“Was it ugly? I don’t care. Ugly, pretty, average— we will take the win every time. But I didn’t think it was ugly. We’ve definitely got to finish a lot better. That’s something we haven’t done going back to last year. When we build a nice lead like that we’ve got to put the foot on the pedal and keep going. At the same time, I’m really happy when we went out there when we had to and got that touchdown.”
Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez
“We knew it was going to be a physical game and it was something where we wanted to come out and prove ourselves. We lost a close one with New Orleans, and that’s not us. We are a team that prides ourselves on finishing touchdowns, finishing games, finishing dives, so having a little chip on our shoulder and going against a very good Rams (team) we wanted to make a statement.”
Falcons center Peter Konz on the play of the offensive line
“It just sets the tone. There are certain plays that sends the intimidation factor or set the tone for the rest of the game and that was definitely one of them.”
Falcons safety Thomas DeCoud on teammate William Moore’s big hit on Rams tight end Mike McNeill
“I am proud that we hung tough throughout the game and found a way to win. We came out on fire in the first half with a lot of intensity, especially on the defensive side of the ball. I also have to give the offense a lot of credit because they set the tone for the entire ball club. It was a great team win.”
Falcons linebacker Joplu Bartu
“This offense is full of play makers. We’ve got guys that can step in and carry the load and won’t miss a beat. Coach always tells us, ‘Everybody is one play away.’ You have got to prepare yourself mentally even if you are not getting reps in practice.”
Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones
“While you never want to see anybody go down, it’s part of football and that’s part of this game. It’s part of being a professional, too, in having yourself ready to go when things change. I thought our guys did a terrific job with that today. Nobody panicked, nobody blinked.”
Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan
“I told the team in the locker room I was very proud of the way they approached this week. We played a very physical game in New Orleans and had a long injury report, and we had some guys who spent a lot of time with our (trainers) and worked hard to get back up to speed. ‘The next man’ mentality is what the NFL is all about and I thought they did a good job.”
Falcons coach Mike Smith
“We’re a team that never quits. We shot ourselves in the foot early. Now we need to make those big plays early. We’re still a great team.”
Rams defensive end Robert Quinn
“They were moving the ball pretty easy and making more plays than we were. We have to find a way to make those plays early in the game. Can’t spot a team 21 points on the road. It’s hard enough to win on the road, let alone spot a team 21 points.”
Rams linebacker James Laurinaitis
