Head coach Mike Smith:
(on the loss) "Football is a 60-minute game and I felt like we played very well in the first half of the ball game and we didn't play very good in the second half. We didn't score any points, and you have to put points on the board when you have the opportunity and we did not do that."
(more on the loss) "I felt like we started out fairly effectively, running the ball efficiently early in the ball game. The second half we did not. We had two three-and-outs and a turnover in the third quarter, so we did not move the football in the second half."
(on the decision to go for it on 4th-and-5 late in the fourth quarter) "We had missed from the 33-yard line on the prior attempt and came up two or three yards short, and this was one-yard longer, so we went for it. We felt like in warm ups that was right at the line for us to kick it, and obviously with the weather and the ball, he hit it good the ball just didn't carry on the first one."
(on the drops late in the game) "They are missed opportunities. You can't talk about one specific play that was the difference in the ball game. We had our chances to make some plays in all three phases and we didn't. The guys played hard and fought hard, we just didn't get it done."
(on the team's attitude going into games) "We think every time we go out and play that it's a game we should have in the win column. I felt like in the first 30 minutes of the ball game we played well enough to win and the second 30 minutes we played poor football and didn't play well enough to get the job done."
Quarterback Matt Ryan:
(on the loss today) "It's disappointing. Obviously jumped out to an early lead, defense created some turnovers for us and we capitalized on it, but we weren't able to get it done offensively in the second half. We had chances, we moved the ball in a couple different situations, but stalled out when we got into scoring situations. We have to be better than that."
(on the offensive game plan today) "We did a nice job early, kind of getting everybody involved with some short passes and getting everybody into the game, but at the same time creating some explosive plays too. Drew Davis on the backside of a route creating an explosive touchdown for us was big. We took some shots down the field. We took one early in the game on the first drive, but we didn't capitalize on any of those today."
(on the 4th-and-5 throw to Tony Gonzalez in the fourth quarter) "I feel like I need to make a better throw. It was good coverage and they defended it well, but I feel like I need to put it in a better spot for him to be able to make a play on it."
(on the weather playing a factor today) "I don't think so. Obviously it's a factor for both teams when you go out there, but I thought we handled the weather just fine."
(on the Falcons dropping to 3-10) "It's disappointing and frustrating with where we are at, there is no doubt about that. We certainly had high expectations for ourselves coming into this season, but we are where we are and you have to come out and you have to play your hardest. You have to play your best every time you do it, and we haven't been able to do it thus far."
Kicker Matt Bryant:
(on his missed field goal in the fourth quarter) "It was cold and the ball isn't going to go as far, but you just have to go out there and do your best. I think it was worth taking a shot at. Another nine times I think I make it. It was just that one time that I didn't. I hit it good, but I guess I didn't hit it quite good enough. I thought it was good the whole time until I looked up and I saw the ref signaling no good."
Wide receiver Drew Davis:
(on his touchdown catch) "I got out in the route and I did an in-cut. I saw Matt (Ryan) looking for me, so I guess things didn't work out on the frontside because I was the last read on the play. Once I got the ball, I just kind of looked around and I felt somebody on me, saw that he missed a tackle, made a move on the safety and just walked into the end zone."
(on playing in the cold conditions) "We don't play in the cold often, but that doesn't mean we can't play in it. Everybody was pretty much ready from a mental standpoint so I don't think it really bothered us. We were just worried about playing football."
Wide receiver Roddy White:
(on the loss) "It was good to compete. I felt like I showed up to play today. The weather really didn't affect us until we tried to kick that field goal. We had our opportunities. We couldn't find a way to put a drive together in the second half. We needed to find a way to do that. I felt that we went out there and played hard, but we just came up short."
(on blowing a 21-10 lead) "It is a game that you have to win. When I came back into the locker room (at halftime), I told everybody that we needed another score to win this game. We knew that they were going to make a run because there are always ebbs and flows in games. We knew at some point they would make a run that we would need to counter and get us a drive together. Unfortunately we didn't do that."
Linebacker Sean Weatherspoon:
(on his interception return for a touchdown) "We are just coached to finish. You always want to sell it. Even if it hits the ground you still have to take that chance. It was a great play by (Paul) Worrilow. I am not sure what happened to the ball before he kicked it. It was awesome. I thank Worrilow for the nice kick. Robert Alford made a great block on the outside and I got to the sideline. I had to time it up and cut back on them and the guys just lead me. We came in with a lot of confidence off of that, but we just didn't make the plays that we needed to make to secure the win."
(on Eddie Lacy) "He is good. I like Eddie Lacy. He is definitely a big guy and he runs tough behind his pads. I am not sure what his numbers were today, but I felt like we kept the run game down."
(on the one-point loss) "Anytime you lose it is tough, but one point it is even tougher. The ultimate thing for us to do is to watch the tape, endure watching the tape, and get better from it."
