantage of my opportunity. I just can't let one make take me down in that situation. We've been talking about for the last two or three weeks about streams and stuff like that. I need me a stream. I need me a stream. I got me one today and made the best of it."
On TD celebration: "We always have a good time. We are very supportive of one another. Everybody on the outside looking in. We are all we've got. We are all we need. Even on the road we are going to celebrate if somebody makes a play."
RYAN SCHRAEDER, right tackle
On rushing attack: "It felt good. The coaches put a big emphasis on it at the beginning of the week coming into this game we knew we were going to have to get the ball going so we didn't get behind the chains."
On the offense: "That's where we are at our best. If we run the ball that opens up everything else. It wears the guys down too, the defense."
On being .500: "Coming out of the bye week, we are pretty healthy right now with the guys that we've got. It's a big confidence booster going forward to know that we can win with the guys that we have. We are a heck of a team. We just have to come out and play every week and have good success."
CALVIN RIDLEY, wide receiver
On if he talked to any of the Redskins players that he played with at Alabama:
"Yeah, I got Ryan's [Anderson] jersey, saw [Daron] Payne, Shaun Dion [Hamilton]. It was great to see those guys."
On his touchdown play and how it developed:
"I was just hoping… speed. I just ran. I wanted to get in the end zone. That was all."
On playing with QB Matt Ryan:
"He’s very, very detailed. Does everything at a high level. I try to put myself in a position to make sure I’m in the spots for him and make him look good and make myself look good."
DAMONTAE KAZEE, free safety
On the defense working together:
"In the beginning, it was just hard because we didn’t know how to play with each other. But now, we do and we communicate. Communication, that’s all you need at the end of the day."
On the rush defense: "It was very big. The defensive line and linebackers killed them. They showed up. They did their job, so we could our job. We do our job so they can do their job at the end of the day."
On the speed of the game: "No, it's very fast don't get it wrong. You're just learning new positions and new everything. Of course it's going to be hard in the beginning, but you get to start practicing and getting better at your technique. You'll get better."
MOHAMED SANU, wide receiver
On starting the season 1-4 and working back to 4-4:
"We don’t really look into that. We look into how we did, how we played and if we performed well. If we perform well, good things happen."
On how well the receivers played:
"We just go about. We know we've got some dogs in our room. We like us over anybody. That's just how we are, how we approach, how we work. We prepare ourselves for any moment."
On how the passing game opens up when they are running the ball well:
"T-Cole [Tevin Coleman] is raw. He goes out. He does a great job. We let him know, as receivers like, ‘Hey bro, you don’t have to worry about any cheap hits from safeties.’ We try to protect him because he’s a valuable asset to us and he’s a great player. That’s our brother so we try to protect him."
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