Opening Statement:
"I told our team all week that in this League it's a battle. It's a battle every single time that you go out and play. This was a typical NFC South football game. We obviously didn't play our best but the object each and every week is to win the football game, and that's what we did today. We tried numerous ways not to win the game, but we were able to overcome that. We overcame six sacks, and we overcame a blocked punt. We tried not to win it but our guys did a great job in their resolve to play for 60 minutes, and it says a lot about the men in that room; players and coaches."
Q. Can you talk about Chris Redman coming in as quarterback?
A. "I think Chris' numbers were outstanding. Chris was 23 for 41, and had 243 yards passing. I thought he ran the offense very effectively. He had the two touchdowns and had, of course, the great throw there to Roddy (White) at the end of the game. He did not turn the ball over. As a backup in this League, it's a very difficult position, especially at the quarterback position because you maybe get 15 snaps during the week. Chris, when called upon, made the most of his opportunity."
Q. Chris hasn't thrown a pass in 27 games. How difficult is it to get back out there?
A. "I know Chris, and what kind of man Chris is. Chris is always going to be prepared and I can assure you that I had no doubt that he was going to go in there and perform effectively. Chris has been in the League for a number of years and he knows what is expected of a backup quarterback. When the backup quarterback steps in, we don't want the level of play to go down one inch. That's what happened today. I was very proud of Chris. I thought Bill Musgrave did a very good job, our Quarterback Coach, working with him on the sideline, as well as our Offensive Coordinator Mike Mularkey."
Q. Can you give us a prognosis of Matt Ryan?
A. "I really wish I could tell you. I know that he's in the training room, he's been looked at, and I know it's a toe injury. Until we get to Wednesday and see where he's at, we will have a little bit better prognosis."
Q. Do you think the Falcons played to a lower caliber today to match Tampa Bay's level of play?
A. "That was good football team that we played today. Tampa Bay (Head Coach) Raheem (Morris) had his team ready . You have to throw records out in this League. Week in to week out it is a different dynamic, and you have to be ready to play. We did not play as well as we'd like to you. We have a lot of things to correct. We will work towards that because we've got to continue to improve and get better."
Q. You gave up 6 sacks early on. What did you do differently to have better protection?
A. "We made some changes on our protection. We started allowing more guys to stay in before they went out. We were down two offensive linemen today as well. With Harvey Dahl, Brett Romberg had to come in and play the guard position. (Sam Baker) went down and we had to have (Will) Svitek come in and play. We were playing down two offensive linemen in that ballgame, but they hung tough and that's what it's all about."
Q. What made you decide that the last scoring play of the game was going to work?
A. "We saw how they lined up. We knew what kind of a match up we were going to have. We thought it was a favorable match for us. It was an excellent throw and a great catch. It was very good coverage by them. It was a typical play that could go either way. We're sure happy it went our way."
Q. Chris Redman threw six straight incompletions before he threw the touchdown. At any point did you lose confidence in him?
A. "I didn't realize that he threw six incomplete passes in a row. The quarterback that's played in this League knows what he has to do. He delivered, and it was a big, big throw for us."
Q. Can you give us an update on Michael Turner and what was the reason for Sam Baker's exit?
A. "Baker was banged up in a number of areas. You saw he had the brace on and he was not able to continue either. That's why we had the two other linemen in there. We won't have any update on Michael Turner right now. We'll have a lot more information on Wednesday after practice."
Q. When did you make the make the decision that Michael Turner would play?
A. "We wanted to make sure how Michael was prior to kickoff. It definitely was going to be a game time decision. We were encouraged during the week with what Michael was able to do during practice with limited participation."
Q. With a sprain does it concern that he could re-aggravate it, and it could be a longer time out?
A. "Again, I don't really want to comment about Michael's injury. On Wednesday we'll talk about that."
Q. Can you talk about Chris Owens first start in the NFL?
A. "From what I saw on the sideline prior to watching tape, I thought Chris handled his work throughout the game when he was out there playing. I was glad to see he got tweaked on a special teams play but came back and played. It was great to see one of our draft picks come in and play so well."
Q. How do evaluate Jason Elam after he missed a field goal today?
A. "Again, we'll evaluate that each and every week. I keep saying this about it; it is an operation. There is a snap, there is a hold, and there is a kick. I'll let you guys observe that and make your observations. Jason kicked the ball down the middle on two of his opportunities when the operation was clean."
Q. I'm surprised you weren't able to run the ball a little better.
A. "They did a very good job. This was a difficult week in terms of preparation. We did not have any tendencies to go by in terms of a play caller. You really had to spread your self thin in terms of preparation, and be prepared to make sideline adjustments as the game went on."
Q. When you say the operation wasn't clean, do you mean the snap of the kick?
A. "Like I said, it's an operation. I'm not going to comment on one individual."
Linebacker Curtis Lofton
Opening Statement:
"Our team hung in there today and did everything possible to win. We were in a situation in which we had to keep fighting against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. We have the Philadelphia Eagles next week which will be a pivotal match-up moving forward. We understand that from here on out we will be getting every team's best effort, and today was no different. In the last five games, we have to bring our "A" game."
Q: On today's win.A: "Today was not the best way to win, but we made sure to come out on top. Tampa is a good team in spite of their record. We have to give them credit in all phases. They made us work the entire game to pull this victory out."
Q: On the offense without QB Matt Ryan.
A: "I put all the confidence in our offense. We knew QB Chris Redman would make enough plays out there to put our offense in enough positions to succeed. It was not pretty all the time, but we won the game – that's all that matters. We have to give the Tampa Bay defense a lot of credit for mixing the coverages and blitzes, but at the end we made enough plays."
Quarterback Chris Redman
Opening Statement:
"We had double slants called with man coverage on the last play. We liked our chances with WR Roddy White one-on-one making a play for us on fourth down. Roddy is a great player and we had all the confidence in him. Our timing was a bit off prior to that touchdown catch."
Q: On replacing injured QB Matt Ryan:
A: "I am always in the game whether I am in or not. As the back-up, you have to be prepared to play at any second to be in the game. I understand that I am one play away from getting my number called to step in. This approach enabled me to focus in and help the team as much as possible. This organization has believed in me from the beginning and I will forever be thankful. I am fortunate to be a part of this victory – it was a concerted effort."
Defensive End Kroy Biermann
Q: Thoughts on defense:
A: "Yeah, I think overall we were fine. We kind of stepped up when we needed. We got some good stops in the second half. "
Q: How good does it feel to get this win?
A: "It is very important. We felt that after two loses, we needed to be back in the groove of things and get after it. We made mistakes and we are obviously going to have to correct those. I think we felt very good with the effort we put up today."
Q: What were your thoughts on Chris Redman?
A: "He stepped up. He did a good job. He made great throws. He made great reads. He was calm, kudos to him."
Tight End Tony Gonzalez
Q: What were the options on the redzone plays?
A: "I was part of the option, but I certainly wasn't the number one option. I think down there, especially after the way I was getting involved. I started getting a little bit more attention, a little bit more double teams. But that's how you want it. It creates one-on-one match-ups for the outside guys. We were able to capitalize."
Q: Overcoming Matt Ryan being out, Michael Turner being out, and two lineman being out.
A: "There were so many things that were going against us: fumbling the ball, turning it over, losing all those guys. It's really a credit to the way we work, and the way guys never gave up. You saw it in the huddle, guys were confident. Don't get me wrong, I think Tampa came out and played really well. But in the end, we were able to make plays when we had to."
Q: First thought when he heard Matt (Ryan) was not able to come back.
A: "He's our leader. He's the ace. When he goes out that's part of the game. When stuff like that happens, a guy has to bring it. My hats off to Red (Chris Redman). The way he got in there, stepped up, and played pretty well. We got a victory from it. It's always good when we have a veteran guy like that coming off the bench. Hopefully Matt gets back sooner rather than later, so we can keep this thing going."
Defensive Lineman Jonathan Babineaux
Q: Is it better to win ugly, than to lose pretty?A: "A win is a win and we'll take it any way we can. We played up and down today, but, in the end, we stuck it out and played together to get the win."
Q: How big was it for Chris Redman to step in for Matt Ryan?
A: "That was really big for us. I think the whole organization believes in Chris (Redman) and his abilities. As a team, we see him everyday, and we know he's a good back up. Today, he got a chance to prove himself, and won the game for us."
Q: Was the team surprised at how well Tampa moved the ball today?
A: "Not at all. You can never underestimate your opponent in this league. We have to come to play every week, and those guys came to play today. They gave us a really good challenge, but, in the end, we didn't quit and we got the win."
Kicker Jason Elam
Q: What were your thoughts on the game and your performance?
A: "I'm happy for the guys. They fought so hard. Looking at my performance, I've have to find a way to be more consistent. That's what this game is all about. In this league, you have to be as consistent as possible. I can't remember the last time I walked off the field feeling good about my performance, so, it's very frustrating."
Q: Do you feel it's back to the drawing board for you and your performance?
A: "I don't think it's back to the drawing board, but, I'll definitely look at the film, and try to figure out what I'm doing wrong. Every other kick, I felt good about it when I kicked it. I felt that I had good technique, and I hit a very clean ball. You're hoping to hit a clean ball. If your technique is good you shouldn't have to worry about the results. The last ball I kicked, I just didn't feel that I hit it pure and I'll continue to work on that."
Running Back Jerious Norwood
Q: Was the game close enough for you, and how does it feel to be back on the field?
A: "I hate for it to come to the last play, but we'll take it any way we can. It feels good to be back. When I first went out there, I was a little nervous, but, as time went on, I started to feel a lot better."
Q: How important is it to get this team back on track?
A: "It's very important. We've got a six game season that started tonight, and we'll prepare, and work hard for next week's game. If we stick together as a team, I know we'll be fine."
Q: What was Chris (Redman) like in the huddle?
A: "He was very calm and cool in the huddle. That's one thing about this team. When one guy goes down, we'll always have another man ready to step up and do his job."
Wide Receiver Roddy White
Q: How would you describe this win?
A: "A win is a win. It was a tough win, but, anytime you can get one in this league, you're always happy. Now, we need to move on to next week."Q:
Q: How would you describe your the last play in the 4th quarter? What was the play?
A: "We call that play a slant. I whispered over to coach on the sideline to try to give me the ball on a slant. Once we called the play, Tony (Gonzalez) and I both ran a slant and Chris (Redman) read the inside and the out. Chris (Redman) threw a good ball, and gave me a good chance to win game."
MORE FALCONS-BUCCANEERS COVERAGE:
GAMEDAY LIVE:More Falcons-Bucs coverage from AtlantaFalcons.com * GAME CENTER:Stats and more in the NFL.com Game Center * FIRST TAKE:Exclusive interviews with Falcons Radio's Dave Archer * MULTIMEDIA:More videos and interviews from AF.com * GAME STORY:Redman leads Falcons to victory * THE BEAT BLOG:Game thoughts from John Manasso, Special to AF.com * J. MIKE'S MISSIVES:Thoughts on the game from the AF.com managing editor * GAME NOTES:Official game notes and stats from the Georgia Dome press box * IMAGES:Exclusive Falcons photos from team photographer Jimmy Cribb * QUOTABLE:Postgame thoughts from Falcons players | Buccaneers * FORUMS:Talk about the game with other fans on FalconsLIFE
