Coach Quinn:
Opening Statement:
"The finish is such an important part of our messaging in our program, so for us to come down when we had the lead and not be able to answer is when it's hard. Our philosophy is about the football, and I thought, defensively, forcing some of those [turnovers] today was a significant improvement in terms of the way we want to go attack it. We didn't get any points off of those turnovers today and I think that was a real factor in it. We want to give credit to Indy. We thought they played a tough, hard-nosed game just exactly like we thought going in. We thought it would be tough and come down to the end, and it certainly did."
On what happened to the offense today:
"I think the turnovers were a bit of the factor. We had two of them in the second half where we were on the first play of the drive as well. You can imagine how that can turn it away when you get in one play for an entire series. That was a significant factor, for sure."
On how he's going to rally his team from here and get them moving forward:
"When we went through the bye, I thought we came back and had a good week of practice. I thought that would enable us to play well, and there are a lot of things that we did do well. For us, it's about the football so can we improve in that area? Absolutely we can. We have a really tight group. We've got a close locker room and we know we'll work like crazy to find the best match-ups and the best ways for the guys to be at their best. It's a disappointing loss for us, for sure, and one that we'll get to the truth of after we look at the film tonight and tomorrow morning. Then we'll get back right with the guys in the afternoon."
On whether he's frustrated by the play of his quarterback:
"I get frustrated when we don't play our best, so that's where it starts and ends with me from all phases, you know, in how we want to play. I think we've got a really talented outfit. For us, when we don't play at our best and we turn the ball over and don't get enough takeaways and not have the finish we like, there's a multitude of things that fall into that."
On whether RB Devonta Freeman being out changed the game plan:
"I think it was a real factor for sure. It didn't necessarily change the game plan. We all know the type of year, the competitor, and what he brings to our team. I believe he had three carries and over 40 yards in those three carries so for sure he's a factor. He was diagnosed with a concussion and he'll go through the protocol this week. We'll have more information on that as we go through the week. You know it was for sure a factor just because of the player that he is. It didn't change the plan though. I think that was your initial question."
On using timeouts:
"Once they got into field goal range, I thought we wanted to make sure we gave us a chance to go back and have a chance to go kick the field goal. When they ended up getting the first down , I took the first, second, and third one so I knew going into the drive we'd have no timeouts heading into the two-minute scenario. We've had a number of opportunities of practicing that in game and in practice. When we looked back, we said okay we've been in that situation a bunch at practice time to say 'okay let's go attack and do it.' I think we may have had an incomplete or drop on the first one to kind of move us and get us started so I think that was probably a real factor in it. Oftentimes in that two-minute drive to get going, get a catch, and get on the ball sometimes that's when it's attack the best when the incompletes or out of bounds play, really it just comes into a third-down play again and third-down play again when the clock gets stopped."
On not finishing over the last few games:
"I'm definitely disappointed in the finish just because I know the style of competitor that's there, so for us to be at our best that has to happen. When it doesn't, man that's hard. It's one that we want to take great pride in knowing that just as a competitor that's what we stand for. When we didn't do that today, that's at the top of the list in terms of how we want to go attack. When we don't, that makes it harder."
On the offensive seeming sluggish over the past five weeks:
"For us, making great decisions offensively the way we want to take care of it, we want to attack in all phases but we want to make sure of the mindfulness for the ball. We tried some things today differently. We went on the line of scrimmage; I know you saw that some. We felt like that's another way for us to attack and we'll evaluate that as we go through it tomorrow and see which of those plays that we like and how much of that we use moving forward. I felt like there was more urgency when we saw all that today."
On WR Roddy White:
"I totally realize the storyline there that you're trying, but I want to let you know that we love the guy and I know everybody's trying and how of this and that. Matt does, I do, Kyle does. He's an absolute competitor for us. There'll be more games where that's a factor. I totally understand the story line of where we're going but I just wanted to make sure that I can get that out in terms of where we're at with Roddy. We absolutely love what he stands for, and we didn't get it done today."
QB Matt Ryan
On the D'Qwell Jackson interception in the 4th Quarter:
"That's a tough play in the 4th Quarter. When I came back out, obviously I did not see D'Qwell Jackson popping back out off the line of scrimmage, but it is just a play I cannot make. In critical situations, you cannot turn the ball over, and I have to be better than that."
On whether it was an inaccurate pass:
"To me, it wasn't an accuracy issue on that play particularly. It's just a decision-making issue. You can't go to that spot."
On the offense:
"After the first two drives we were pretty successful, but early on, we need to start faster. We had two chances off turnovers and came up with zero points, and that's disappointing. We did some good things, but we didn't do enough to finish. We didn't play well in the 4th Quarter."
On the loss of Devonta Freeman:
"It's always tough when you lose anyone. Devonta [Freeman] has been such a big part of what we've done this year. It's difficult to replace all that he does. I thought our running backs came in and did a nice job. Tevin [Coleman] and Terron Ward came in and filled in, and when their numbers were called they made some plays."
On D'Qwell Jackson:
"He's a really good player. Stout against the run, but does a great job getting back into pass coverage."
On not finishing strong:
"You always have to keep your foot on the accelerator. Anytime you have an opportunity to go out there and score more points, you have to do it. Across the board, we just didn't do that as the game progressed today. I think that's an area that we need to get better. When we have a lead and an opportunity to close out a game, we've got to make plays that are going to get that job done."
On the final drive:
"When you have those kinds of drives, you need to get a drive started. We need to make a play early whether it's on first or second down. We just couldn't get it moving."
On whether there is a sense of urgency among the team?
"I think there's been a great sense of urgency all year. What it comes down to is our execution and playing well in certain situations. I think our energy, effort, practices and the way that we prepare has been exactly the way we need. We just need to play better when we have opportunities too."
On the defense creating three turnovers:
"When our defense comes up with three turnovers and we come up with zero points, we're not doing our job. I thought our defense did a nice job of giving us some short field opportunities and in those situations, you have to come away with points. We didn't do that today."
WR Julio Jones
On what was learned from today's loss:
"I think we just have to keep pushing because you learn from losses. We were 5-0, we were on our high horses, and everyone was praising us and whatever, but now, you see everyone's true colors. People will talk poorly about you, but we have to stay tight here. We have to continue to keep working because we are still in it. We need to get on a roll."
On the team's effort:
"We just have to leave no doubt. We have to go out there every play no matter who we are playing and give maximum effort. If you cannot do it, then get out. I just feel like we have to get back to that, but we are playing hard."
On Matt Ryan's recent form:
"No, it happens. You are going to have your ups and your downs. It is all about how you deal with it. If you are down, you are going to stay down, or you are going to get up. It depends on the individual. We are here for him and vice-versa. When we are down, he is here for us. You just have to keep practicing and taking it one day at a time."
WR Roddy White
On recovering from a loss:
"We are just going to continue to grind. We will talk about it amongst each other in the locker room. Tomorrow, when we get done meeting, we will get it done."
On finishing games:
"We just have to finish. It is a lot easier said than done. In the last couple of weeks, I do not think that we finished a game well. That is what we have to do. We have to go out there, make plays, and win games."
DT Jonathan Babineaux
On the pass rush:
"We knew it would be big today, especially in the middle. We got pressure on them, got them back there a few times, and batted the ball. We were able to force some bad turnovers today, and we did a good job on defense."
On the loss today:
"We just have to look at it, digest it, learn from it, and continue to move on."
On the defense:
"We gave up some big plays towards the end. Pass interference twice in one drive, and I think they scored a touchdown on that drive. Other than that, I think we played solid defense all day."
LB Paul Worrilow
On the turnover battle:
"We came up short on that end, which is something that you focus so much time on and put so much time into during the week. That is especially frustrating."
On the defense:
"I thought we did a good job. We got three turnovers, and I think we got a couple good hits on the quarterback [Matt Hasselbeck] on third down. You know that you have to make the plays at the biggest times like that one third down play at the end of the game. That is the one, as a defense, that you definitely have to get off the field on."
On moving forward at 6-4:
"We are still right in it. Get back to the process is what coach [Quinn] always preaches. We will get this right tomorrow. We will get into it. Everybody will be in there doing their best to learn from this and get ready for the following week."
LB O'Brien Schofield
On the key turning points in losses:
"Turnovers, man. We just have to do a better job protecting the ball. Defensively, we have to do a better job putting our offense in a position to score. If we can turn some of those turnovers into the points for the offense, then I think that would be good."
On Coach Quinn's message after a loss:
"The message never changes. It has always been about us, and it is going to continue to be about us. Tomorrow is 'tell the truth Monday.' We will get to the truth of what happened in the game statistically, and what we need to do to improve and play better. The effort was out there; we just did not execute at the times that we needed to make plays and finish like we know how. That is something that we will focus on this week."
On not getting any points off turnovers:
"Well, we count on the offense and the offense counts on us. We do our best to do our role, and that is something that you cannot focus on in a game. You cannot be up and down with your teammates. We have all the faith in those guys to get the job done and today we were not able to do that."
