GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Here’s the what the Falcons had to say after the 25-23 loss to the Cardinals:
FS RICHIE GRANT
On the McBride catch: “At the end of day, you know, it just comes down to that one play. I got to make that play.”
The McBride play?
“Got to make the play. Don’t make the play, lose the game. That was a big play and we just lost.”
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
RB BIJAN ROBINSON
On how tough today’s loss was: ”It was tough today. You hate losing and it was a close game, but obviously, we have to get better at a lot of different things. It was a tough one today.”
On how comfortable he was today: ”I was good. Just whatever I needed to do for the team to try to get a win. I felt good. I feel good now. Obviously, that doesn’t matter if you don’t win the game. You try to do the best you can for the offense, whether it’s run game or pass game. We’ve got to be good in both. Obviously, you want to pull something out with the win.”
On how his coaches are telling him to approach the upcoming bye week: ”We’ve been through a long season. I want to get better at little things. Watching film, seeing all my runs from this year, seeing all my pass catches from this year. See what I can get better at for this second half of the season. For me, as a rookie, I’m never trying to get comfortable. Obviously, it’s easy to get comfortable on the bye week and just sit back and relax. You want to get a couple days in to just do nothing and then get back to work. Especially now for me, just being a competitor for this team and wanting to do whatever I can for this team to win, I’m trying to do whatever I can in this bye week to get that edge for that second half.”
On what it was like to be back in his home state of Arizona: ”Awesome. It was so awesome. Just seeing all the people that came here to support me that have been supporting me my whole life. It was definitely such a blessing to play in front of them. At the end of the game, I tried to give them all high fives and do whatever I could to show my appreciation. It was so awesome to be here and to show the Arizona kid that they’ve been watching since high school is still playing and now trying to represent them.”
On what it meant for him to score a touchdown in front of these fans today: ”It was awesome. Just to obviously contribute to the team, but to show the people that I’m still doing all that I’ve been doing from elementary school to high school to college to the NFL. It was definitely a blessing to get that in. But like I’ve been saying, obviously you want to get the win after that too.”
WR DRAKE LONDON
On how Falcons QB Desmond Ridder played and what he showed the team: ”We were just excited. We got in the box how we wanted to. We put up points on the board to get the lead, but unfortunately, we came up short at the end.”
On the team’s emotions following the game: ”I don’t know. I don’t like losing. I’m just going to keep it at that. I don’t like losing. I don’t want this to become a habit of ours. We just need to switch some things up. That’s it.”
On whether he has any idea of what needs to be switched up: ”No, I don’t. The game just happened so I can’t pinpoint exactly where it’s at. I know myself, I can be better at a lot of things and help this team try to win.”
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
ILB KADEN ELLISS
On what they need to do to as a team to come back with a stronger mentality: ”You got to let the game breathe. That is something that you have to do. At the same time, you have to look at how these first 10 weeks haven’t gone the way we wanted it to, so there’s got to be a little extra work put in. I think it is going to take a little bit of both.”
On the defensive issues: ”I was just telling them that you have to look at yourself. It is something that from the top down has been preached to us these last couple of weeks. It is something that, at the bye week right now, we just have to do again. The one reason, the one word that encompasses all of it, I don’t have. I do know that if each of us look at ourselves and look at our units and how we can improve and how we can let our talent shine on our field, that we can get it fixed.”
On the plan for QB Kyler Murray and TE Trey McBride: ”Cover him (McBride) and Murray, contain him. He is fast. He is a great athlete. He’s got a trophy back at home. Today, we just needed to contain him, and we did that for a large majority of the game. But there were a couple of plays where we weren’t able to. That is something that we are going to look back at as players and just assess how, when we face another great athlete quarterback because they are all over the league. Just how we are going to contain them, and it is something that I know we will get done. It is something that I know we can do and I am excited for us to come out of this bye and get going with it.”
LT JAKE MATTHEWS
On what he tells the team at this point from a veteran’s perspective: ”All you can do is be a pro and try to fix things. Just find a way to get back on the winning track which is what we have been trying to do. Obviously, it hasn’t been enough. We have to fix it.”
On how they can fix things quickly: ”The only way I have ever known is by being really honest with yourself. Find things to improve on and working on them during the week. Bringing something extra during the week. Being a pro. There is no match or formula. It is just going to work and finding a way to do your job.”
On being more consistent on converting off turnovers: ”We were moving the ball pretty well. I believe that we converted a fourth down earlier in that drive. I felt like I liked the call, and we didn’t get it done. We have to check on film and watch as a group and fix it. Just came up a little short.”
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