Here’s what Falcons coach Dan Quinn had to say after the 17-6 loss to the Jaguars on Saturday.
Opening statement: "I'd like to get things started with some things that I thought that we did right; Matt Bryant - from a special teams side he hit the ball well, as well as (Matt) Bosher dropping a few (punts) inside the 20-yard line from a field position stand point. Kickoff cover - I felt the speed and energy from the team. Kickoff return – We didn't get a lot of opportunities at those tonight. And the last part I would say, from the ball security standpoint, to finish the game +2 (turnover margin) was certainly a step in the right direction for us. And that's about where it ends for me. There's a lot for us to work on, and I didn't think we did a very good job of taking advantage of our opportunities tonight. An interception taking place by the defense, the offense not getting to capitalize. Putting the punt down, Bosher nailed a good one down inside the five-yard line and (we) let them out – those would be the field-position ones. So, for us to be the best version of ourselves, that has to take place, so I'm disappointed that we didn't play as an entire group on that tonight. I thought there were some self-inflicted wounds tonight that certainly hurt us in this game, but we'll give the credit to them (the Jaguars), and I'm glad to talk about the game with you guys."
On Damontae Kazee, and how he "stood out for the third straight game": "Yeah, he has certainly had an excellent offseason, and then it kind of carried right over into training camp. He's had one of the very best mentors in Ricardo Allen to help train and get right, and at some point a player takes over too, to say, 'I really want to put out to make a difference on this team.' and he certainly is finding more roles that we'll find for him on the defensive side, as well as on special teams."
On if he justifies the idea of holding players out of preseason games, based on the injury to Marqise Lee tonight: "Well first off, let's hope that he's ok, and we're always thinking from the player standpoint of their health and safety. So, we know that it happens in preseason, and none of us like to see that happen, from the players' standpoint, from a coaching side, from personnel and their side, but we know that's a part of the game. Certainly, we're hoping that he's ok. We also recognize that it happens when we're going and playing in games. We're just hoping in his case that he'll be ok."
On his self-described "self-inflicted wounds" that impacted the team: "I would definitely categorize that (team dropping the football) as part of it. To me, those are things that we can control, and so if we lose focus on missed assignments, that would be one. If we lose focus on a drop, that would be one. Those are two that I know that we can control. So, when we don't nail those opportunities, those are difficult ones, and that really happened in a number of spots. You wouldn't know all of that from seeing it, but for me, I can certainly see those."
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