Here’s what Falcons head coach Dan Quinn said after the stunning 30-26 win over the Detroit Lions at Ford Field on Sunday:
Opening statement: "As we get started, before that, I'd like to recognize Arthur (Blank) being down on the field with the team prior to the game and showing his solidarity for not just the Falcons, but for the NFL in general. He continues to demonstrate what a class act he is to all of the players and staff and coaches. We really appreciate him."
Onto the game, we knew this was going to take all day and it damn sure did and almost didn’t end in extra. Brian Poole at the end, really made the heads up play, where it wasn’t quite in and he had to get the guy down at that point to have another chance to go and battle. I think those are the type of plays that demonstrate who we are as a group and how hard they want to strain and battle. I was really proud of the defense, they had to really show some resilient stops today. There were some on the turnovers that they had to come up and make stops at the end to battle. Now, it took all the way down at the end but I was really pleased with them having some stops at the end. The kickers tonight were on fire, I thought it was turn back the clock night on their side and ours. Long kicks, Matt (Bryant) and (Matt) Prater on the other side were just on it. But today, it was about the ball. We knew that when you were minus-three it’s really difficult to win. For that part, we know we can get a lot of that cleaned up. I certainly admired our team’s toughness, the effort that they played with and we feel like we’ve got much to clean up on for us to play at our best. With that, I’m glad to open it up to your questions regarding a hell of a finish.”
On what he saw on the two replays, one with WR Mohamed Sanu and on the Lions' final drive: "Correct, so the one with Mo (Mohamed Sanu), we really thought that he had got the ball across. So the guys upstairs, Jerome Henderson was the one who was really on it first and said, "Hey, he got the ball across." At that point, we felt like it was worth taking a shot at. He had a good enough view at it, and that's really the process that we go through. Jerome is the one in the press box that assists me, especially with replay. And then at the end, we thought maybe that would be the case as he went down. We approached the official to say, ok there was eight seconds with no timeout so what would happen? Of course that would be the run-off and that's what it would go to. I did ask them that as we went."
On if his decision to review the final Lions' play was automatic for him: "It was an automatic one because they ruled it a score, so every scoring play was automatic. I wouldn't have been able to challenge that one."
On whether he was immediately aware of the run-off rule: "We've shown it to the team as an injury timeout. There was one with, I believe with Tampa, maybe about three or four years ago. We know what the 10-second run-offs are on a moving clock. That is one that we didn't cover. You know, most of the ones we talk about are like an injury in a two-minute when you have no timeouts, you're on offense or defense. Like, our last timeout, I believe was taken when Ricardo (Allen) was injured and that was within two minutes, so they were able to use the timeout there and not the delay."
On the range of emotions throughout the game: "It was pretty calm, no. Honestly, it was a battle for it. I was disappointed that we had some of the turnovers. That was a real factor in this one. And then at the end, we just keep standing up to go battle for it. When I saw them score at the end, I was disappointed that I thought our guys really strained. Then when you saw the replay, it was really clear the way that the rule was written. Rich was one that discussed that with me prior, why it wasn't a score and what had happened. Fortunately, the correct ruling was there. But just the whole emotions of the thing were like most games, up and down and wild. At the end, coming off of a win when it ends like that, I think everyone had an initial shock phase and then, OK, we'll talk about it after."
On what he means by his players being really strained: "Like, they really played as hard as they could and that was the effort I was really trying to get across to them. How hard we can play, and then go for another one and another one. That part of our game, Jeff, I think is really coming to life. That's good, everyone should play hard, but the effort and strain that we want to push each other with helps us in these times. That's why the Wednesday and Thursday practices we really try to battle against one another to put ourselves into those spots. The strain meaning, in a good way, the effort. How hard we played, I thought that really came through. Their offense is tough to defend. Matt Stafford certainly is an accurate passer, not only in the pocket, but outside. I thought TJ Jones and Golden Tate both made some really good catches when guys were covering. It wasn't like the example of you know, poor coverage. It was two guys battling for it in a couple of occasions. We prepared for this one to go all the way, we did not prepare or talk about a 10-second run-off to win at the one inch line. I do love the strain that the guys played with."
On what he said to the team the night before on kneeling for the National Anthem and the decisions by DT Grady Jarrett and DT Dontari Poe to kneel: "We do, for those two, that was something that they thought was important for them to have that solidarity. A good topic for those two, but we support them like crazy. Dontari Poe has been an excellent addition to our group. It's not always easy to come in when you're an established player at another spot and find your way in. He and Grady Jarrett have such a good connection and already going into his third year, Grady has become a fine leader for us. So I'm not surprised that they wanted to do that together and you can see the connection that they have started to build."
On his level of concern about player focus with all the attention swirling around issues outside of football: "Yeah, I thought it was important to bring that up to the team, and I did that last night. Adrian Clayborn on our team has really said some comments that really stuck with me. He said that I wish the rest of the world was like our locker room. We're black, we're white, we're from the city, we're from the country and if more guys were like our locker room, the world would be a better place. What I took out of that is that we can be a fantastic model for our community, for Atlanta, for what it can be like. I thought he so clearly stated what that means, and I love being a part of this team. You see this connection that these players have for one another, and I think the best example they can set is their own, for everyone else to see them and how well they connect. They are from all walks of life, diverse backgrounds and they really connect on a big level. So I'm awful proud of who they are and what they stand for as a group of guys."
On WR Julio Jones' injury status: "They said he was going to be fine. I don't know if he could have come back in. Knowing him, I know he would have tried but I'll have a bigger report to you tomorrow. It didn't sound like it was anything long, extended for him, but he got the attention that he normally gets. I don't have any updates for you other than that I don't think it's a thing that's going to knock him out for an extended time."
On DE Takkarist McKinley's second-half performance, including his first-career sack: "Well, I expected him to get in and play really hard. You know, we've put him on the right side, he's played on the left side, so as you go in, especially through your rookie year, you've got to kind of have some on-the-job training. Today was a fantastic opportunity for that. You have to learn, you have to make some mistakes along the way. His performance, when he looks back at it wouldn't be all clean, but I think he'll like how hard he played. He's really learning this game and the more experience you get, you have a tendency to be able to fall back on some of those experiences. I'm not going to get beat on this again. This guy chipped me, how do I deal with that? I love that he's getting some of this on-the-job training right now, but really I thought as a whole defense, great resiliency tonight."
On the tipped balls that plagued the team's offense: "I believe two of them (the interceptions) were off tipped balls. When those tipped balls happened, those are some series that are taken away and the interception that went for a score. So we feel like we were down a couple or three possessions offensively in that game and the more opportunities you give our team, the more we're going to attack and explode. I was really proud with Matt (Ryan) after the interception at the half. We came right back, we didn't back off, we went down and we scored points at the half, so it's reset time. The guy made a good play on the ball, but by no means were we going to back off at the end of the half. We still had time, we still had space to get them. We're very fortunate that he (QB Matt Ryan) is able to know when to turn the page and when to go attack and he did an excellent job of navigating, especially putting us into some really good plays based on some looks. It's an underrated thing for Matt, it doesn't show up on the stat sheet, but he does put the guys into some good checks and some good runs based on the looks. Offensive line, I thought they were really leaning on in the run game and, you know, that was going to be something that we needed to do."
On his team's offensive mindset throughout the game: "We've got a number of different guys that we want to feature, and so when we have that, we really want to go after them. Sometimes going after them might be a run that we really like for Tevin (Coleman) and for Free (Devonta Freeman). For back-to-back weeks I really felt Freeman's toughness, and the way he ran the ball, the way he finished runs. For us, although we started throwing, some of those ones are play-actions to get guys to suck up so you have a chance to throw it behind them. Even the first play of the game, we took a shot down the field to try and go get aggressive. It was good to have Taylor (Gabriel) back, he really made some plays today. I thought on third downs, nice touchdown on the screen, so for him, dealing with an injury in the offseason, it was awesome to see him back in action today. Kind of looking how all of us are accustomed to seeing that kind of speed."
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