Quarterback Kyle Orton
Q: What did you think about the game?
A: “We had some chances to win the game. We didn’t start off fast enough, especially as an offense. Obviously, as a team, we weren’t able to finish.”
Q: How do take a loss like this?
A: “We have had three tough losses, but that is just how it goes. This was a tough one on the road. You have to play extremely well and we didn’t do it the entire game. We have a game against Minnesota at home coming up so we have to win.”
Q: It seemed like the first half the offense was out of sync.
A: “When you play teams like this who like to run the ball and eat up the clock, you have to get first downs on offense. We only had about 22 plays when we went in at halftime. It was tough to get in plays you want to run. We were able to get some first downs in the second half and get to a lot of plays we wanted to get in.”
Q: Could you talk about that touchdown pass to Rashied (Davis)?
A: “The defensive back had his head turned. I saw Rashied’s eyes and I just decided to throw it as hard as I could and get it there before the guy turned around. Rashied made a great catch on it and it was a great drive for us as an offense.”
Head Coach Lovie Smith
Opening Remarks:
“There were some things today that we weren’t able to do. We were not able to start fast and finish strong. Our offense had the opportunity to do some things at the end of the game. The guys put us in the position to win the football game. Kyle (Orton), Rashied (Davis) and the rest of the offense did a good job with that. Defensively, the third downs really hurt us. Matt Ryan had a heck of a day passing the football against us. We are normally pretty good on third downs, but today we just didn’t have the force. Injury-wise, Charles Tillman had a shoulder injury. Trumaine McBride also had a shoulder injury and Danieal Manning pulled his hamstring. As far as talking to the team after the game, what do you say after a tough loss like that? We have been in that situation before. We have a big game against the Vikings this next week that we are going to start to get ready for.”
Q: What do you think was the biggest play?
A: “Kickoff before we kicked it deep and they got a long run. The guys were a little bit tired and we felt like a squib would be safe. They had had a chance to get maybe one more play.”
Q: How much did the injuries to the secondary keep you guys from being able to keep off the field on third down?
A: “Of course it hurt us. When you lose three defensive backs that play, it hurts. Again, we had ourselves in the position to win. Injuries hurt and I am sure they lost some guys too.”
Q: Nathan Vasher said earlier in the week that he was 100 percent. Do you think he was a setback?
A: “A lot of times guys think that they are 100 percent. He was never 100 percent and ready to go. We will play guys when they are ready. We don’t put injured players on the football field and we didn’t think he was ready to go.”
Q: How tough was the range of emotions that happened in that last 11 seconds?
A: “Tough. Very tough. I wish that I had more words to really show you how bad it really is. When you have setbacks like this, it hurts. We had that victory in our grasp and we couldn’t pull it out.”
Defensive Tackle Tommy Harris
Q: It appeared as if you had the game won. Thoughts?
A: “We were 11 seconds away from a win. That quarterback they have is a special player. These are the type of games that really hurt. We thought we had it in the bag, and it’s over. To have it taken away, well, I can’t describe it.”
Linebacker Brian Urlacher
Q: You played bend but not break defense. But it wasn’t good enough to win?
A: “We didn’t play well enough to win. It’s very disappointing. Matt Ryan is a good quarterback. He played well. Bottom line, you’ve got to play better if you want to win.”
Linebacker Lance Briggs
Q: You guys did a good job containing the run, but you gave up too much in the passing game.
A: “We had a huge drive there at the end. We got our hearts built-up only to have them broken down. That’s football. When there are only six seconds on the clock and you are in a preventative defense, there’s not much you can do. And when you’ve got a kicker like Jason Elam, 48-yard field goals are routine.”
Q: Your thoughts about the rookie quarterback Matt Ryan?
A: “He played well. He took exactly what we were giving him. He knew exactly where to go. He threw the ball with authority. He didn’t look like a rookie. He looked like where he’s exactly supposed to be, the leader of his team.”
Wide Receiver Rashied Davis
Q: About the ending of the game:
A: “Things like that happen. It’s football and the game is not over till the clock hits zero. They got a good bounce (on the kickoff) and had a nice catch and took advantage and won the game.”
Q: It looked like you had the game won on your touchdown catch:
A: “Of course. We thought that we had the game won with 11 seconds left. I think from where we tackled them (on the kickoff) they had like 60 yards so you expect to win the game. They caught the ball on the sideline, kicked the ball and won the game. That’s football though.”
Q: Did you think that the offense took a step forward today?
A: “Everybody says that every week. Everybody asks us the same question every week. We just try to go out and do the best that we can. We don’t have all of the big names so people must not think that we are any good or something. It’s not a big deal. We go out and play hard and try to make as many plays as we can. Sometimes you leave some out on the field and sometimes you don’t. All we can do is go out and play hard every game.”
Wide Receiver/Kick Returner Devin Hester
Opening Statement:
“We started off slow and they had momentum going the whole first half. But we picked it up some in the second half and came up with some big plays on offense. We just weren’t able to finish the game.”
Q: Where you surprised how the game ended?
A: “It doesn’t even seem like we lost this game just because of the situation that we were put in. We came back and scored a touchdown and left them with 11 seconds on the clock. For them to come up and score in 11 seconds is bad on our part. We said that we have to start fast and finish strong and that isn’t something that we did today. We didn’t start fast but we did finish strong.”
Q: Would you play cornerback if asked?
A: “It wasn’t a thought that went into my mind, but I’m a team player. If I get called to get to go back to corner, I will. I’m just trying to win games. Wherever the coach needs me to go that’s where I’m going.”
MORE FROM THE FALCONS-BEARS GAME:
- GAMEDAY LIVE: Complete game coverage from AF.com
- GAME RECAP: Late field goal lifts Falcons to victory
- GAME CENTER: Stats and more from the NFL.com Game Center
- GAME BLOG: Follow the action in the live game blog
- J. MIKE'S BLOG: News and more from the Managing Editor
- GAME NOTES: Official game notes from the Georgia Dome press box
- TRANSCRIPTS: Head Coach Mike Smith | Falcons | Bears
- CNN VOTE: CNN polls Falcons fans on presidential race in game
- HIGHLIGHTS: Game highlights from NFL Network
- PRESS CONFERENCE: Head Coach Mike Smith | Ryan | Elam
- FROM THE LOCKER ROOM: Milloy | Anderson | Jenkins | White | Abraham | Norwood
- TAILGATES: Falcon Al checks out new features at Touchdown Tailgate | Blog
