Defensive end John Abraham
(On the game being a tough one to lose)
“It was tough man, they came out to a good start at the beginning of the game and we couldn’t battle back and get it close enough. They showed what good defense should play like and they played very good. We can take notes on this, just personally, and try to see if we want to be good, that’s what we have to play through.”
(On the Buccaneers having a short field)
“That’s part of football. It wasn’t nothing we did not feel like we couldn’t stop and if we want to be good that’s what we have to stop. We got to keep our team in the game.”
(On the defense playing well overall)
“Couple runs scooted at the end but we were holding them pretty good on the run. They got that 65 yard and 17 yard draw that was big at the end. That’s a part of the game and we have to brush this off and get ready for next week at Kansas City.”
Linebacker Keith Brooking
(On the loss)
“Obviously we kind of dug ourselves in a hole and we were kind of in our area down there inside the 20 when the balls turned over. We have to at least limit it to three points defensively. They scored on us quick and we held them to a field goal on the one. So pretty much in this league, you lose the turnover ratio, you lose that turnover battle, nine times out of 10 you’re going to come up on the losing end of the stick. It hurts, it’s tough but we have to be professionals about it and come in tomorrow and watch the film, and get better. We left a lot out there. You leave a lot out there every week, but win or lose when you lose obviously the little things are magnified so we just got to be accountable and stay together and stay tight, the guys on this team will do that.”
(On the big run at the end of the game)
“Yeah, it’s unfortunate that we held pretty well against the run all day long and they had that one big run, but that counts. So, like I said, explosive plays, the big plays, the turnover ratios, the teams that win in those two categories on Sundays, most of the time will win the game and unfortunately we didn’t do that today.”
Safety Lawyer Milloy
(On the defense’s performance)
“As a team we came out, knowing we were coming into a hostile environment, we turned the ball over and they had the field position, really the first half. Defensively we settled down towards the end of the first half and we gave our offense a chance to get back in the ball game. I look at it like a total team picture; we had too many mistakes early in the game to win that ball game.”
(On how is was to play against Warrick Dunn)
“It was good, he still has it, he lowered his head on my thigh one time. I was trying to get him back the rest of the game. I have the utmost respect for Warrick Dunn, I love him as a friend but I respect him as a ball player. I can’t say that about too many people in the league.”
Quarterback Matt Ryan
(Opening statement)
“Obviously, I think everyone was a little disappointed with the outcome. We got off to a bit of a slow start. When you turn the football over in the NFL, it’s tough to come back from that, but I thought the guys fought hard from top to bottom. Coach Smith was out there fighting for us. The offensive line, wideouts, defense, everyone fought hard but we just came up a little bit short. We’ll learn from it and try to get better for next week.”
(On the first interception)
“That one was on me. I just threw it a little high trying to get the ball out of my hand quickly. The most important thing is being accurate and I was not on that pass. I will learn from it and hopefully not make that mistake again.”
(On the running game)
“They did a good job up front and it’s a credit to their defensive front seven. They did a good job. The secondary did a good job of making tackles and coming up in run support and we just couldn’t get it going today.”
(On if he thought the game would get away from him after missing his first nine passes)
“As a competitor, as a football player, as a quarterback, no matter what happens you’ve got to go out there and continue to throw the ball and continue to make plays. Obviously you don’t want to start 0-9 and throw two interceptions, but you’ve got to keep battling and everybody on our team did that today, you have to love that. The offensive line was out there battling until the end, wideouts were making plays and working as hard as they could. The running backs were doing their best and the defense was busting their butts to try and get us the ball back. The effort we had today, obviously we don’t like the outcome, guys are continuing to battle.”
(On what he saw from the Buccaneers defense)
“They had some good coverage and it’s a credit to those guys. They have some talented players in the secondary that did a good job of coverage. A couple of times there might have been throws that were there that I have to be on time a little bit better. At the end of the day, they did a really good job.”
Running back Michael Turner
(On how things went today)
“We kind of expected it going into the game. After you run for over 300 yards the week before, teams are going to try to take that away from you the next week. We just have to learn how to play through fronts like that and still get good plays off.”
(On how can they get the running game going next week)
“That’s something we have to do. That’s a must. We are just going to keep practicing, keep working hard, maybe practice against those eight and nine man fronts a little bit and make sure we have everything in order.”
(On Buccaneers taking away the cutback lanes)
“Yes, when everybody’s up there, the line can’t block everybody. There is always going to be one or two men free when you have everyone committed to the run like that.”
(On how the game started)
“We just started off slow. That’s something we can’t do, especially on the road. We just have to work at it, work to take care of the football, no turnovers. Once we settled in, we started rolling a little bit.”
MORE FROM THE FALCONS-BUCS GAME:
- GAME CENTER: Stats and more in the NFL.com Game Center
- GAME RECAP: Falcons fall to Bucs, 24-9
- GAME NOTES: Official game notes from Raymond James Stadium
- TRANSCRIPTS: Head Coach Mike Smith | Falcons | Buccaneers
- VIDEO: Head Coach Mike Smith | Matt Ryan
- HIGHLIGHTS: Game highlights from NFL Network
- BLOG: News and thoughts from Managing Editor J. Michael Moore
- MESSAGE BOARDS: Talk about the game with other fans on FalconsLIFE
