Head coach Mike Smith on his decision to rest starters:"We wanted to rest as many as we felt we needed to. We had some guys we specifically wanted to get work; I believe there were 20 of the starters that did not participate in the ball game. We have done it differently over the last four years. If you do your research you can see sometimes, it's one series, 2010 we did not play any of our starters in the 4th preseason game. That is just a decision you have to go with your head and mindset. Our mindset this year more than anything is to try and get to game number one as healthy as possible. I think we have done a pretty good job at doing that."
Smith on Tevin Coleman's big night: "Josh Vaughan had a great run. I thought he blocked extremely well and thought he showed some speed there to run away from their defense. Josh is a very hard worker for us. It was great to see him have that individual success tonight."
Smith on whether the Falcons' nine penalties will affect cuts decisions: "The evaluation process will not just be based on one game. It is going to be determined by the whole body of work. That body of work started back in April. The penalties are not going to be the deciding factor, they will be a factor. It is a long process, these guys started back in April. For the rookies, they started as soon as their season ended last year. They have not had any rest up until this point."
Smith on Takkarist McKinley's game and the young defense: "When you score a touchdown on defense that is a big play. That was a very nice play. It was good to see Jonathan get some significant playing time. He was one of the young guys we wanted to see play a significant number of snaps. He did that tonight and he was productive in his opportunities. I really thought that our defense did a nice job tonight. Their third down efficiency was pretty good. They were six for 18 on third down, which was good."
Smith on what the 53-man roster will look like: "When you get down to 53 that are in different maturation points in the process they go through individually. There are going to be some guys that we will be counting on day one that are young guys. We are going to have some guys that we are going to have to develop, and maybe won't play as many snaps, but be able to contribute on special teams, and will continue to get an understanding of what we are trying to do offensively and defensively. It really depends on the player. The draft picks we picked, we have been really impressed with this group. They have worked really hard and there are going to be guys who will help us win games this year."
Backup QB Dominique Davis on competing to win Thursday night: "Every game you want to win. Every game is never, not important. Every game is important and I try and win everything I do. I try and do good in everything I do. A loss is a loss and I put that on me. I'm just going to go into the film room and see what I did good and what I did bad and just learn from my mistakes and get better at it."
Rookie CB Robert Alford on interceptions he and teammate Desmond Trufant had: "It was real good. We were both picked in the draft, and for us to come out and compete and get an interception, it was truly a blessing."
Trufant on being ready for the regular season: "Yes, definitely. I've been trying to get better every day. That's been my motto: to always progress. Don't ever get comfortable. Don't ever think you got the 'hay in the barn,' as they say."
Linebacker Brian Banks on his experience over the last few months: "Everything has been highs, for the most part. I haven't really had too many lows. Just focused out here, been fully consumed in trying to make this team, trying to catch up to all of the years that I've missed out of football. My learning curve is definitely different from a lot of the guys here. Whereas, I was learning a lot of the one-on-one, basic things of football, as well as the intermediate things of football and meshing them all together at once in a small period of time. It was definitely challenging, but I've enjoyed myself the whole time."
