ST. LOUIS --Quotes from Rams players and coaches after the second preseason game.
Rams Head Coach Steve Spagnuolo
Q: Opening Remarks.
Gary Gibson, early in the game got dinged. It was just his head, he felt a little fuzzy, came back, so we think he'll be fine. James Hall went in for an X-ray on his sternum and that came back negative. Eric Moore got whacked in the ribs; I think they said that was negative. Phil Trautwein does have a back issue, we're not 100 percent sure what that is, so they'll check him again tomorrow and we'll find out a little bit more on him. But other than that there's probably some other bumps and bruises, but those are probably the important ones. Just real quick, just like I said to the team, we would have liked to have started the game a lot better. I think they realize that, we all realize that. But that's a good football team. When you play a good football team like that – well coached with good football players, you have to come out and take it to them and we didn't really do that. Now, on the flip side, when a team does jump you like that you have to chip away and hope you can get to the fourth quarter and have a chance to win the game and we did that. So there were some good things. It's just like any typical preseason game. We're going to put the tape on tomorrow. There will be some good and there will be some not so good and then we'll go to work. We've got a short week and then we play Cincinnati, so we'll get up, dust off and move on. With that I'll open it up.
Q: On why wide receiver Derek Stanley had his knee wrapped at the end of the game.
I think he had that going in. If he did I'm not aware of that. I'd have to check. He was not given to me as a guy to report or worry about, so either it happened late and Jim (Anderson) didn't get to me or it was just a precautionary thing.
Q: On what he thought of the run defense.
Without seeing it on tape, I'm not really sure where the holes were. But we have a proud group of guys. No matter where the wholes were I'm going to give Atlanta some credit, number one, but I do think our guys would tell you that would have liked to tackle better and that's just defensive football. You have to tackle.
Q: On if he is seeing progress from the players he's looking for.
I think in a lot of ways, yeah. I can't stand up here and say I'm disappointed in particular players. I just would have as a group, especially defensively early I would have like to faired better as a group. We came out and I believe the first play we did a pretty good job against their run play and they popped that second one and now you're on your heels. You have to bear up in the red zone and keep them out. We didn't do that, but it's 11 guys out there doing that and again I give Atlanta a lot of credit. (Falcons Head Coach) Mike (Smith) does a great job with that offense.
Linebacker James LaurinaitisQ: On what lessons he will be ale to learn in the running game.
You know I'd love to see it on film. I mean it's a lot easier to kind of be able to see it from those two different angles and kind of evaluate yourself. But we had some opportunities to make some tackles that we didn't make. You know I had a missed tackle down there in the red zone that I got to make. This is just something that we got to build on. And ultimately you want to come out of here with a win. But you know there will be some good lessons from this game.
Q: On how the growth and transition to middle linebacker is coming.
It's going well. I think you still have a lot to learn as a rookie. You know what I mean, you have guys that have been in this league 14-15 years that are still learning and that's just the game of football. You always have something more to learn, you have some technique you can get better at.
Quarterback Keith Null
Q: On how he likes being in the action in the fourth quarter.
Oh gosh yes, the last two weeks I've been right in the action having to go down and score. It's great work as a rookie to go in, and I thought the offensive line did a great job protecting and the receivers caught the bell well. (RB Kenneth) Darby ran the ball really well in the last two minutes, they all got us down there and we had a chance, and if you can do that every time, you'll have a good winning percentage.
Q: On if the fourth quarter was fun.
Yes it really was, it was a blast. It was good to get out there in the fourth quarter and have more playing time. I really did have a good time.
Quarterback Kyle Boller
Q: On if it is good to be running the offense with the first team.
Yes, it was great just to be out there. We have a lot of improvement to work on these next few weeks, but it just feels good to be out there with the guys and to get reps with the first guys.
Q: On the physicality of the game tonight.
Yes, it felt good, probably too good sometimes, but that's just part of being back out there.. Being off for a little bit, getting the timing down with the ones, hopefully over these next couple weeks we'll continue to improve and things will get better.
Q: On how he performed overall tonight.
I think I did alright. Like I said, I feel like I can do so much better. There are some throws I really wanted back, I felt like I had two touchdown passes I could've had, but I'm just going to keep grinding, working hard everyday, and that's all you can do.
Running Back Steven Jackson
Q: On if he was just expecting to play the first series.
No not actually, I prepared to play 2-3 quarters. So mentally I was really prepared to play a long time. But coach saw fit that he just wanted me to do that one drive and get out there. Although I wasn't out there, I was mentally prepared.
Q: On if he wants to take some hits and feel like he is in that mode.
I'm taking hits, I'm taking hits. So the work you may not see like tonight, I'm seeing through out the week. I'm still getting my touches, I'm still getting a feel of the game and I'm making sure I'm getting used to getting hit again.
Q: On if they would have liked to do more offensively.
Of course, of course you want to go down and score touchdowns. You want to go and answer with nice drive. The long one, when they came out and scored right out the gate, you would like to answer their touchdown with a touchdown. But you know we're still learning here and this film is going to help us out in the next coming weeks.
Offensive Tackle Jason Smith
Q: On how he felt tonight.
I feel that number one I need to continue growing as an NFL offensive lineman and focusing on my part for when I can help the team.
Q: On what he's focusing on
There's a lot of things as an offensive lineman that can determine the outcome of a block. Number one, technique and snap counting. Just number one go back to the drawing board, keep chopping wood, stay around my veteran offensive lineman, guys like (OT) Adam Goldberg, (G) Richie Incognito, guys just grab me and teach me all the things I need to know to be successful.
Q: On if he is more comfortable.
Obviously the more reps you get at something the better you start to feel about it. The more I stay around Adam Goldberg, I just get more a groove of what I'm doing. Number one, those guys, coming in from day one, they just grabbed me and showed me how to be an NFL offensive lineman.
Wide Receiver Derek Stanley
Q: On progression of the team.
We've got some things we can work on, I mean, obviously we're going to review the film, and we'll be able to point out more in detail the things we need to work on, but I think overall we've played ok, I think we can still build on some things, and we'll be ready to go by the time we play Cincinnati.
Q: On punt returns.
Obviously I'm always overly critical of myself and I want to do the best I can do to help the team. I wish I had have done a little bit better but like I said we'll still build off of some things. I'll be able to watch the film and correct some things I did personally. I think our punt return team did a great job today, so we'll be able to review what I did and make some corrections.
Q: On offseason rehab transition.
It's going well, I think mentally I'm just trying to get there. I'm not 100 percent there yet but day in and day out I'm always making cuts and doing things to see how the knee is responding. I think it's doing a great job, and that's a test to the training facility and the guys in training room and I know it's going to get better from here.
Q: On dropped catch.
Yeah the one play I had, I started running before I got the ball in my hand. It was actually a great play by Brock, a great read by him. I saw tons of open field, and I tried running before I caught the ball, but we'll make that correction, and hopefully next week I'll be able to make a big play and help the team get a win.
Wide Receiver Laurent Robinson
Q: On game rhythm with Boller.We've been working in practice all this week, working with the ones, getting a lot of repetition and timing and just executing the game plan.
Q: On the offense.
I feel good. I'm just working hard everyday in practice, going out there trying to be the best I can be everyday, listening to the coach…I mean, and just being coachable and going out there and executing. The offense is great, I'm very confident and comfortable in it, and hopefully I can just continue on in the regular season.
MORE FROM THE FALCONS-RAMS GAME:
GAMEDAY LIVE:Complete gameday coverage from AF.com
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GAME CENTER:Stats and more on the game from NFL.com
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FIRST TAKE:Head Coach Mike Smith | Gonzalez | Sidbury | Ryan | Wilson
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NFL NETWORK:Game Highlights | Ryan Highlights | Turner Highlights
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FORUMS:Talk about the game on FalconsLIFE
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QUOTES:Transcript from the Falcons locker room | Rams
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GAME NOTES:Official game notes from the Edward Jones Dome
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PHOTOS:Images from the Falcons preseason game in St. Louis
